Maternal coffee drinking in pregnancy and risk of small for gestational age birth

Objective: We have analysed the association between coffee drinking before and during the three trimesters of pregnancy and risk of small for gestational age (SGA) birth. Methods: Cases were 555 women who delivered SGA births (ie <10th percentile according Italian standard). The controls included 1966 women who gave birth at term (≥37 weeks of gestation) to healthy infants of normal weight. Results: In comparison with nondrinkers, the ORs for SGA birth were 1.3 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.9-1.9) for consumption of four or more cups of coffee/day before pregnancy, and 1.2 (95% CI 0.8-1.8), 1.2 (95% CI 0.8-1.8) and 0.9 (95% CI 0.6-1.4) for consumption of three or more cups of coffee/day during the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy, respectively. Conclusion: These findings were consistent in women who delivered preterm and at term births and were not affected by potential confounding such as smoking. © 2005 Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved.