There are so many things you're not supposed to eat or drink when you're pregnant - sushi, Caesar salad, blue cheese, lox and,, of course, alcohol. Now researchers have added a new item to that list - diet soda.
It seems that regular consumption of carbonated beverages made with artificial sweeteners significantly increases the risk of preterm delivery (defined as giving birth after fewer than 37 weeks of pregnancy). Women who drank at least one diet soda per day were 38% more likely to have their baby early compared to women who abstained. For women who drank at least four diet sodas each day, the increased risk was 78%, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
These risks were calculated based on data from 59,334 pregnancies that were tracked in Denmark between 1996 and 2002. Women in the study were asked to complete a food frequency questionnaire about halfway through their pregnancies. The timing of their births was recorded in the Danish Civil Registration System.
The researchers found no link between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of preterm delivery, suggesting that some component of artificial sweeteners is to blame. Noncarbonated diet drinks also weren't associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery, probably because those drinks contained much lower levels of artificial sweeteners (only about one-half to one-third as much aspartame and acesulfame-K as in carbonated diet drinks, according to the study).
For the sake of comparison, using the same dataset the researchers calculated that women who smoked every day were 21% more likely than nonsmokers to deliver their babies early.
Source
3 comments:
This is yet another one of these blogs to avoid. Not only is pregnancy challenging enough and these types of scare-blogs just add to the anxieties we, expecting moms, feel everyday.
I'm in my 36th week (36 plus 5 days, but who is counting?) and I have been drinking a caffeine-free diet soda everyday. Sometimes I even drink one with caffeine. Shocking, isn't it? Well, Sophie is still in the -3 station at this point even though I'm dilated.
That's my proof that these scare tactics are not correct.
Expecting moms stop reading these blogs and enjoy your pregnancy. Follow your gut instincts and your doctor's advice and you will be fine.
My doctor said to avoid diet soda. This is my 3rd baby and I am at risk for pre-term labor as it is. Everything in moderation, but just because this wasn't an issue for you, it's not right to tell others it's a scare tactic.
There are so many worse things expectant mothers could be doing besides drinking "diet sodas." Worry about the women smoking crack and shooting up.
As my doctor says, "everything in moderation." If you want a caffeinated beverage... have one. A glass of wine before bed... have one. Everything is fine in moderation. I agree with the first post that expectant moms have enough to worry about with all the hullabaloo about what we can and can't eat or drink.
I smoked cigarettes, drank some caffeinated soda and had a glass of wine before bed on many occasions before my first child was born. I STILL ended up in the hospital at 40 weeks being induced for 4 days because the kid just didn't want to come out! Don't believe a word of this garbage! Just try to eat as healthy as your life allows, try to exercise if you can and do everything in moderation without "over-indulging." There will be plenty of time for that once the baby is born.
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