Diet Coke During Pregnancy?

Just b/c someone has done it and their kids are okay, that does not mean everything will be okay for them down the road. It could cause ANYTHING you never know even when they are adult, stay away from it. I LOVE diet coke and pepsi, I know I am putting myself at risk by drinking later on, but when I was pregnant NO WAY, thats my baby and I want to protect it from anything that COULD cause harm :)

hahahaha this reminds me of something - when I was pregnant with my first child, I was "perfect" regarding eating and all. My son is so nice to me, respectful, fun to be around, etc. My 2nd child, I drank diet coke/coke and he is a wild child!! I always have to be on top of him to get things done, be respectful, etc. To this day, my husband still reminds me that it is because I drank coke when I was pregnant LOL

Honestly, I think if you are going to have soda, you should have the real thing. have a regular coke not diet. The diets have aspartamne and phenalaine in it and isn't so good for baby. I would think the better choice would be regular. GL!

M

I was pretty neurotic about it and avoided all artificial sweeteners. Instead, I used a one part juice to two parts sparkling water. That got me over my water boredom.

Absolutely NOT.

Too much research is coming out about how the body really processes the fake additives in foods and drinks. I wonder sometimes how the supposed surge in disorders like Autism, Sensory Integration disorders, ADHD, etc...might someday be connected to sugar-free things or even something else like fake fats used in the non fat foods like ice cream.

I believe natural things are better for the body. Sugar, butter, milk, etc...I think natural is better.

My friend, M, has insulin resistant diabetes. Her father died from it, her son has it, and it is one of the most difficult illnesses to live with due to the insulin shots not working very well.

She was getting sicker and sicker. Pneumonia 2-3 times per year, water retention so bad she would weight in the mid 275 lb range one week and the next be close to 350 lbs. She was dying. She expected to because her dad had many of the same symptoms.

She found a doc in OKC who is a diabetes specialist. He took her 100% off sugar-free anything. Told her to use sugar and not to use any substitute additives at all. He put a line in her to administer a different type of medication and she had an insulin pump attached.

He started her counting carbs, do absolutely no sugar free, and she is up walking, down to size 10 pants, is not taking oxygen all the time, had her central line removed and does not have ANY blood sugar issues anymore, the pump is gone, no diabetic meds at all, she is able to go shopping and walks instead of riding her cart, looks healthy and has not had pneumonia in several years.

I truly believe that her sugar-free diet played a huge part in her illness and nearly dying. I will never use sugar-free anything in my home. They can say it's safe all they want. It's not. Every time some person has a side effect they start doing research and come to find out this drug or that additive causes cancer or behavior issues. It is WAY too risky to do that to your unborn child.

If you can't stay away from sugar-free then by all means drink water and eat other foods that don't require sugar.

I know you've gotten a lot of responses here, but just thought I would share this with you. I'm also pregnant right now and am currently reading the Dr. Oz book, "You, Having a Baby". I love his "You" series, so I picked this one up the other day and have not been able to put it down. There's a whole chapter dedicated to none other than... wait for it... THE PLACENTA! After reading it, the placenta is really a magnificent thing! Anyway, here's a summary of his take on the whole artificial sweetener issue. First, there is NO evidence to show that artificial sweetners will harm your baby. BUT, keep in mind that everything you consume, your baby consumes because it ALL crosses the placenta. If you wouldn't put it in your 3 month old's bottle, then it's probably not a good idea to eat or drink it when you're pregnant and your baby is in such a fragile state. Reading that chapter alone has made me so much more conscious of what I am putting in my body right now. I hope this helps you and congratulations on your pregnancy!

I would stick with Water, I know for sure that that is safe.

I drank a TON of diet coke during my first 2 pregnancies and absolutely no problems with either of my kids. By a TON I mean a lot more than 1 per day (of course I don't recommend that:) definitely don't think there is any harm in 1 or 2 a week.

I think, if you want to once or twice a week indulge, go for the regular coke, (better yet, caffeine free coke).

Remember when everyone used to think margarine was healthier than butter? Then discovered how bad partially hydrogenated oils are? I think they're finding diet soda is worse for you than the regular stuff.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/201058/is_diet_s...

