Results from this 2017 study suggest that sugary drinks consumed in pregnancy could affect kids’ chances of developing asthma by age 8.

Research from 2018 found that those who consumed a lot of sugar, especially from sugar-sweetened sodas, had babies who grew up to have poorer nonverbal problem-solving abilities and verbal memory.

A 2012 study found that drinking more than one sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened drink a day could raise the risk of preterm birth.

There’s also research suggesting that too much sugar, especially from sugary sodas, can have an effect on your pregnancy and your baby’s development, even after birth: Gestational diabetes also increases your risk of high blood pressure during pregnancy and puts you at risk of developing type 2 diabetes after giving birth. Plus, bigger babies can have a hard time regulating their blood sugar after birth. Your baby could grow too large, increasing the risk of a difficult delivery. That’s because gestational diabetes can cause complications for both you and your baby. Sugary drinks, including soda, should also be avoided if you have gestational diabetes or may have a higher risk of developing it. So, they can make you feel full, while providing no benefits to you or your growing baby. In general, full-sugar sodas aren’t great: They’re pretty much all chemicals and calories, with no nutritional value. Is the sugar in soda safe during pregnancy? What the research says So if you’re finding caffeine is affecting you more than it used to before your pregnancy - and making you uncomfortable - you might consider avoiding it. Consider how caffeine affects your body, tooĬaffeine is a stimulant, so while it might help you stay awake on a day when you feel particularly tired, it can also raise your blood pressure and heart rate.Īs your pregnancy progresses, your body might not break down the caffeine as quickly, so it could make sleeping more difficult, give you heartburn, or make you feel jittery. Just make sure to keep your total caffeine intake to less than 200 mg - and don’t forget to count all sources, like green tea, chocolate, and coffee. But if you want to indulge once in a while in small amounts, it’s likely not going to harm your pregnancy. Some people prefer to play it extra cautious and skip coffee and soda. So, at the end of the day, it’s up to you if you want to drink caffeinated soda during your pregnancy. However, it’s important to acknowledge that research is ongoing and the ACOG’s guidelines could change.įor example, in August 2020, some experts called for a change after a new analysis of existing research found that any caffeine consumption could raise the risk of negative pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight, or childhood acute leukemia.īut do keep in mind that literature reviews aren’t the strongest sources of data to draw conclusions from. That’s why the ACOG’s current guidelines for pregnant people states that they can have a moderate amount of caffeine, as long as it’s 200 mg or less per day.įor context, a 12-ounce can of coke has about 35 mg of caffeine and a 12-ounce can of Mountain Dew has about 54 mg. Plus, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), there’s no conclusive evidence that caffeine decreases uterine blood flow, fetal oxygen amounts, or birth weight. Meanwhile, several studies that examined the relationship between caffeine intake and preterm birth, including one in 2007, didn’t find that moderate caffeine intake raised the risk of preterm birth. The data has also sometimes been contradictory.įor example, one fairly large 2008 study didn’t find any association between caffeine consumption and miscarriage, no matter how much was consumed.īut another that same year did find an increased risk of miscarriage with higher levels of caffeine consumption when pregnant people had 200 mg per day or more. Other research didn’t take into account other factors (aside from caffeine) that may have increased risk of miscarriage.Īnd bear in mind that “miscarriage” doesn’t have a standard definition in terms of how far along you are, though it’s usually considered to be a first trimester pregnancy loss. Some had small sample sizes, while others had data that was subject to recall bias: Many subjects were interviewed about their habits (rather than observed). Many studies on the association between caffeine and its risks, such as miscarriage, have been somewhat limited.

That’s because while doctors have known for many, many years that caffeine crosses the placenta, its effects on your pregnancy and your growing baby are less clear. Most studies suggest that moderate amounts of caffeine (less than 200 milligrams (mg) per day) won’t harm your pregnancy, but the research isn’t definitive. Is the caffeine in soda safe during pregnancy? What the research says

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