ATLANTA (March 13, 2013) — In the study, “Consumption of Artificially-Sweetened Soft Drinks in Pregnancy and Risk of Child Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis” published by Maslova et al in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study authors examined the relationship between intake of low-calorie sweetened (LCS) beverages during pregnancy with child asthma and allergic rhinitis at 18 months and 7 years in over 60,000 women in the Danish National Birth Cohort1. They found that at 18 months, mothers who consumed more LCS non-carbonated soft drinks were 1.23 (95% CI: 1.13, 1.33) times more likely to report a child asthma diagnosis compared to non-consumers. The authors concluded, “consumption of artificially-sweetened soft drinks during pregnancy may play a role in offspring allergic disease development.”