Have you tried adding lemon or lime juice to your water? That'll give you the flavor you crave.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!! :)

Wow. I'm surprised at the answers you've gotten. I'm in the "all things in moderation camp." Now, I wouldn't have a 2 liter bottle per day for 40 weeks, but I highly doubt that a diet soda with your lunch or dinner is really a "dangerous" or "unsafe" thing!

Before I realized I was pregnant, I was indulging in my new "obsession daily--the yummy blue slurpies at 7-11--every day for WEEKS.
O. day I looked at the sign and realized they were Code Blue Mt. Dew! My son has O. nose and two eyes. LOL

My doc said it is okay for 2 a day. My first I avoided it, and I gained about 20 lbs from regular coke. For my second I had 2-3 a day and did just fine. Drinking 2 or 3 a day for this one two. If you avoid everything they say to avoid during pregnancy you would be avoiding a lot. It is okay to indulge once in a while in moderation, it isn't alcohol.

Diet sodas should not be consummed by anyone at all, ever. Especially pregnant women. Sorry. They are poison to your body. Just google it and see what you find. If you don't get scared to death about drinking sodas, you go right ahead and drink them. :) Water is so awesome for you. You can add lemon, lime, cantelope, honeydo mellon to them (not all at the same time!). Yum! Congrats on the pregnancy!
ADDED:
Remember that doctors in general are not educated on nutrition. So, I wouldn't necessarily go with the "if the doc says it is fine, then it is fine" wisdom.
And, I don't think anyone is judging you for drinking whatever you want to drink, as suggested by some people. You asked for advice, and so people are giving it. I guess I don't get why people think that is being judgemental. :)
One more thing. :) The comment about autism, etc. really got me thinking. Maybe that really is a huge factor in why the kids today are so sick and riddled with diseases. People say, "I drank it and my kids are just fine." I guess I am curious about that statement. In what way are they fine? Do you have any health issues like autism, ADD, diabetes, etc. and just didn't think to connect it to the diet Coke you drank in pregnancy? (you being generic, not specific to a person) I think these things are way more complex than we think at first glance.
I'm enjoying this discussion!

Why diet and not regular?

All of the studies I have read, as well as discussions with my medical peers, indicates neither are "healthy" per se, but if you are going to indulge in one every now and again, regular is the way to go.

Aspartame, which sweetens diet soda, turns into formaldehyde among other things once it is in your body. Simply google the topic and you will find tons of articles.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/201058/is_diet_s...

Indulge in a regular soda every once in a while. But your main drinks should consist of water or juice. I add lemon to my water and it is delicious

*just because you know someone or hear of someone who has drank multiple sodas daily during their pregnancy with "no problems" doesn't mean you should do it. =).

Happy Pregnancy!

I drank diet sodas all thru-out both pregnancies... mountain dew at that LOL

Most foods you consume have SOMETHING or another that isn't the healthiest for you (or baby) so the few things like diet soda I'd not worry too much over.

oh sure it's fine. Especially since your doctor said it's okay! yeah!
I love Diet Coke. It's my favorite. I don't drink it all the time however, and when I was pregnant I had one or two a week. It was soooo good! On those days I just drank a bit more water. You will be fine
L.

First of all, let me say that if you want a diet coke, you should have one and not feel guilty about it. Thankfully, our bodies are made to produce healthy babies no matter (almost) what we ingest so it is really hard to screw it up. I do not think diet cokes even every day throughout pregnancy are going to cause something to go wrong.

That said, if you can live without it then don't drink it. My DR only gave me 3 rules during pregnancy: no alcohol, no raw food, and no artificial sweeteners. He said if you want a coke drink the real thing. His reasoning was that the artificial sweeteners are everywhere and some people really overdo them and there has been no testing of the impact. But I know a lot of mom who did drink the diet cokes, sonic diet cherry limeades, etc and their babies are just fine.

For whatever reason, I didn't crave the sodas so it was easy to give them up. Alternatives I used:
- sparkling water with limes, lemons, oranges, peaches, or cucumber
- sparking water with a slight amount of fruit juice: cranberry, mango, orange, or especially grapefruit!
- decaf iced tea with juices or fruit

Bottom line- if you want one have one! Good luck and congrats!

