Can I drink herbal tea when pregnant?
And after researching this I have a new saying, "If it don't make dough, then you'll never know."
You cannot patent chamomile. Because of that you can't make a lot of money on it, and because you can't make a lot of money on it, nobody will do any large studies on its effects on pregnant women.
As a general rule, teas made from fruit or herbs which are used in cooking are safe for you to drink while you're pregnant. That said, it's recommended that you not drink any single herb continually throughout your pregnancy (once again because they don't *quite* know what it will do until you test it on a thousand rats).
Now, as for which ones are considered safe and which ones aren't, good effing luck. There are blatant contradictions with herbal teas — one site will recommend a tea for all that ails you during your pregnancy and another will claim that your uterus will contract like nuts in ice water if you so much as sniff it.
Celestial Seasonings reports that they adhere to the guidelines that the FDA has published and not use any herbs that are considered dangerous even though they seem to have the odd no-no on their ingredient list.
I've cobbled together a list of the general consensus on what is okay and what is a no-no.
Probably Okay:
- Chamomile
- Citrus Peel
- Ginger
- Lemon Balm
- Lime blossom
- Linden Flower (unless you have a pre-existing cardiac condition).
- Rose Hip
- Dandelion
- Mint
- Raspberry Leaf*
- Rooibos
- Roasted Barley
- Thyme
Not so much:
- Alfalfa
- Anise
- Bearberry (Uva Ursi)
- Black and Blue Cohosh
- Calamus Root
- Catnip
- Chicory Root
- Coltsfoot Comfrey
- Devil's Claw
- Dong Quai
- Elderflowers feverfew
- Ephedra (ma huang)
- Fennel
- Fenugreek
- Gentian
- Ginseng
- Goldenseal
- Groundsel
- Hawthorne Berries
- Hibiscus
- Horehound
- Juniper Berries
- Kombucha Tea
- Licorice
- Lobelia
- Mistletoe
- Mother Wort
- Nettles (stinging nettles)
- Parsley tea
- Penny Royal
- Pokeroot Sassafras
- Raspberry Leaf*
- Rag Wort
- Rosemary tea
- Sage tea
- Senna
- Shepherd's Purse
- St. John's Wort
- Yarrow
- Yellow Dock
On a side note, one site recommended that you shouldn't make tea out of plants unless you are certain what they are. Who the hell would do this? "Oh there's a neat plant. I think it's call Thistle Dick. Let's pour hot water over it and drink it!" If this is your logic, being damaged by tea will be the least of you kid's worries. Don't do that.
* Lastly, I've left Raspberry Leaf as its own little category here. There are sites that both strongly advise drinking it and strongly advise not drinking it during pregnancy and I'm not even going to pretend to know which side it correct. All I know is that I drank enough to float a fat man when I was told it would start labour when I was 41 weeks pregnant with my first son and it did bugger all.
Perhaps I should have curled up with a hot, freshly steeped cup of thistle dick instead. Mmmm.
search: herbal tea pregnant, herbal tea pregnancy, Celestial Seasonings pregnancy
14 Comments
Reader Comments (14)
I'd look to midwives on this one. They're usually pretty knowledgeable on herb use during pregnancy. Alfalfa is actually a recommended herb. The issue doctors have is that it *could* cause a flare up of lupus, but only if you're already prone to it and only if you eat a TON of the roots.
I personally used raspberry leaf tea. I had serious GI upset while I was pregnant, and raspberry leaf is easier on the system than Immodium. (Nothing like trying to correct the runs and getting constipated instead.)
I completely agree, Jillian.
The more I researched this, the more I realized that a Naturopath or Midwife is such a great resource. It's the same logic as consulting a medical doctor if I was doing a post on prescription medication.
At the very least, I wanted to give an outline here and give some of the reasoning behind it, but this topic was so hard to give a concrete yay or nay.
Thanks for the insight! You know I live for this kind of feedback!
