Children whose mothers drank about two cups of coffee a day when they were pregnant were shorter than kids whose moms didn’t drink coffee during pregnancy.
The findings were published Monday in JAMA Network Open. Researchers studied 2,400 children between the ages of four and eight and said that they believe coffee can impact children until they are eight years old.
The researchers said that, given that roughly eight in 10 U.S. pregnant women consume caffeine, it is important to determine whether in utero caffeine exposure has long-term growth implications in offspring. The scientists concluded further research is needed to see if these height gaps continue into adulthood.
Strong data for possible RSV vaccine
Pfizer announced preliminary results from a phase three RSV vaccine trial on Tuesday and said that vaccinating pregnant women appears to help protect their newborns from the virus. In fact, the trial found the vaccine to be nearly 82% effective.
Experts say the findings give them hope that protection from the virus is close, but say more research is needed to confirm their findings.