Pregnant women can safely drink coffee as caffeine does not affect their unborn baby, according to a new study.

    Pregnant women can safely drink coffee as caffeine does not affect their unborn baby, according to a new study.

    Researchers found no evidence of a link betweenprematurity, birth weight and the amount of caffeine consumed by mothers-to-be.

    Previous studies suggested caffeine might harm unborn babies as it stays in the system longer in pregnant women, passing easily to a growing baby.

    Health officials have warned that a high caffeine intake could affect birth weight or the chance of having a miscarriage.

    Pregnant women are advised against drinking more than four cups of coffee a day - or six cups of tea.

    The study, by the University of Aarhus in Denmark, recruited more than 1,000 women before they were 20 weeks' pregnant, who drank at least three cups of coffee a day.

    The group was split into two, with 568 women drinking ordinary instant coffee and 629 drinking decaffeinated.

    The authors then monitored the birth weight of 1,150 newborn babies and the length of pregnancy for the babies.

    The study, published by the British Medical Journal, found 'no significant differences' between the two groups for birth weight or length of pregnancy.

    The researchers concluded that a moderate reduction in caffeineintakein the second half of pregnancy had 'no effect' on the outcome.

    The women were not told what type of coffee they were drinking, and the research was adjusted to take into account factors such as age, weight and whether the women smoked.

    When the adjustments were made, the average weight of babies born to women in the decaffeinated group was a mere 16g higher than those born to women in the caffeinated group, the study said.

    The average difference in the length of pregnancy was less than two days.

    A spokesman for the British Coffee Association said: "This new study is very interesting and supports the consistent advice given that pregnant women should stick to a safe upper limit - in line with guidance issued by the Food Standards Agency. This equates to three cups of brewed, or four cups of instant coffee.
    
    研究人员发现，准妈妈所摄入的咖啡因量与早产及新生儿出生体重之间并没有什么关系。

    之前有研究表明，由于咖啡因在孕妇体内停留的时间更长，很容易进入胎儿体内，因此会对胎儿发育产生危害。

    一些卫生官员曾发出警告，大量摄入咖啡因会影响新生儿的体重，可能还会造成流产。

    他们建议，孕妇每天最多只能喝四杯咖啡，或六杯茶。

    这项由丹麦阿胡斯大学所做的研究共有1000多名怀孕不到20周的孕妇参加，这些孕妇每天至少喝三杯咖啡。

    研究人员将这些孕妇分为两组，其中的568人喝普通的速溶咖啡，而另外629人则喝不含咖啡因的咖啡。

    研究人员对每个孕妇进行定期监控，检测她们从可乐等饮料中所摄入的咖啡因量。

    之后，研究人员对这些孕妇所生的1150个婴儿的出生体重及她们的妊娠期进行了监测。

    这项由《英国医学》杂志公布的研究发现，这两组孕妇所生婴儿的出生体重及她们的妊娠期长短并没有"明显差别"。

    研究人员得出结论，在怀孕后期适量减少咖啡因的摄入量就不会对胎儿产生什么影响。

    这些孕妇并不知道自己喝的是哪种咖啡。此外，研究人员还根据孕妇的年龄、体重以及她们是否抽烟等因素对研究结果进行了调整。

    经过调整后的研究结果显示，未摄入咖啡因的那组孕妇所生婴儿的平均体重比喝速溶咖啡的孕妇所生的婴儿仅仅重16克。

    而两组孕妇妊娠期长度的平均差别还不到两天。

    英国咖啡协会的一位发言人说：“这项新研究很有意思，它得出的结论和英国食品标准委员会提出的‘孕妇安全咖啡摄入量’的建议相一致，也就是说，孕妇每天可以喝三杯煮咖啡，或四杯速溶咖啡。”