The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study that discloses the fact that the risk of premature labor can go up by 38 per cent if the expectant mother drinks one artificially sweetened soda or another soft drink per day.

The risk grows with every additional soda, coming to the impressive 80 per cent at the intake rate of four sodas a day for a woman of any kind of constitution.

It has already been found that sweetened soft drinks intake is linked with high blood pressure. But the aggravating effect the drinks produce on pregnancy is brought down to the influence of aspartame, one of the basic ingredients present in soft drinks. Finding its way to the body it breaks down into a number of toxic substances (formic acid, methanol, etc.) that add to the possibility of a premature birth.

Aspartame is also found to be linked to labor complications, seizures, and even tumors and disorders in the brain.

Lead researcher Thorhallur I. Halldorsson warned pregnant women against high consumption of sweetened soft drinks, saying that “it may be non-optional.”

Source of the image: Photl

The study of 12500 three year olds showed that light drinking by mothers during pregnancy had a minor effect on the health of their babies. According to interviews with mothers, 63% abstained from drinking while pregnant, 29% drank lightly, 6% drank moderately and 2% drank heavily. Three years later, the researchers examined newborn babies and interviewed their parents once again. The study data show that boys born to mothers who drank lightly were 40 percent less likely to have behavioral difficulties and 30 percent less likely to have hyperactivity compared to those born to abstinent mothers. As to girls, they were 30 percent less likely to have emotional problems.

However experts disagree on the interpretation of these findings. The question is whether it will reassure women or lull them into a false sense of security and provoke them to make mistakes. The government encourages pregnant women to avoid drinking alcohol. But if you do drink, make sure you drink no more than two units a week. The link between heavy drinking and pregnancy problems is well established. In worst cases, it may lead to miscarriages, death or abnormal embryonic development. Also, children may be born with mental and physical development problems.

Dr. Yvonne Kelly says the positive effects of light drinking could be attributable to the social environment, education level, higher income households and the fact that such mothers feel more comfortable.