The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a press release
advising pregnant mothers to limit their intake of coffee and
caffeine-containing substances. "Pregnant women are advised to
limit their daily caffeine intake to 200mg a day – roughly two
mugs of coffee a day" due to a potential link with Foetal Growth
Retardation (FGR). This is a reduction from the previous advice
of 300 mg per day, following an updated report from the FSA's
independent Committee on Toxicity (COT). According to the
committee, if there is a causal link then there may be no lower
'safe' limit, but a caffeine intake of less than 200 mg per day
during pregnancy may reduce the risk of FGR to less than 2%. FGR
is defined as failure of the baby to attain its growth potential
as determined by genetic and environmental factors. The FSA
funded research published by the British Medical Journal which
measured caffeine intake from all sources (coffee, tea, colas
and medication) in pregnant women, and then measured their
babies when they were b