New research indicates that drinking artificially sweetened beverages may be linked with an increased risk of premature births.
Women who had at least one serving of artificially sweetened soda a day while pregnant were 38 percent more likely to deliver preterm. Women who had at least four diet sodas a day were nearly 80 percent more likely to deliver preterm. All soft drinks, including diet drinks, were recently linked to high blood pressure, the researchers add, which increases the risk of premature delivery.
Reuters reports:
“... [A]ccording to the March of Dimes, one in eight babies -- or around 13 percent -- is born too soon. This means ... a woman who drank at least one diet soda daily would have a 17 percent risk, while her risk would be around 22 percent if she drank four or more diet sodas.”