Pregnancy behaviours: In with the good, out with the bad?


Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).

 I am sharing this post a few months after writing it. This was written while I was in my last trimester of pregnancy and reflecting on the advice I was offered throughout my pregnancy. I was wondering what the evidence was behind all of this advice and, therefore, if I should follow it or not. 
BehaviourWorks Australia (my amazing workplace at Monash University) has caught baby fever this year and so I thought it was time that I wrote a pregnancy-inspired post.
Today my 37-week bump and I decided to go for a walk to meet a friend of mine from the medicine faculty and enjoy a cheeky coffee together.
Why is coffee cheeky you ask? Well, apparently, having coffee when pregnant is bad for you. So, suddenly my drinking of coffee is now cheeky and bad. I probably shouldn’t tell you that I accidentally had some cold chicken today too.
But is there any evidence to say that pregnant women should avoid these behaviours?
Karen on Facebook would probably say that coffee and cold chicken should absolutely be avoided during pregnancy, and she’ll tell you this right after telling you that you are having a boy because you are carrying low.
Although I make Karen sound a bit nutty, is she wrong? Three high quality reviews suggest that there might be a link between several pregnancy outcomes such as pregnancy loss as caffeine intake increases, and effects differ based on trimester. Interestingly, for those who love their coffee (e.g. 3 cups per day), reducing your intake might not improve birth-related outcomes, but evidence in this area is lacking.
So, is there evidence to say that we should completely avoid coffee, and it’s fun-chemical caffeine, during pregnancy? According to the World Health Organisation, restricting caffeine intake during pregnancy is advised. Instant coffee can contain about 60mg of caffeine, but the classier brewed kind can have more than 150mg (even more with that extra EXTRA shot). Women consuming over 300mg of caffeine daily are advised to cut back to avoid the adverse pregnancy complications like pregnancy loss.
Don’t forget that tea, soft drink, chocolate, some nuts and over the counter medications can also contribute to your daily caffeine intake. This means it's not as simple as saying ‘I can have two brewed coffees a day’, especially if you have been craving (and eating) dark chocolate all day.
What about that cold chicken? Apparently that’s a no-go too, along with other healthy foods like pre-packaged salads, based on the risk of it having nasty bugs that might make mum a bit sick but can be detrimental to the (particularly early) developing bub. So cold chicken might indeed be fine, but it’s the detrimental outcomes associated with taking a risk that doesn’t pay off that is the main concern.
I think the bigger concern here is what these food avoidance behaviours are doing to the health of pregnant women, especially when they avoid salad and opt for fish and chips when out for lunch because it’s “safer”.
Instead of just focusing on all the bad things, I am going to focus on the good too. I went for a walk (a good behaviour during pregnancy) and caught up with a friend, making me very happy indeed!
I also only had one coffee, and held back on the extra shot.

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