here is an artical that i found.
The March of Dimes (MOD 2002) notes that during pregnancy, caffeine easily passes from the mother to her unborn child through the placenta. Because the systems for breaking down and eliminating chemicals are not fully developed in the unborn child, blood levels of caffeine may remain elevated for longer periods in the unborn child compared to the mother. OTIS (OTIS 2001) notes that, "...higher amounts of caffeine could affect babies in the same way as it does adults. Some reports have stated that children born to mothers who consumed >500mg/day were more likely to have faster heart rates, tremors, increased breathing rate, and spend more time awake in the days following birth."
The effects of caffeine intake on miscarriages, birth defects, and low birth weight have been studied, and different results were obtained in the various studies. The International Food Information Council (IFIC) has described and made conclusions about the following studies (IFIC July 1998).
Recently, researchers from McGill University in Montreal published a study showing a relationship between caffeine intake and miscarriage. While caffeine intake before and during pregnancy appeared to be associated with increased fetal loss, the authors failed to account for a number of factors that could result in a false association, including effects of morning sickness or nausea*, the number of cigarettes smoked and amount of alcohol consumed
Following a statistical analysis of studies examining caffeine intake in pregnant woman, Motherisk (Motherisk 2000) stated, "Our results suggest a small but statistically significant increase in risk of spontaneous abortion and low birth weight babies in pregnant women consuming more than 150 mg of caffeine per day. Pregnant women should be encouraged to be aware of dietary caffeine intake and to consume less than 150 mg of caffeine a day from all sources throughout pregnancy."
Caffeine Levels in Foods and Drinks
Levels of caffeine typically found in drinks and foods are listed in the following table obtained from the IFIC website.
Item
Milligrams of Caffeine
Average Range
Coffee (5-oz. cup)
Brewed, drip method 115 60-180
Brewed, percolator 80 40-170
Instant 65 30-120
Decaffeinated, brewed 3 2-5
Decaffeinated, instant 2 1-5
Teas (5-oz. cup)
Brewed, major U.S. brands 40 20-90
Brewed, imported brands 60 25-110
Instant 30 25-50
Iced (12-oz. glass) 70 67-76
Some soft drinks (6 oz.) 18 15-30
Cocoa beverage (5 oz.) 4 2-20
Chocolate milk beverage (8 oz.) 5 2-7
Milk chocolate (1 oz.) 6 1-15
Dark chocolate, semi-sweet (1 oz.) 20 5-35
Baker's chocolate (1 oz.) 26 26
Chocolate-flavored syrup (1 oz.) 4 4
http://www.healthieryou.com/caffeine.html
basically its unknown the exact amounts..just limit it
what ive always been told is that there is no benefit and there not sure how much is harmful to the fetus (kind of like alcohol) so whats the point in risking it?
I personally have a coke a day..i figure if your watching it your okay..thats just my personal opinion im sure different people will tell you different things. i completely avoided it my first trimester but then let it back in later on (just so i could function during the day)