Still, there may be good reason to give up caffeine during pregnancy. Coffee and tea, especially when consumed with cream or sugar, are filling without being nutritious and can spoil the appetite for essential nutrition. Colas, in addition to being filling, may contain harmful chemicals. Caffeine also hastens normal pregnancy mood swings and interferes with rest which is important to the mother. It has been suggested that the mother's consumption of caffeine during pregnancy may result in the baby developing diabetes due to buildup in the fetal pancreas which damages the cells that would later produce insulin.
Some sugar substitutes show an increase in cancer in the offspring of animals tested.
Some sugar substitutes have show no harmful effects from normal amounts used during pregnancy. Such sweeteners, however, are often overloaded with additives and short on nutrients. During pregnancy, the best sweeteners to depend on are natural and nutritious fruits and fruit juices. There are many products which can be purchased that use no artificial sweeteners, including jams and jellies, cookies and muffins, ice creams and sherbets, candy bars, and natural sodas. These can be obtained from health food stores and supermarkets.