Diet coke -never. Real coke-once a month

I avoid anything diet with artificial sweeteners even when I'm not pregnant, so no I would not. It's better to just drink the real thing-my craving was coca cola with my first pregnancy and I drank one every morning and she turned out great. My second I had no desire for my morning coke and wanted juice instead and she is great too :-)

diet coke contains phenylalanine. if you do a bit of research on the word you will find that it is harmful. avoid it even after pregnancy. i stopped getting migranes after i quit drinking diet drinks!!!! its BAD. anyway if your looking for something other than water try, orange juice, milk, lemonade, sonic slushies, milk shake, decaffe green tea (?? ) and other things other than the bubbly toxic diet drink. your better off drinking a reg coke than diet. just burn off the fat instead of messing you body up with chemicals :D congrats on your new baby!

I don't even think it's ok to drink diet or regular soda when you're NOT pregnant, but apparently I'm in the minority! ANything that doesn't supply your body with something nutritive is less than optimal during pregnancy because it's taking the place of something nutritious, and pregnant women in particular need to follow a nutrient dense diet. Try homemade decaf herbal tea (iced or hot) sweetened with something real, coconut water or coconut milk, buy a juicer at a thrift store and make your own veg/fruit juices, yogurt smoothies in the blender, beet kvass, there are lots of options besides water! You can always add some freshly squeezed lemon, lime or orange juice to your water to make it taste different/more refreshing! See if you can use your pregnancy to get yourself off of coke, because even when not pregnant it is harmful in terms of robbing your bones of minerals, stressing your endocrine system, tricking your digestive system into thinking something sweet is on the way down when in reality it's just a bunch of unrecognizable chemicals, etc.

I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners for anyone especially a fetus lol. I don't buy/drink anything with it and I don't give it to my kids and I def avoided it while I was pregnant both times. You are probably better off indulging in the real stuff every once in a while.

While pregnant and nursing I was more of a purist...no caffeine, no artificial sweetners etc. As I see it, they are not even sure what long term effects the artificial sweetners have on adult bodies let alone developing fetuses. When I was pregnant with my first *supposedly* Equal was safe. By the time I had my second they retracted that and it was no longer safe. Why chance it only to find out down the road that research proved otherwise?

I would stay away from it. The aspartame when it is broken down by our liver is turned into formic acid and formaldehyde. These are things you probably don't want to give to your baby. Try putting different things in your water like lemon, lime, cucumber, cranberry or try it fizzy. I understand getting tired of things and having to wait. I just had a baby and was on the boarder for gestational diabetes and had to avoid so much. Good luck to you.

No way! Aspertame is really bad for you and causes dozens of different possible symptoms. You'd be better off drinking regular Coke while pregnant.

Indulge on some tea or lemonade instead - or an occasional regular Coke.

To me, this is a "no brainer". It states right on the can that some or most of the ingredients may cause cancer in laboratory animals. At least it used to say it when I was growing up. I am a firm believer that most of today's processed foods contains way too many laboratory chemicals, preservatives, and "stuff" that is simply not healthy for any living creature.
You mentioned moderation in your post. Why not consider other options for beverages in moderation other than diet sodas? How about lemonade? Orange juice (I water mine down)? Apple juice (again, I water mine down)?
I think the real thing (sugar) is fine in moderation and it comes from the ground, not some laboratory.
Be good to yourself and in turn, you'll be good to your unborn baby. :)

HTH,
Jen

I would recommend this site:
http://www.fitsugar.com/Side-Side-Comparisons-Artificial-...#

OK, so here are the scientific facts boiled down on the 3 most common sugar substitutes:

The PINK sweetener, aka saccharin, causes cancer in rats, but lots and lots of it. So a diet drink 1-2x a week would most likely not be harmful. But it's hard to find diet drinks with saccharine.

