THE ESSENTIAL
- Gestational diabetes is a disorder of sugar tolerance with an increase in blood sugar (amount of sugar in the blood) more or less important. It occurs during pregnancy and goes away following childbirth.
- Women who consume small amounts of coffee between the 16th and 22nd week of pregnancy have a lower risk of developing gestational diabetes.
Good news for pregnant women who love coffee! Drinking small amounts of this hot drink during pregnancy lowers the risk of developing gestational diabetes, which is a rise in blood sugar levels during gestation. This is what American scientists have revealed in a study published in November in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Less than 200 mg of coffee per day
The researchers decided to carry out work following making a finding. “The effects of caffeine on the health of pregnant women remain unclear”, they noted. From this observation, they tried to find out whether caffeine consumption was associated with pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia, hypertension or gestational diabetes. To do this, they analyzed research from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) on 2,802 pregnant women. Data was collected between 2009 and 2013.
In total, 2,529 expectant mothers participated in this study. They were asked to indicate their weekly consumption of coffee, tea, soda and energy drinks. Caffeine concentrations were measured in the plasma of participants between the 10th and 13th week of pregnancy and then between the 16th and 22nd week of gestation. In this work, the researchers drew on the recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). This organization advises pregnant women to limit their caffeine intake to less than 200 mg, or regarding two cups per day.
The risk of gestational diabetes reduced between the 16th and the 22nd week
According to the results of the work, consuming 100 mg of caffeine per day between the 16th and 22nd week of pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of gestational diabetes and lower glucose concentrations. “We now know that low to moderate caffeine intake is not associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, or hypertension in pregnant women,” said Dr. Stefanie Hinkle, study author and professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (US).
The consumption of caffeine is associated with a better energy balance and a decrease in fat mass. Other compounds found in coffee may also be effective once morest insulin resistance, reducing the risk of gestational diabetes, according to the study authors.
“The idea is not to advise women who do not usually drink coffee to start consuming it early in pregnancy in order to avoid the risk of gestational diabetes. However, these data may reassure women. women who already consume coffee, in small to moderate quantities: their consumption will not increase the risks for the health of the mother and the baby “, the scientists concluded.
