ABSTRACT
In 1980, the Food and Drug Administration advised pregnant women to limit their intake of caffeine. These recommendations were based almost exclusively on animal experiments. Caffeine has been shown to produce chromosomal damage in mammalian cells. Although a few animal studies have shown an increase in the number of congenital malformations among the offspring of dams fed high doses of caffeine during pregnancy, the preponderance of animal evidence finds no significant increase in such malformations. The lower birth weight of infants of mothers who consume 300 mg or more of caffeine per day is due entirely to retarded fetal growth. The maternal consumption of caffeine, particularly in doses of 300 mg or more per day, can result in both male and female infertility, an increase in spontaneous abortions, fetal growth retardation, particularly in women who smoke, and physiological changes in the fetus and newborn.