Fenugreek is only a no no while pregnant because in high doses it can cause labor. It has been used to induce labor before. However, if you want to produce more milk for your lil one Fenugreek is the herb to use. Plus it makes your sweat have a hint of a maple syrup smell lol. http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html
Just sharing my personal experience for anyone who cares- I drank lots of mint teas while pregnant (thinking i was being so good!) only to find out after delivering and desperately trying to nurse -that mint literally dries up your milk supply...LIKE FAST! as in turn to a midwife or naturopath and they tell you just have some mint when you want to stop nursing. So, while i can't with 100% proof blame it i suspect it had a little something to do with my nursing woes. I had to endure fenugreek in all its forms in order to nurse my son and I will add that in addition to causing you to have that slight hint of maple syrup you may (like me) discover your horrible, horrible, terrible, "death-gas" reaction which largely overpowers anything subtle as the lovely eau de maple syrup. I could not even go out of the house for fear of bombing whatever poor unsuspecting people who may be near. It was terrible! But I had to do it.
herbal tea is an excellent way to feel better.
Holy crap. Thistle dick, really? I'm still wiping my eyes from that laugh. Thanks for the 'mint update', other than that I'll just stick to Lipton.
"Death Gas" I think I laughed so hard I peed a little!!! I'm always a little scared to buy anything online, but the fenugreek tea perked my interest. I prefer to breastfeed the first 6 months with all my kids (I'm an avid formula user after the first teeth though...) do you have any suggestions on safe places to buy it online? From what I understand I'll be induced between 36-38 weeks this time to avoid going into labor on my own or premature separation of my placenta, so I know milk may have trouble coming in on its own that early (in large enough supply anyways)
(ps- yes...I love your site and have now officially become a serial-poster!)
-Robyn
i just wanted to mention that i have heard from a midwife and my sister that nettles is ok during pregnancy. my sister drank some everyday to help with her asthma and she ended up having the biggest placenta the midwife ever saw(now is THAT tmi or what???). i drank it too until it came back up due to morning sickness.
and for those looking to increase milk supply-take moringa!!! google it. seriously it is a great herb that is often not talked about.
Great post! Thanks
very informative blog! getting hooked to it.. keep up the awesome work! :)
Brad Fallon
I love thistle dick.
I have been wondering whether kombucha is safe during pregnancy...I was brewing it at home and drinking it pretty regularly before I found out I was pregnant but since then have backed off. I keep thinking about throwing out my SCOBYs but have been hesitant for some reason...today I did a little research and it is so confusing to try and find a definitive answer online! Some websites are all praising the health benefits of moderate kombucha use (it gives you energy! keeps you regular! reduces morning sickness!), and others say no one should drink it ever, even if you're not pregnant ("no longer considered safe" -drugs.com). I can't say I'm convinced either way. It seems like people freak out over just about anything.
I tried the fenugreek after I had my son to help produce milk because mine was drying up...notta. Did absolutely nothing so we had to go to formula. I had no choice. But he was preemie and in the NICU for 5 weeks and he had nothing but breast milk for those 5 weeks. I ran out t like 2 and a half weeks. Luckily I had produced so much in those weeks that he had enough to get him out of the hospital exactly!! They recommended another herb for helping produce breast milk but that was 10 months ago...
Herbs are funny things. For breast feeding it is very individual which herbs will increase supply. Alfalfa and goats rue will increase supply by making your boobs grow more mammary gland tissue while fennel, fenugreek and some others will increase supply by making the glands already there produce more. Mint and sage will drastically cut supply but it is a short term effect (meaning that having drunk it during pregnacy will not affect supply). Of the milk increasers available only alfalfa is considered safe during pregnancy. Since there are no drugs on the market in the USA for increasing supply except Reglan a drug that does pass both through breast milk and the blood brain barrier and causes depression, herbs for breast feeding have been a bit more studied for safety. The best place to read about herbs for breastfeeding is the book 'making more milk'