How bad is it to drink diet soda while pregnant?
Sarah C asked:
OK so I am very recently pregnant (like 2 weeks) and I do like to drink my diet soda – I am only talking about ONE can a day…is that really bad for my baby? I do NOT drink coffee or tea, occassionally will have a glass of chocolate milk, but otherwise no large amounts of caffeine. Obviously I am concerned about the caffeine and the artificial sweeteners. I KNOW the best thing is to not drink it, but if I do have a can once a day is that really bad??
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OK so I am very recently pregnant (like 2 weeks) and I do like to drink my diet soda – I am only talking about ONE can a day…is that really bad for my baby? I do NOT drink coffee or tea, occassionally will have a glass of chocolate milk, but otherwise no large amounts of caffeine. Obviously I am concerned about the caffeine and the artificial sweeteners. I KNOW the best thing is to not drink it, but if I do have a can once a day is that really bad??
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My doctor told me to limit caffeine in general to no more than 8 ounces a day. There really don’t know if a lot of caffeine will affect the baby. They just tell you not to drink it to be on the safe side. However, with diet drinks I don’t know. I know my doctor told me she’d rather me eat real sugar instead of splenda. So I would say if you are going to drink caffeine, drink a regular coke instead of diet. I know diet drinks in general are not good for you because of the aspartame in it. I’m currently pregnant with my 2nd child and I drink 1 can of diet cherry pepsi about 2 to 3 times a week. If you can get off of the diet drinks, I would definitely just to be safe.
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Artifical sweeteners can cause birth defects. I would give it up. Try something else.
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My doctor told me that he felt diet drinks were more risky than non-diet. I always drank diet dr. pepper prior to pregnancy. He suggested skipping to the regular and limiting myself to one 8 ounce glass or less a day.
There’s still alot thats unknown as to how aspertame affects us. There are some people who have a difficult time processing aspertame which can cause brain disruptions, and there’s no way to know if your unborn baby might be affected like this.
So yes.. best to keep the diet soda to a minimum. A few won’t hurt probably, but you may be better off drinking regular.
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No chemical additive in food has ever been absolutely proven to cause birth defects. The major reason doctors advise against the use of artificial sweeteners during pregnancy is because they lack nutrition. Caffeine intake should be limited to under 300mg per day because there is a slight increase in the risk of miscarriage among women who consume large amounts.
As far as artificial sweeteners go, please look at the links below for more information. These are three sweeteners commonly used in diet sodas. The information is provided by the International Food Information Council (www.ific.org). When researching food safety, it’s important to look for .org or .gov locations from which to get your information…there are a LOT of urban myths on all of these substances. The three sweeteners listed below have been proven SAFE for the GENERAL population – pregnant women included. The exception is Aspartame, which should be avoided by people with the condition known as PKU. You are tested for this condition at birth and would already know if you have it.
Good luck and congrats!
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I would just say to stop drinking it. I know it’s not easy, i used to live on crystal light until my doc said no diet drinks at all while pregnant. So now i am drinking some regular soda, mostly without caffiene, milk juice and water. Try adding lemon or lime or both to water to help with it’s blah taste.
I know it’s a big change, but think of your baby and the fact that you are avoiding the risk of hurting him or her by not drinking diet drinks.
Our doc also said no more then 3 servings of caffiene a day, this means 8 oz servings, not 12 oz etc in regular cans and bottles. Excess caffiene causes low birth weight and causes the baby to be awake and moving more then it should be instead of sleeping and growing.
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I don’t think one can of soda per day will hurt anything. My doctor said no more than 3 cups of coffee each day because of the caffeine. Aspartame has not been proven to cause birth defects, but my doctor said I should limit my intake of it. However, splenda is fine to have during pregnancy. A few diet sodas offer versions sweetened with splenda, such as diet coke and diet rite.
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i think you will find a lot of different answers to this question, both from doctors and friends. My doctor said it was fine to have a few a week but didn’t want anymore than that cuz it had no nutritional value. He said anything in moderation is fine but always to be careful and limit things that are not natural. On the other hand, regular soda is FULL of sugar which is another thing he told me to limit becuase of weight gain – it is also full of empty calories and isn’t a great idea when you are pregnant. Stick with more water, skim milk and 100% juices and have a diet soda as a treat once in awhile