The Food Standards Agency has issued new advice to pregnant women on daily caffeine consumption. Previously the advice was that 300mg a day (around 3 mugs of instant coffee or 4 mugs of tea) was a sensible limit.

But in light of new research, they are now recommending that 200mg a day (around 2 mugs of instant coffee or 3 cups of tea), is a better limit. But the pregnant women who took part in the study were already having less than 200mg/day, so for many pregnant women this change in advice will not affect them.

This is because too much caffeine might result in a baby having a lower birth weight than it should, which can increase the risk of some health conditions in later life. There is also some evidence which suggests that high levels of caffeine can result in miscarriage.

Caffeine occurs naturally in a range of foods, such as coffee, tea and chocolate, and it's also added to some soft drinks and 'energy' drinks. 

Each of these contains roughly 200mg or less of caffeine:

• 2 mugs of instant coffee (100mg each)
• 1 mug of brewed coffee (140mg each)
• 2 mugs of tea (75mg each)
• 5 cans of cola (up to 40mg each)
• 2 cans of 'energy' drink (up to 80mg each)
• 4 (50g) bars of plain chocolate (up to 50 mg each)

Caffeine in milk chocolate is about half that of plain chocolate. So if you eat a bar of plain chocolate and drink one mug of brewed coffee, or if you drink 2 mugs of tea and a can of cola you'll have almost reached 200mg. But don't worry too much if you occasionally have a little more because the risks are likely to be very small.

Remember that caffeine is also found in certain cold and flu remedies, so always check with your GP or another health professional before taking any of these.