The Blue sweetener, aka Equal, is made from modifying amino acids. If one is born WITHOUT the appropriate enzyme to digest this particular amino acid and they start to ingest....health problems can and do occur in these individuals. Symptoms can be googled. It is not recommended to ever give a child under the age of 2 yrs any artificial sweeteners because of this potential problem. This enzyme issue is rare though. So parents give it often, don't see a problem and think it's OK for others. Not the case at all.

I think the later you are in your pregnancy, meaning the placenta is large and filtering well, you and baby could tolerate an occasional diet coke. I would make sure to add lots of ice or drink a big water right away to keep things diluted.

Sucralose, the Yellow packet, is considered the safest, and last I checked I think Diet Rite uses this sweetener.

And Cortney makes the best point, there really are not any longitudinal studies to determine if these artificial sweeteners can be linked to health issues later on. It's a guess. If you tolerate diet coke well, chances are good that you passed on your enzymes to your baby.

I would personally rather ingest the caffeine in the regular coke as apposed to the aspartame in diet coke or coke zero. Actually personally I would avoid both but thats just me. If you are in need of something though what about a pop or soft drink that doesnt contain caffeine or aspartame? Not sure which one but a certain Root Beer has no caffeine and most of all light coloured pops ie. Ginger ale or sprite dont have either in the regular variety. I guess all in moderation but I personally would stay away from both
Good Luck

I did it with my first two. I am now 16 wks with my third and had a nice little coke zero at chick fil a today :D I have one cup of coffee a day and the occasional caffeinated beverage out, maybe 2 or 3x per wk. My MIL never worried about it all with 5 kids and they all came out fine, no extra ear or anything like that! If you are comfortable, I think it's fine and since your dr is ok with it, I'd say have coke and a smile baby!(wow, I think I just really dated myself....) ;)

with my first I couldn't because it would make me throw up even more than I already was. With my second I found if i didn't have my first morning one a little later in the morning after food it would set me into a headache and throwing up. so I kept drinking it. Ask your dr but mine said in moderation (1 no more than 2 a day). I knew someone who used to drink 5-6 cans a day while pregnant - and she had 2 very healthy pregnancies!! (and she was an RN!)

Go with Sprite or 7up.

I drank it with my 2nd pregnancy and my twins are going to be 6 next month and they are both doing great, calm as can be, and happy as can be.

This is one of those don't sweat the small stuff things. If you were guzzling a big gulp of diet coke every day I would say to avoid it. But one or two a week are not going to affect your child. The only thing that would bother me would be once this baby is born every time something doesn't perfectly meet the schedule of what babies / children should be doing at a certain age criteria you're going to second guess yourself and rain mama-guilt down on yourself that it might have been those 2 diet cokes a week. It won't be - I assure you now.

Of course, clearly natural is always a better option - selzter with jucie is refreshing and healthy. But our bodies are more forgiving than we realize and an occasion diet soda will not be a big deal. We don't keep soda in the house but at a party, or when we have a party I get soda - with and without sugar. Just the opposite of veggies - while I make the kids eat veggies every day I'm not going to force them at Christmas dinner or a 4th of July BBQ.

Moms of the 50's and 60's smoke, drank coffee and alcohol when they were pregnant - and drank PLENTY of diet soda. And while the baby-boomers may not be the achievers that their parents, the children of the depression, were - they didn't have significantly greater developmental problems. Heck, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were baby boomers whose mom's probably drank Fresca during their pregnancies! ;o)

Have a cold diet coke over ice once in a while - it was 100 degrees here in NY yesterday I have to assume it was hotter in Texas. It's better than a daquiri or cold beer! I am certain that your doctor knows more that we moms on mamapedia know. ;o)

I had a coke of some kind at least once a day during my whole third trimester. It was like what I craved. Sometimes it had caffeine, sometimes it didn't, sometimes it had artificial sweetners and sometimes not. If you want one, have one. My doctor really only told me no alcohol and no smoking (I was a pack a day smoker when I got pregnant and have gone 4 months post partum without one! AMAZING!)

I was told it wasn't so much the "diet" aspect but the caffiene.

Either way, once or twice a week couldn't hurt - all things in moderation right?

