TY - JOUR T1 - Higher coffee intake in pregnancy linked to prolonged gestation, and higher caffeine intake linked with babies being small for gestational age JF - Evidence Based Nursing JO - Evid Based Nurs DO - 10.1136/eb-2013-101683 SP - ebnurs-2013-101683 AU - Caroline Hollins Martin Y1 - 2013/12/18 UR - http://ebn.bmj.com/content/early/2013/12/18/eb-2013-101683.abstract N2 - Commentary on: Sengpiel V, Elind E, Bacelis J, et al. Maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy is associated with birth weight but not with gestational length: results from a large prospective observational cohort study. BMC Med 2013;11:42.OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed The findings support that maternal coffee consumption is associated with marginally increased gestational length, decreased birth weight, but not preterm delivery. Future research is required to confirm cause and effects. The WHO recommends a maternal caffeine intake of below 300 mg/day1 and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommends less than 200 mg/day.2 A maternal diet should include the essential nutrients to optimise fetal development and an avoidance of contaminants. Caffeine is contained in coffee, tea, cocoa, energy drinks and many soft drinks and … ER -