BackgroundSugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have become a global health concern because of their adverse health effects and their association with the obesity pandemic. It has not received much attention in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, especially among pregnant women. The pattern, frequency and factors associated with SSBs among pregnant women in Ibadan, Nigeria, were investigated.DesignData were from the Ibadan Pregnancy Cohort Study - a prospective cohort study investigating 1745 pregnant women from four comprehensive obstetric facilities in Ibadan. A qualitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the pregnant women’s intake of food and drinks over the previous months. Sugar-sweetened beverage variable and scores were also generated using the principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Factors associated with high SSB scores were examined using multivariate logistics regression analyses at a 5% significance level.ResultsThe most commonly consumed SSBs were cocoa-sweetened beverages, soft drinks, malt drinks, and fruit juice. A quarter of the women (75th percentile) consumed SSB more than once weekly. The factors associated with high SSB on multivariate analysis were; being employed (AOR: 1.52, 95% CI 1.02–2.26), maternal obesity (AOR: 0.065, 95% CI 0.47–0.89), high fruit intake (AOR:3.62, 95% CI 2.62–4.99), high green vegetable consumption (AOR:1.99, 95% CI 1.06–3.74), high milk intake (AOR: 2.13, 95% CI 1.65– 2.74), frequent fast food outlet visit (AOR: 2.19, 95% CI 1.53–1.70), all of these remained significant after adjusting for confounding variables.ConclusionSSBs were common among our study population. Factors associated with high SSBs intake are crucial for implementing locally relevant public health interventions.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-15828-z.