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Caffeine use during pregnancy: prevalence of use and newborn consequences in a cohort of French pregnant women

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Abstract

Many pregnant women, in the world, drink caffeine-containing beverages. Maternal caffeine consumption during pregnancy may have adverse effects on foetus but results are conflicting. Our goals were to estimate the prevalence of caffeine use in a cohort of French pregnant women using maternal self-reports and to evaluate the association between caffeine consumption during pregnancy and delivery and newborn characteristics. All pregnant women who gave birth in a large French urban area during a limited period of time were included (in total 724 mothers were included). Coffee, tea or cola consumption as well as pregnancy and neonate characteristics were analysed. The mean consumption of caffeine per day slightly decreased from the first to the third trimester of pregnancy: 587 caffeine users, with a consumption of caffeine of 59.2 ± 61.5 mg/day during the first trimester as compared to 577 consumers (54.3 ± 55.4 mg/day) during the third trimester, respectively. A significant decrease of neonates’ birth length was observed when mothers were using at least 100 mg/day (or two cups) of caffeine during the second and third trimesters but this difference was no longer significant after adjustment on potential confounding factors such as tobacco use. The potential existence of other confounders (e.g. poorer dietary habits or other lifestyle variables) that might also be associated with reduced birth length, may not be excluded. Caffeine use during pregnancy was associated with reduced birth length but this effect was no longer significant after adjustment on potential confounding variables.

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Acknowledgements

Mothers and children who participated in the study; the Perinatal network of Upper-Normandy coordinated by C. Levèque, L. Marpeau (MD, PhD Professor, Head of Department of Gynaecology-Obstetrics, Rouen University Hospital); P. Fournet (MD, Department of Gynaecology-Obstetrics, Belvédère Hospital); M. Durand-Réville (MD, Department of Gynaecology-Obstetrics, Mathilde Hospital); Association of Midwives of Upper-Normandie, INSERM CIC-CRB 1404 (A. Cailleux and J. Weber); FEDER (Fonds Européens pour le Développement Régional de Haute-Normandie); Fédération Rouennaise d’Addictologie (coordinator: F. Thibaut). This study was supported by: PHRC inter-régional 2008, MILDT-INSERM-INcA 2008, IREB 2009 and 2011 and FEDER (European Regional Development Fund of Upper-Normandy). This study was promoted by Rouen University Hospital. The authors thank the reviewers for their helpful comments on our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Paris, France

    Sandrine Lamy & Florence Thibaut

  2. Department of Biostatistics, INSERM1018, University Hospital Rouen, 76000, Rouen, France

    Estelle Houivet & Jacques Benichou

  3. Department of Neonatal Medicine-Neuropediatrics, Rouen University Hospital, Region-INSERM Team (ERI 28), Neovasc, Institute of Biomedical Research and Innovation, School of Medicine, Normandy University, Caen, France

    Stéphane Marret

  4. University Hospital Cochin (Site Tarnier), Paris University, Paris, France

    Florence Thibaut

  5. Service de Psychiatrie-Addictologie, Hôpital Tarnier, 89 Rue d’Assas, 75006, Paris, France

    Florence Thibaut

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Correspondence to Florence Thibaut.

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F Thibaut is Editor-in-Chief of Dialogues in Clinical Neurosciences (the journal receives a grant from Servier). Other authors declared no conflicts of interest.

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Lamy, S., Houivet, E., Benichou, J. et al. Caffeine use during pregnancy: prevalence of use and newborn consequences in a cohort of French pregnant women. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 271, 941–950 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-020-01105-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-020-01105-2

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