Sparkling water in pregnancy

Today, there is a wide selection of carbonated drinks on the food market. During pregnancy, a woman constantly has a desire to eat something tasty or drink a pleasant-tasting drink, including carbonated water. Is it possible to drink carbonated water during pregnancy? We will try to figure this out.

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Is it possible to drink carbonated water during pregnancy?

Is it possible to drink carbonated water during pregnancy? This is a question that often arises among pregnant women. The essence of carbonated drinks is that they contain carbon dioxide (CO2), which creates the effect of bubbles. When gas bubbles enter the stomach cavity, its normal contraction and functioning becomes problematic. The fact is that carbon dioxide bubbles are released into the stomach, their accumulation occurs, which causes the stomach to swell. Part of this gas then moves towards the intestines, and part returns back along the esophageal opening, which causes the pregnant woman to suffer from belching. When the expectant mother is prone to heartburn, the esophagus will also be pierced by an unpleasant burning pain. And at this time, gas residues accumulate in the intestines, which provoke the intestines to swell, and peristalsis is disrupted. Because of this, loose stools or, conversely, constipation may appear. If you have gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, or if you have a predisposition to them, carbon dioxide can cause these diseases to worsen.

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Why can't you drink carbonated water during pregnancy?

Many carbonated sweet drinks contain the food additive aspartame. It is a sweetener 200 times sweeter than sugar. If you eat a lot of aspartame, your liver function may be significantly impaired, and your triglyceride levels will increase. All of this can trigger obesity and diabetes. And what’s most frightening is that it can affect not only the pregnant woman, but also her unborn baby, who will already have these diseases or be highly susceptible to them when they are born. Another manifestation of aspartame’s “insidiousness” is that it increases appetite, and a pregnant woman often wants to eat a lot and often anyway. It turns out to be a kind of “paradox”: aspartame contributes to the fact that carbonated sweet drinks are low in calories, but at the same time they can stimulate additional weight gain in a pregnant woman.

Many substances in sweet carbonated water are harmful to pregnant women and their babies. For example, carbonated drinks are distinguished by the presence of phosphoric (orthophosphoric) acid. It is responsible for regulating the acidity of soda. If a pregnant woman has a hereditary disease such as urolithiasis or cholelithiasis, then the likelihood that stones will form in the kidneys or gallbladder increases. In pregnant women, the kidneys are already under double stress, so stone formation is an even more likely problem and the risk is higher. In addition, the presence of orthophosphoric acid in the drink threatens exacerbations of gastritis and stomach disorders, and the absorption of elements such as iron, potassium and magnesium is impaired.

Various dyes and preservatives contained in carbonated sweet water can provoke allergic reactions – allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, which can cause the child to develop allergies in the future.

Sodium benzoate is also added to carbonated sweet water. It is a preservative that helps drinks to be stored for a long time. Ascorbic acid, which is also often found in carbonated water, in combination with sodium benzoate contributes to the formation of a carcinogen, which can cause cancer.

Dentists also add on their own - carbonated drinks destroy tooth enamel, caries can develop faster. As is known, a pregnant woman is already susceptible to these problems due to the increased consumption of such microelements as calcium and fluoride - in the expectant mother, they go to building bones and forming teeth in the baby. Therefore, if you drink sweet carbonated water during pregnancy, there is a high risk that the enamel will be destroyed even faster.

Carbonated mineral water during pregnancy

Is it possible to drink carbonated mineral water during pregnancy – another pressing question. Everything concerning the effect of carbon dioxide on the body (the carbonation effect) is described above, when a pregnant woman drinks carbonated mineral water, it acts in the same way as in the case of carbonated sweet drinks.

If we talk about the properties of mineral carbonated water, its peculiarity is the presence of salts - potassium-sodium and chloride. Potassium and sodium are microelements that contribute to many processes in the human body: the conduction of excitation along nerve fibers, metabolism in cells. But chlorides are a salt base that attracts water. Because of this, when drinking chloride-containing mineral water, there is a high probability that the blood pressure of a pregnant woman will increase, and edema will also appear.

To sum up, we can say that the ideal option for a pregnant woman and the most useful for both the mother and the future baby will be drinking non-carbonated mineral water containing potassium, sodium and magnesium. When choosing mineral water, a pregnant woman needs to carefully study the label for the content of trace elements in this water. As for carbonated drinks, it is better not to drink carbonated water during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Although, of course, a couple of sips will not cause harm if the desire is very strong, considering the nuances of "passionate" desires for food and drinks in expectant mothers. Another good method that can be taken into account is to release all the carbon dioxide from the bottle before drinking, so as not to provoke flatulence in the pregnant woman.

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