Caffeine teratogenicity in rats : morphological characterization and hypothesized mechanisms

Caffeine consumption during pregnancy has been shown in the scientific literature to be associated with teratogenicity such as low birth weight, fetal malformations, and miscarriage. However, the morphological alterations of the offspring of dams exposed during pregnancy have not been consistently described, and the mechanisms why they occur remain elusive. Thus, we aimed to characterize the offspring malformations induced by moderate and high doses of caffeine during pregnancy. Dams were divided into three groups: control, moderate (0.3 g/L), and high dose (1.0 g/L) of caffeine, which was provided in the drinking water beginning on gestational day 1 and continuing throughout the entire gestation. At moderate doses, only one of the dams had stillborn pups, although no macroscopic malformations were observed. High doses of caffeine induced significantly more malformations (P