Caffeine With Pregnancy Loss Study
By: Mark Hoffman
Article Summary
The actual title of this article is Study Links Caffeine with Pregnancy loss. This article was written on March 24th, 2016 by Maggie Fox. She published this article on the NBC News website. This article initially focuses on the previous accusations of caffeine being a common cause of pregnancy loss. The article explains that recently there has been a discovered correlation between men drinking caffeinated beverages and pregnancy loss. The article then discussed how they found this information through a study of 344 couples in Michigan and Texas. Each of the couples were actively trying to conceive. Throughout this time, all of the caffeinated beverages that each partner had consumed were charted. Blood, urine, and semen tests were also conducted throughout the process. Astoundingly, drinking three or more caffeinated beverages a day increased early pregnancy loss by 74 percent. They also discovered that male preconception consumption of caffeinated beverages had just as strong association with pregnancy loss that women had. The article was wrapped up with the discussion of vitamins, a healthy diet, and limited alcohol and tobacco consumption all being important in the successfulness of pregnancy.
Article Critique
The author of this article, Maggie Fox, plays a critical role in the articles credibility. This is due to the fact that she is a senior writer for NBC News, and generally covers the top stories of the day. Her main focuses are on medical news and health, which this article associates with (Maggie Fox Verified). Maggie quotes Germaine Buck Louis in the article, who is a reproductive epidemiologist. Louis earned her doctoral and master's degree at the University of Buffalo. Louis is now a Senior Investigator and Director of the Division of Intramural Population Health Research (2016 Congress Faculty Director). In regards to the article's source, the NBC News website helps validate the article as being truthful since the website is an international news source that many people review every day. The information in this article is valid since the studies were explained in full detail, and specific numerical facts were present throughout the information. This is also associated with how well the article is based off of scientific evidence. Since there is a field study with almost 350 couples from separate sides of the United States this information received should not have any environmental influence. They also take plenty of lab tests that help keep the numerical facts credible. The conclusions of this article are not misleading. The information received from the field study is exactly what it should be in reference to the title and first few paragraphs of the article. They could have skipped the portions on the vitamin supplements that women had taken to increase birth frequencies, but that does not take away from the facts about caffeinated beverages and miscarriages. This article is very easy to read and understand. The author knows exactly what they are talking about which gives them the power to explain things in a way that the general public will understand. This is an extremely simple way of giving the paper credibility, but the article does a well job flowing in an appropriate manner. The article also has very few grammatical errors.
References
2016 Congress Faculty Directory. (2016). Retrieved April 5, 2016, from https://epiresearch.org/2016-meeting/2016-congress-faculty-directory/germaine-buck-louis/
Maggie Fox Verified. (2016, April 04). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://muckrack.com/maggiemfox/bio