If you are tired of water, try the Crystal Light packets. But avoid the raspberry ones - I would get terrible contractions after /anything/ with raspberry and I had to wait to drink that juice till closer to my delviery date. ;-)

Congrats on the upcoming birth!!
~C.

If your doctor said it's fine in moderation, then I would go with that. I also drank a few diet cokes here and there while I was pregnant. I hate regular soda it's too sweet for me. I only drink diet once in a while. I think you would need to drink quite a lot of the stuff to have any real ill effects (long or short term).
Just MHO! :) Good luck!

A couple of times a week will not hurt at all.

I would drink sugar before fake sugars. Those fake sugars do weird stuff! I think if you're drinking it pretty rarely, you'll be fine. But I'm the same as you were with your first pregnancy. I only drink water and avoid sodas. I don't know if I've ever had a soda in any of my pregnancies! I have had a little cup of juice now and again.

I just have to say i drank regular coke regularly with my first pregnancy and my baby came out perfectly healthy. I am now pregnant with our 2nd and i drink coke atleast once a day. If you want it then have it.

I was the same way. No caffeine with my first but second time around was different.

I work full time and have a 3 year old. This time I needed the caffeine. I had a diet coke every morning. My OB was not thrilled but she said she understood and that to drink no more than one a day.

My OB is okay with it too. I had maybe one every other week with #1 (and she's very happy, healthy, smart, and well-behaved), so I've been a lot more lax with this one.. I also drank a lot of iced tea with #1 and occasionally threw in a Sweet-n-Low.

I also enjoy a Tazo decaf Chai tea with soy milk in the morning--yum! (I buy the concentrate and make it at home)

I gave up sodas altogether when I had to give up caffeine for two health issues. Every once in a while I will have a sip of someone's caffeine free soda and it doesn't even taste good anymore after switching to healthier options. Now may be the perfect time for you to switch to something healthier. Now my husband wants to stop drinking soda. My indulgence is a smoothie made of Greek yogurt, fruit, etc. Oh, I think I need to go make myself one now! This time of year, I have tons of fruit in the house.

Even simpler, you can add a little lemon juice in your water or add a little juice from whatever fruit you are eating. Watermelon sounds really good right now!

Whenever you get tired of something healthy, keep looking for a healthy choice to add variety. Don't just go back to unhealthy just because it is only so often.

Congrats on the baby!

I'm in week 32 and while I "behaved" during the 1st tri - I've been practicing everything in moderation ever since. My guilty pleasure is actually Coke Zero - which I have maybe 2x/week. Funny thing is - I never drank sodas before - but I occasionally crave them. I also eat lunch meat, have a cup of half caff daily, etc. I troll the boards, too, for pregnancy advice...but when the rubber meets the road, I listen to my doc.

What you can drink... is seltzer water or club soda and add some fruit juice to it. That way you get a "fizz" drink plus taste with it. And not all that sugar or chemical sweetners.

Diet Coke, still has caffeine in it.

try seltzer water w/lemon or some juice, dilluted juice, decaf or herbal iced teas... yes, water gets boring, especially in the summer

I limited it to one a day in my first pregnancy and I drank more than that in my second. No problems! Water is best, but I also drank a lot of green and berry teas both iced and hot abd I did crave milk ( I usually hate it). Don't drink a ton of them, but one or two a day are fine.

My doctor believed that real sugar was better than the artificial. She believes that it will still be a few yrs yet until we know the REAL long term effects of artificial sugars. So if I needed a little boost, I would have one of those mini cans of coke or pepsi. The real sugar is what is found in nature....just one a week was good for me.

When I was pregnant I drank diet coke (because that’s what I have always drank). I had a few per week so to me that was not overdoing it, moderation. I mainly drank water and tea. I do not like juice and the few times I tried drinking it while I was pregnant I threw up, needless to say I stopped trying it. You have to do what you think is ok along with your doctor. Dont think you are a bad mom because you are drinking your diet soda. Everyone has there opinions and some go over board...
We are not supposed to smoke, drink alcohol, drink coffee, caffeine and so on but people do it all the time...

Try the Hansen's soda... I love Mandarin Lime. No caffeine, NO Aspartame, and its extra bubbly. Love!