Switching to diet soda to wean yourself off the sugary stuff may not be such a hot idea for pregnant women, given the findings of a new study. 

A study of almost 60,000 pregnant women in Denmark found that those who drank one or more artificially sweetened soft drinks per day were at increased risk of giving birth prematurely.

The risk increased with the number of drinks the women consumed, and the women’s weight did not appear to play a role. Aspartame, one popular artificial sweetener, has also been linked to premature birth in animal studies.

Six Bay Area counties have been promoting the idea of having a “Soda Free Summer." Instead of soft drinks or other sugary beverages, like Snapple, they recommend drinking water, unsweetened iced tea and low-fat milk.

“Diet soda is not a healthy beverage,” Darlene Fujii, senior program specialist with the Alameda County Public Health Department told The Bay Citizen. “Diet soda may be an interim step for some people, but it’s still sweet, and it’s the sweetness that drives us to want more and more of it.”

(Hat tip to SFGate's Thin Green Line blog.)