Caffeine

Be aware of how caffeine affects you as some women may become more sensitive to caffeine when pregnant. If you are feeling especially jittery or complete the vacuuming and shopping in record time whilst chattering mindlessly to your cat then you may need to re-assess the caffeine ingestion.

They “the experts and doctors” suggest you have no more than 200mg of caffeine per day. (see table below for how much caffeine you are ingesting). Upon saying all this if you are having problems keeping an embryo or if you have suffered miscarriages a suggestion is to skip the caffeine altogether. Research is currently underway regarding how caffeine may or may not affect the implantation of the embryo so it’s better to be safe than sorry. A switch to decaf may be the simplest way.

See below for the amount of caffeine contained in various types of food and drink. Remember it’s not just coffee that has caffeine. It’s also found in sports drinks, Mountain Dew & 7Up (in the US), energy bars, teas and lets not forget chocolate!

If you want to give it up altogether or lighten the load try swapping it out for a decaf version. Here is a table for you to work out how much coffee is in what. Take note that you want your caffeine intake to be 200mg or under per day:


Drip Brewed Arabica Coffee (6 oz) – 80-130 mg (often around 110 mg)
Drip Brewed Robusta Coffee (6 oz) – 140-200 mg
Drip Brewed Passiona Excelsa/Arabica Low-Caffeine Coffee Blend (6 fl oz) – 40-60 mg
Drip Brewed Decaf Coffee (8 oz) – 2-12 mg, although testing has shown that decaf coffee levels are sometimes much higher
Instant Coffee (8 oz) – 27-173 mg (often around 65 to 90 mg)
Instant Decaf Coffee (8 oz) – 2-12 mg
Dunkin' Donuts Coffee (16 oz) – 143-206 mg
Einstein Bros. Coffee (16 oz) – 206 mg
Percolated Coffee (5 fl oz) – 80-135 mg


Chains like Starbucks / Pete’s Coffee/ Coffee Bean etc see their websites or ask at the counter as they differ.

Espresso, Single Shot – 29-100 mg (often around 75 mg)
Espresso, Double Shot (Doppio)– 58-185 mg (often around 150 mg)
Decaf Espresso, Single Shot – about 8 mg
Decaf Espresso, Double Shot (Doppio) – about 16 mg
Nespresso Espresso Capsules – 55-65 mg
Nespresso Lungo Capsules – 77-89 mg


Caffeine levels in Espresso shots and iced Espresso drinks vary from shop to shop. Check websites or information at the counter.

Mountain Dew 55mg
Pepsi 37mg
Coke/Diet Coke 31mg