SUGARY drinks are well known to cause dental problems, weight gain, and chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure.
New research has now revealed the impact excessive intake of these drinks can have on pregnant women and their unborn babies.
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The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients, focused on whether excessive beverage intake among pregnant females is linked to adverse mother and child outcomes.
Surveys were conducted between April and June 2022 and 2023 on 4,824 pregnant women from 16 Shanghai districts.
As well as in-person interviews and survey questionnaires, they had to record their beverage intake for each type of drink they’d consumed during the previous month.
Beverages were classified into groups which included pure fruit juices, carbonated beverages – such as fizzy drinks and soda – juice beverages and sugar-sweetened dairy beverages.
Sugar-sweetened beverages were consumed by around three-quarters of the women, with sugar-sweetened dairy drinks, pure fruit juices, and freshly prepared milk-based tea most popular.
The researchers obtained follow-up information about the babies born within a year of the diet survey.
Pregnant women who consumed sugary drinks in high amounts were found to be more likely to develop diabetes during pregnancy.
Medically known as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), it can cause the baby to grow larger than usual, which could lead to delivery complications.
It may also lead to premature birth, jaundice and even stillbirth, which is rare.
Compared to people who didn’t consume these drinks, those who did up to three times weekly showed elevated risks of GDM by 38 per cent.
They also had a 64 per cent higher risk of gestational hypertension (high blood pressure), which can also be serious.
It may lead to less blood to the foetus, which can slow growth, lead to a premature delivery or cause injury in other organs of the mum.
Pregnant women who drank sugar-sweetened beverages four times a week showed a 154 per cent higher risk of diabetes and a 169 per cent higher risk of high blood pressure.
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Consuming these drinks four times weekly was also found to significantly increase the risk of macrosomia, when a newborn is much larger than average, as well as ‘large for gestational age’ (LGA) – when a baby is larger than expected for their age and gender.
Macrosomia and LGA are both linked to risk of complications during birth.
The researchers concluded: “Excessive consumption of beverages is linked to increased incidences of gestational diabetes mellitus and gestational hypertension, as well as higher occurrences of macrosomia and LGA infants.”
They added proactive beverage control and reasonable dietary choices that could decrease pregnancy problems.
What a healthy diet in pregnancy looks like
The NHS advises the following tips to help your baby’s development and growth:
Don’t eat for two even if you feel more hungry than usual. having a healthy breakfast every day can help you avoid snacking on foods high in fat and sugar.
Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables for their vitamins, minerals and fibre, which can help with digestion and help prevent constipation.
Include starchy foods in your diet for energy, vitamins and fibre. Foods like bread, potatoes, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, and oats can help you feel full without containing too many calories.
Eat protein-rich foods every day, such as beans, fish, eggs, poultry and nuts. Just make sure meat is cooked thoroughly, avoiding eating more than two portions of oily fish a week because it can contain pollutants, and avoid eating raw or partially cooked eggs.
Have dairy foods like milk, cheese, and yoghurt for their calcium content. But some cheeses should be avoided in pregnancy, including unpasteurised cheese.
