High caffeine doses during pregnancy might increase the risk of premature delivery, low birth weight, and miscarriage.
Notes on verification
Low birth weight association is well-supported by multiple dose-response meta-analyses. Miscarriage link is plausible at high doses but contested (ACOG and Tommy's note lack of definitive causal evidence). Preterm birth is the weakest link, with major meta-analyses finding no significant association. Overall hedged 'might increase' framing is reasonably supported but masks heterogeneity across the three outcomes. [tier=gold indep_score=0.838 clusters=4 claim_tier=notable | framework convergence=partial (upstreams: ACOG Committee Opinion No. 462, Maslova et al. 2010 meta-analysis (Am J Clin Nutr), Greenwood et al. 2014 dose-response meta-analysis (Eur J Epidemiol)) — publishers independent, evidence may not be | kind=empirical eligibility=medium]
Sources
- Cocoa - Uses, Side Effects, and More - WebMD (seed:health_and_medicine)
- https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2010/08/moderate-caffeine-consumption-during-pregnancy (corroboration)
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4198801/ (corroboration)
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4507998/ (corroboration)
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25179792/ (corroboration)
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41478925/ (corroboration)
- https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/calculators-tools-resources/check-your-caffeine-intake-pregnancy (corroboration)
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK582613/ (corroboration)
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282480539_ACOG_Committee_opinion_no_462_Moderate_caffeine_consumption_during_pregnancy (corroboration)