Eating Sugar During Pregnancy Could be Linked to Asthma in Children

Jul 21, 2017

Hey Mama, you’ve got some major pregnancy cravings going on. You’re all about chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallow cream sandwiches, and salted caramel ice cream with grape jelly drizzled on top. Yeah, your pregnancy faves are high-sugar, not-so-healthy snacks. But isn’t that what the baby wants? Not so much. Aside from contributing to a generally unhealthy diet, eating too much sugar during pregnancy may double the chance that your child will someday develop asthma. We’ve got the lowdown on the new research behind this possible (and scary) connection.

Study Basics

Researchers from the Queen Mary University of London looked at data from almost 9,000 mother-child pairs, thinking that they might just find some sort of connection between respiratory issues and maternal sugar intake during pregnancy. The participant pairs were all part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, AKA the “Children of the ’90s” study (the mamas who volunteered for the study were pregnant in the ’90s, and their children have been followed ever since).

There isn’t a tremendous amount of research existing on the subject. Actually, there isn’t very much at all. Most of it focuses on what the kids are eating and drinking and the development of asthma. So these researchers from across the pond decided to help women everywhere by investigating whether too much sugar during pregnancy has anything to do with the child later developing asthma or allergies. The study compares the top 20 percent of sugar eaters (the moms who had at least five teaspoons-worth of sugar per day) with the bottom 20 percent, and which children developed respiratory issues.

The Connection

The mothers who had the highest sugar intake of the group also had children who were more likely to have allergies and an allergic asthma diagnosis.

Right now, the scientists don’t have a 100 percent definitive cause for this connection. They believe it might have something to do with the maternal fructose intake causing some sort of postpartum allergic immune response that leads to allergic inflammation in the child’s developing lungs. Or, in other words, eating too much sugar could be kicking the baby’s immune system into overdrive in a way that doesn’t start showing up until after they’re born.

Asthma vs. Allergies

Here’s the thing — the study didn’t find a connection between high sugar intake and all types of asthma. No, there isn’t just one “asthma” diagnosis out there. The symptoms all include inflammation of the airways, but there are people who have exercised-induced asthma, occupational asthma, childhood asthma, and allergic asthma. It’s this last one, allergic asthma, that seems to be the culprit here.

The connection between pregnancy-related sugar intake and all types of asthma wasn’t exactly strong. Even so, the link between the sugar intake and only developing allergic asthma was fairly high. Maybe that’s an understatement: The findings showed a 101 percent increased risk of developing the allergic type. Along with the increased risk for being diagnosed with allergic asthma by age seven, the researchers also found a 38 percent higher risk for developing allergies in general.

Other Issues

If you’re wondering, “Couldn’t something else have increased the risk for these kids?” Well, yeah. After controlling for mom’s background characteristics, social factors, and other maternal diet issues, the results weren’t any different. That may mean it’s the sugar at fault. Keep in mind, though, that’s a “may” and not a total, complete, absolute “yes.”

Oh, and the researchers also looked at what the kids (after birth) were eating. Past research has focused on this area, looking at children’s sugar intake and the development of asthma. This study found no connection between the two.

When it comes down to it, sugar is fine for a treat here and there. But downing gummy worms, cupcakes, and pixie sticks just isn’t healthy — whether you’re preggo or not.

Are you making changes to how you’re eating during pregnancy? Tweet us your thoughts @BritandCo!

(Photos via Getty)

10 Tips For Fake Drinking When You’re Secretly Pregnant

When you're often the life of the party and happen to be partnered up and in your 30s, you'll instantly turn heads when you say no to booze. I can personally attest to the difficulty of this. As someone who loves happy hour and has a particular affinity for lemon drop shotsin totally inappropriate settings, there was no way I could get away with *not* drinking without inviting questioning looks.

Before I give you the guide to fake drinking when you're secretly pregnant, let me take this moment to make a PSA. If you see that a female friend of yours isn't drinking and she usually does, try not to ask her if she's expecting in front of everyone. She might be secretly pregnant, taking fertility drugs that can't be combined with alcohol, just trying to lower her dosage of alcohol with the hope that it helps her get pregnant. There's also the chance she might just be…not drinking. Be as it may, no one wants to be bombarded with pregnancy questions.

Of course, not everyone is going to take my PSA seriously, so I've got some tips and tricks for all you pre-reveal preggos. These same tips apply to gals who are not drinking because they are trying to conceive. I was personally in this non-drinking camp for about five months before getting pregnant.

And how's this for proof? I organized and attended a bachelorette party for two of my very best friends with about eight of my other besties present — and no one had ANY idea I was pregnant. So, trust me — I'm a bona fide pro at fake drinking.

Rosee Canfield for Brit + Co