In our homeland, this summer is expected the appearance of two kids at once. First, the joyful news about the upcoming replenishment brought my sister, and now they learned about the pregnancy of his brother’s wife.
How will these future moms get together, so let’s discuss what is good, what is bad, what is possible, what is not possible during pregnancy. For example, can you drink coffee.
Useful and harmful properties of coffee
16 years ago, when I was pregnant myself, there was much more information about the harm of coffee than about its benefits. But time passed, and now I am increasingly reading about the beneficial properties of this drink. Where is the truth?
In recent years, scientists have found that regular use of coffee – of course, within reasonable limits – prevents the occurrence of tumors in the intestine, increases efficiency, tones blood vessels, thereby helping even with migraine (by the way, many headache tablets contain caffeine).
But among the harmful properties of coffee, the same scientists call calcium leaching from the body (further development of osteoporosis), excessive release of adrenaline, increased acidity of the stomach and increased intestinal motility, which can lead to intestinal upset or increased gas formation.
In addition, avid coffee lovers are at risk of acquiring a so-called caffeine addiction, with all the ensuing consequences, including withdrawal syndrome.
I talked on the forums with women who quit drinking coffee during pregnancy, and almost all complained about various ailments that literally passed after one cup of coffee.
So drinking pregnant coffee or not drinking?
So, it turns out that a completely healthy person, considering all the pros and cons of coffee, can decide for himself whether he should drink this tasty drink or not, and if so, when and how much.
As for pregnancy, the situation is somewhat different. The future mom has to bear responsibility not only for herself, but also for the baby that is formed in her womb. What you give him, he will receive for the rest of his life.
And what is not dangerous for an adult can be detrimental to the nascent organism.
It has been proven that caffeine easily penetrates the placenta into the body of a growing fetus. Because of this, the baby in the mother’s abdomen becomes anxious, begins to move more actively, and his heart rate increases.
All this adds up to the risk of premature birth or even miscarriage. And you need it?
If the future mother drinks coffee, no matter how much, the development of the nervous system and the skeleton can be disturbed in the child.
The diuretic effect of caffeine reduces blood flow to the placenta, and because of this, the fetus can develop serious disorders.
All of us, mummies, know that after pregnancy you can miss teeth, if you do not eat enough food with calcium (or if it is not absorbed due to toxicosis). And the coffee itself carries calcium from the body. The conclusions suggest themselves.
What I found a compromise
At the time of my pregnancy, I could not live without coffee, and a complete rejection of it seemed to me a disaster. What did I think of for myself?
I began to gradually move from coffee to coffee drinks that I made myself. I bought ground barley or wheat (chicory, no matter how hard I tried, but I could not fall in love), added a tiny pinch of natural ground coffee to it and brewed boiling water right in the cup.
Gradually, I became so fond of this drink, that even now pure coffee almost does not drink – it became tasteless to me! But barley drink – yummy!
In addition, knowing about the abduction of calcium, I began to eat a plate of cottage cheese for every cup of coffee I was drinking, adding either lemon juice or rosehip syrup to it. The fact is that calcium is best absorbed in the body in the presence of vitamin C.
Another doctor recommended me to try cocoa as a coffee substitute. And this advice helped me a lot.
Today I understand that it would be better to refuse coffee in general, but still the steps that I took, I hope, helped not to cause my son the harm that could be from drinking pure coffee.
I wish all future moms a happy pregnancy and the birth of healthy babies! Well, about your food, listen to the experts and try to follow their advice.