Vitamins & Coffee:Miscarriage Risk?
"Can Vitamins and Coffee affect Miscarriage Risk?"
Chelsey Windsor
Article Summary
March 29, 2016. In summary, the author is comparing caffeine intake (including the
father’s) and multivitamin use to miscarriage rate. In the latest study published in Fertility
and Sterility, 344 heterosexual pregnant couples were studied. The couples kept daily
journals of how much they smoked, amount of alcohol consumed and amount of caffeine
consumed before and after they became pregnant. Of these 344 couples, 28%
miscarried. Of the women taking multivitamins daily, there was a 55% lower risk for
miscarriage. Multivitamins are known to be significantly rewarding during pregnancy.
Doctors now are saying that up to four cups of coffee per day is safe for women
throughout their entire pregnancy. However, scientists have data that suggests (does not
prove) that more than two cups of caffeinated beverages a day may increase miscarriage
risk. Only once did they take into consideration of the women’s age. The researchers
found that the amount of caffeine consumed by each partner had the strongest
connection to miscarriage. Therefore, the study suggest caffeine may increase the risk
for miscarriage. During this study, researchers did not factor in the amount of exercise,
eating habits, numbers of hours asleep, and/or amount of stress/ anxiety; all of which are
higher risk factors that could lead to a potential miscarriage. Also, the amount of caffeine
was not directly monitored by the researchers. The study is no more than a study. It does
not provide pregnant women with a way to stay pregnant; it just suggests things to do to
avoid a miscarriage.
Article Critique
The author, Alice Park, is a journalist for TIME magazine. She is not a researcher nor a
scientist that conducted the study; therefore, she is reporting from other people’s
findings. The website is not a reliable resource either. The website that I used was a
“.com” website and not a “.gov” or “.edu” website. The “.gov” or “.edu” website are usually
backed up with evidence, whereas “.com” websites could be anything else on the
internet from anyone. Basically, “.com” websites are not scholarly. Some information in
the article that I did not agree with was four cups of coffee a day being safe throughout
the whole pregnancy. I do not think this is true. I really don’t agree with anyone drinking
four cups of coffee a day and it be safe, especially pregnant women. That is a lot of
caffeine a day and overtime caffeine can cause plaque buildup which can cause serious
health issues. I also did not agree with the study in general. I think that the study was
pointless to even have. I agree with the author in that fact that there are bigger risk
factors that contribute to miscarriage other than the amount of caffeine consumed. I
think that the researchers should have taken such factors (amount of exercise, eating
habits, numbers of hours asleep, and/or amount of stress/ anxiety) into consideration
and had the couples document these as well as the amount of caffeine to get a better
representation of why miscarriages happen rather than just basing it solely off of the
amount of caffeine consumed. Also, the fact that the researchers did not directly
monitor the amount of caffeine consumed makes the study unreliable in its entirety. If
the researchers did not physically see them consuming the caffeine, how do we know
that the couples are telling the truth in how much was consumed. Also, I do not see why
the father’s amount of caffeine was recorded. I know that couples are pregnant together
and they need to adapt as a family, but the mother is responsible for what she
consumes and what she delivers to the child she is growing in her uterus. Overall, I
agree with multivitamins having a great impact on the essentials a growing fetus needs. I
disagree with caffeine having as great an impact on miscarriage than other risk factors
previously mentioned. I believe that other factors contribute more to miscarriage than
the amount of caffeine consumed.