Why Pregnant Women Should Cut the Caffeine

Many pregnant women feel fatigued throughout some, if not all, of their pregnancy. That being said, caffeinated beverages are a godsend when you've spent the entire night cuddling the porcelain queen. Although caffeine may be a temporary fix for you as the mother-to-be, it's not good for that precious little one that's causing you to walk around like a bleary-eyed zombie. Cutting out the caffeine before you give birth is important, and it may make your first days with your newborn a little more bearable.

When I was pregnant with my first child I was addicted to soda. I would drink at least 4 to 5 cans of soda a day. Once I found out that I was pregnant, I tried to cut out the caffeine. After days of headaches and being just plain miserable, I went back to the bubbly sweet goodness. I could barely deal with the ailments of pregnancy, let alone the withdrawal symptoms I was experiencing from not having caffeine running through my system. Once I had the caffeine running through me again, I felt fine. I continued the caffeine all the way through my pregnancy, and when my daughter was born I really regretted that decision. She was one of the most difficult babies I've ever seen. She would scream and cry over nothing for hours on end. She always had to be held and wouldn't sleep by herself. I started thinking that if I went through such a horrible withdrawal period when I cut out caffeine, she was probably feeling the same way. She wasn't inside me anymore, drinking everything I was drinking and eating everything I was eating. She was in the real world now, drinking formula that contained no caffeine.