Your Pregnancy: 6 Weeks

The short answer is no. (Cue the chorus of angels, right?) We know that fatigue during the first trimester may have you feeling like you’re walking through quicksand (don’t worry, you’ll probably get your energy back in the second trimester) and the last thing you want is to add caffeine withdrawal to your list of symptoms. Though you may have to cut back on caffeine, you don’t have to cut it out completely. The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends no more than 300 milligrams of caffeine (which is about two small cups of brewed coffee or three cups of tea) each day because consuming too much caffeine during pregnancy has been linked to low birth weight and miscarriage.

Keep a close eye on the caffeine content of soft drinks, energy drinks and chocolate, too. You can switch to instant coffee (which lets you bump up your daily intake to three cups) or steep your tea for a shorter time. (You can find a chart listing the caffeine content of common beverages here.) Decaf is a good backup beverage when you’re craving the taste of coffee. (Swiss-water decaf is healthier than chemically decaffeinated coffee, but don’t worry too much.) And check out these caffeine alternatives below.