Columbus, Ohio – According to a study published by Oxford University Press in the American Journal of Epidemiology on Thursday, women who drink and eat moderate amounts of caffeine during pregnancy are not prone to make their child’s IQ get lower.
This investigation is one of the first to make a correlation between uterus’ caffeine exposure, children’s intelligence (IQ), and behavior later in childhood. Researchers said they did not find evidence of an adverse association of maternal pregnancy caffeine consumption with child cognition or behavior. The study was made with kids in ages between four and seven years, according to Mark A. Klebanoff, principal investigator in the Center for Perinatal Research at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s and faculty member at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
As reported by the study, the research evaluated markers of caffeine in the blood samples of 2,197 participant mothers who were part in the Collaborative Perinatal Project, carried at several sites in the United States in 1959-74. As reported by scientists, in the second half of the 20th Century, caffeine consumption was evidently more prevalent than today during pregnancy. Nowadays, there is more preoccupation about the safety of the energizing substance.
The investigation let scientists look at a wide range of caffeine intakes as if the study was done today. A similar study conducted at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s was done before.
Dr. Klebanoff and Sarah Keim, PhD, co-author and principal investigator in the Center for Biobehavioral Health at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s, evaluated the same group of woman from The Collaborative Perinatal Project and a relation between the caffeine intakes during pregnancy and the risks of children to be obese. He concluded there is little evidence that normal consumption of caffeine during pregnancy increases the risk of childhood obesity.
According to the National Coffee Association, 54 percent of American Adults are regular coffee drinkers. The average intake is three 8 oz. cups per day, which would be as much as 382 million cups of coffee every day, as the latest data from 2013 reported. The women’s preferred drink are lattes (41 percent), then regular coffee takes its place (38 percent) and by last, cappuccinos occupy 21 percent of consumption.
Dr, Klein, a faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Medicine said, “Taken as a whole, we consider our results to be reassuring for pregnant women who consume moderate amounts of caffeine or the equivalent to 1 or 2 cups of coffee per day.” With that being said, they urge mothers to always consume the “magical substance” with moderation.
Source: Live Science