(Reuters Health) – Women who drink a lot of sweet sodas during pregnancy may be more likely to give birth prematurely, a new study suggests.
The study, of more than 60,000 pregnant women in Norway, found that those who drank one sugary soda a day were up to 25 percent more likely to give birth prematurely than those who avoided the sweetened drinks.
However, it’s not clear whether the drinks themselves are to blame for the early births.
“We are all desperately searching for causes of preterm birth,” said Dr. Michael Katz at the New York-based March of Dimes foundation, a non-profit organization that works to improve babies’ health. But, added Katz, who was not involved in the study, “this study does not indicate that (drinking soda) is a tremendously serious risk of any sort.”
What women eat during pregnancy has come under scrutiny in recent years. Studies have suggested that a host of different foods, from fish to caffeine, could affect pregnancy outcomes, including premature birth.
In the US, about 1 in every 8 babies is born prematurely, before 37 weeks’ gestation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those that survive may have neurological problems, or poor vision and hearing.
Previous research in Denmark suggests that drinking artificially sweetened soda increases the risk of preterm birth.