According to new research, too much coffee is a bad idea if you're trying to get pregnant, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Women are at an increased risk for miscarriage according to a new study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility if she and her partner drink at least two cups daily weeks before conception.
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Pregnant women are also likely to miscarry if they consume more than two caffeinated drinks per day during the first seven weeks of pregnancy.
Researchers of the study tracked 344 pregnancies, 98 of which, ended in miscarriage. Women that were 35 years and older had double the risk for early miscarriage compared to younger women but the risk rose by 74 percent when drinking at least three caffeinated drinks per day.
The risk for miscarriage also increases by 73 percent when the male partner consumed more than two caffeinated drinks per day before conception. Germaine Buck Louis, a study researcher from the National Institutues of Health said, "Male preconception consumption of caffeinated beverages was just as strongly associated with pregnancy loss as females."
Research indicates that caffeine intake may play a part in pregnancy loss, but findings have not proven that drinking caffeinated drinks like tea and coffee are risks for miscarriage.
Since the research did not have information on caffeinated drinks, the study does not suggest that drinking decaf coffee would be a less harmful than drinking regular coffee.
Researchers advise that couples should reduce their caffeine intake to fewer than three beverages per day if they are looking to have a baby.
Studies show that women should also think about taking daily multivitamins. Women are less likely to have a miscarriage if they take multivitamins everyday before and during pregnancy. Women had a 55 percent less possibility for miscarriage when taking daily multivitamins prior to pregnancy and a 79 percent risk reduction when taking their vitamins through their early pregnancy.
Vitamin B6 and folate, both of which have been linked with decreasing the risk for miscarriage, are contained in most multivitamins.
The researchers wrote in their study, "Couples' preconception lifestyle factors were associated with pregnancy loss. although women's multivitamin adherence dramatically reduced risk. The findings support continual refinement and implementation of preconception guidance."