[Assessment of stimulant use especially caffeine intake in selected group of the breastfeeding women]

Abstract

Background: Taking into account the negative impact of stimulants, including alcohol, nicotine and excessive consumption of caffeine on the baby and his mother, a very important is to stop or to restrict their use, especially during pregnancy and lactation.

Objective: Purpose of the study was to evaluate alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, tobacco smoke exposure and caffeine consumption in breastfeeding women from Masovian Province.

Material and method: The survey was conducted from September 2010 till March 2011. The study group consisted of 102 breastfeeding women aged 19-38 years. Information on alcohol consumption, smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke was obtained by questionnaire interview. The results about caffeine intake were obtained using 3-day dietary records method and food frequency questionnaire method. Source of information about the caffeine content in products were the published literature, in the case of energy drinks the manufacturer's label.

Results: Among all women surveyed (n = 102), up 17% of respondents declared alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking of 6% and 15% of passive exposure to tobacco smoke. The average caffeine consumption in a group called "caffeine consumers" (n = 94) was 127.4 +/- 76.0 mg/person/day for 3-day dietary records method and 163.4 +/- 100.6 mg/person/day for the food frequency questionnaire method. The correlation coefficient between the used methods was r = 0.71 (p < 0.001). The main sources of caffeine, regardless of the method of data collection were: black tea, which provided about 60% of caffeine and ground coffee (about 20%) and instant coffee (about 13%).

Conclusions: Despite general knowledge about the harmful effects of smoking cigarette/tobacco smoke exposure and the consumption of alcohol and foods high in caffeine, some respondents did not halt the use of these stimulants during lactation, indicating a need for an education in this field.