There's 'no need to panic' about a new study looking at the impact of drinking caffeine during pregnancy, a doctor has said.
It comes after a new research paper - published in the BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine journal - suggested pregnant women should be told to avoid caffeine completely.
Professor Jack James of Reykjavik University in Iceland suggested in the paper that "current health recommendations concerning caffeine consumption during pregnancy are in need of radical revision".
However, Dr Maeve Eogan - obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Rotunda - told Newstalk Breakfast that this is just a single piece of research.
She explained: "This study was only published yesterday - I haven't had time to absolutely interrogate it in detail. However, from what I can see it does seem to be overly alarmist.
"There are lots of studies which suggest that a moderate amount of caffeine in pregnancy - up to a couple of cups of instant coffee a day or a single cup of brewed coffee a day - is not associated with increased risk.
"This is typical of what often happens with research around pregnant women: that one piece of research report is taken, and built up and hyped up to send more pregnant women into an absolute tail-spin."
'Let pregnant women relax'
Dr Eogan noted that the study is "observational" and "based on people's recall after something bad has happened".
She noted: "As with diet in general in pregnancy, we don't recommend for example that a woman only eats fruit during pregnancy - we recommend people have a very balanced diet, same as for life in general.
"There are certain things people absolutely should avoid, such as alcohol. But there really isn't any major benefit in people getting overly concerned based on this single study."
She also pointed out that many people don't enjoy tea and coffee during pregnancy due to heartburn, so many automatically reduce their tea and coffee intake during pregnancy as a result.
She added: "I would just reassure people there doesn't seem to be a hugely major concern over a small amount of caffeine.
"There's no need to panic. Let pregnant women relax and make their own decisions about their dietary intake."
