Caffeine isn’t just for exhausted parents — it’s also a medical treatment for premature infants.
These babies often suffer from apnea, where they stop breathing temporarily. Doctors have long used caffeine to stimulate breathing in these cases.
But researchers wanted to know, what happens if we continue caffeine treatment even after the baby goes home?
This question led to the MoCHA study, one of the largest trials of its kind.
It enrolled 827 infants born between 29 and 33 weeks’ gestation across 29 hospitals in the U.S. All were receiving caffeine in the hospital and were nearing discharge.
Half continued caffeine treatment for 28 days after going home. The other half received a placebo.
The big reveal
The hope was clear — babies on extended caffeine would go home sooner. But that didn’t happen.
There was no significant difference in the number of hospital days between the two groups.
While caffeine-treated infants did become apnea-free more quickly, it didn’t result in earlier discharge.
The reason was that the biggest factor keeping babies in the hospital wasn’t apnea. It was feeding.
Babies had to be able to eat on their own and gain weight before going home — and caffeine didn’t help with that milestone.
One benefit – and a hidden drawback
Despite the main finding, there was one clear advantage: infants on caffeine were free from apnea about four days sooner than those on placebo.
This could be meaningful in cases where apnea is the main concern.
However, there were some downsides. Babies in the caffeine group experienced more episodes of rapid heartbeat and gained weight slightly slower during hospitalization.
These effects were temporary, and there were no significant differences in hospital readmissions or other serious complications.
This article is based on information from JAMA Network.
This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.