A latest study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has suggested that couples planning to have a baby should avoid caffeine as it has been linked to elevated chances of miscarriage.

As per the study published today (March 24) in the journal Fertility and Sterility, for women intake of over two caffeinated drinks everyday prior to conceiving was linked to a 74% higher miscarriage risk.

The study mentioned that the caffeine consumption by women only wasn't the sole factor as in couples wherein the male partner consumed over two caffeinated beverages per day prior to conception there was a 73% elevated risk of a miscarriage.

In a statement, lead study author Germaine Buck Louis, the director of Intramural Population Health Research at the National Institute of Child Health and Development, said that their findings have suggested that the male partner also matters. Buck Louis added that the extent of link between male pre-conception caffeinated beverages consumption with pregnancy loss was as strong as that of females.

The study had 501 couple participants from Michigan and Texas who halted using contraception and were attempting to conceive. As per the study, the researchers have told the participating couples to maintain daily journals of their lifestyle actions, like smoking cigarettes and alcohol consumption and intake of caffeinated beverages. The study suggested that couples who conceived within a year remained in the study till they delivered baby or have experienced a miscarriage.

It added that of the 344 couples who got pregnant, 98 had a miscarriage. As per the study, women 35 years old and above had roughly double chances of miscarriage as compared with women below 35.

Besides the caffeine results, they also discovered that women who ate a multivitamin daily prior to pregnancy and after conceiving had less chances of experiencing a miscarriage.