Recent headlines from the UK press claim that “a new study” proves that drinking coffee (or other caffeinated beverages) during pregnancy leads to poorer outcomes, including an increased risk of miscarriage and stillbirth.
This contradicts current advice from the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the NHS, which advise that moderate consumption (up to around two cups of instant coffee per day) poses little risk.
So what is this worrying new evidence on the dangers of caffeine? All is not quite as it seems...
Most importantly, while the paper is being reported as new research, it is in fact a “narrative review.” The (sole) author presents no new data or analysis – instead, he reviews existing studies and meta-analyses (the same studies that current advice is based on) and gives his opinion that the risks are greater than currently believed. 🧐
Challenging existing dogma is important in science and the author is entitled to draw his own conclusions from the available data. But when opinions are reported as facts, and unquestioningly (even gleefully) added to the mountain of things pregnant women are expected to forgo uncomplainingly “for the baby,” we have to ask if there’s a bit more going on here.
Following the widespread reporting of the paper, reproductive health experts released statements confirming that the current guidelines still stand. Dr Daghni Rajasingham, Consultant Obstetrician and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists commented (somewhat wearily, we imagine) “This paper does not supersede all the other evidence that has found that a limited intake of caffeine is safe for the majority of pregnant women.”
Nonetheless, most major news outlets covered the paper, complete with alarmist headlines like the one above, and only a few drew attention to the fairly obvious caveats.
Why was so much attention given to what is, at best, a new take on existing data? There are the usual reasons – controversy sells, news stories leave little room for nuance, and with science correspondents an endangered species in cash-strapped newsrooms, research is often misrepresented in the mainstream media.
Perhaps more importantly, people just love giving (pregnant) women unsolicited advice.
HEX member Jean Splicer has this to say: “During my own pregnancy I was given endless scientifically questionable advice from everyone I encountered, from relatives who claimed runny eggs, jogging and coffee would cause miscarriage, to the owner of a soap stall who gravely informed me that lavender soap causes premature labour and refused to sell me any. Headlines that present subjects like this with absolutely no nuance only serve to cause needless stress to pregnant women – and hand further ammunition to people who seem to mistakenly believe that someone’s choices around pregnancy are any of their business.”
Of course, anyone who is pregnant or trying to conceive needs to know about potential risks. But discussions on maternal and fetal healthcare often veer into benign sexism (mothers are saints and must be protected) or judgement (with a side of misogyny – self-denying madonna vs coffee-swilling whore).
Let’s face it, there’s nothing the patriarchy likes better than telling women what to do, and if that message can be dressed up as concern for the innocent, so much the better. MF