How you take your caffeine doesn't matter--most of us are addicted to it! I never took up the coffee habit. I don't even like tiramisu, but I do like a Pepsi or Coke now and then. For breakfast.

Then there are the hidden sources of caffeine, like certain brands of aspirin. Even hot chocolate has some caffeine, but not much, fortunately.

I used to know a woman who drank seven Dr. Peppers a day. When she got pregnant, she cut back to just one. That's sacrifice!

If you're trying to get pregnant, should you cut out caffeine completely or just cut back? Studies do not agree, unfortunately, and many a woman has gotten pregnant while consuming multiple cups of coffee a day. The effects of caffeine on fertility are not clear. However, there was at least one study that showed a negastive correlation between caffeine and pregnancy with caffeine intake as low as 50 mg/day in women undergoing IVF (Klonoff-Cohen, et al, Human Reproduction, Vol. 17, No. 7, 1746-1754, July 2002). To hedge your bet, you probably should cut back to two cups or less of coffee a day. That amounts to about 300 mg of caffeine daily, but it does depend on the type of coffee you drink.

What studies do seem to agree on is that high consumption of caffeine increases your risk of miscarriage. Caffeine does cross the placenta, and the fetus may be unable to metabolize the caffeine effectively. Once you know you're pregnant, it is a good idea to cut out caffeine completely if you can--you certainly don't want to spend years wondering if your daily coffee caused your miscarriage. It is a temporary sacrifice, although if you plan to breast-feed, then you have a few more months of coffee-abstinence.

I know it's hard to quit caffeine, but it is worth it. I'm lucky--both Coke and Pepsi make caffeine-free versions that taste exactly the same. Watch out for hidden sources of caffeine. Check out the table in the link for caffeine content in beverages and foods, especially power drinks and chocolate.