Herbal Tea - Is it safe during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, there are some things that should be avoided. Most all women who have been pregnant or are expecting know to quit smoking, stop drinking alcohol, limit or eliminate caffeine, and to avoid taking most over-the-counter and prescription medications. But a lot of women will still enjoy drinking a cup of herbal tea. It’s comforting to enjoy a cup of herbal tea, but are they really safe? Herbs are actually drugs, and sometimes are very powerful. In some other cultures, women take herb potions to terminate pregnancies. Taking any drug during pregnancy or while breastfeeding has the potential to be harmful to your and/or your baby, regardless of the claims of “natural” ingredients many teas advertise.
If you enjoy drinking herbal tea, a good rule of thumb to follow is to drink teas that contain ingredients that are familiar to you and may already be part of your diet, such as mint or orange. Avoid unfamiliar ingredients such as cohosh and mugwort. Also avoid Ma Huang and ephedra. You may want to make your own herbal tea using juices, lemon and orange rinds, cinnamon and other well-known and safe ingredients. Never make your own herbal tea using plants you find in your backyard unless you are absolutely sure they are completely safe to eat or drink while pregnant.
But what about herbal tea that is designed and marketed especially for pregnant women? Even though the manufacturers of these teas may claim and promote their products as a helpful remedy or pick-me-up for expectant mothers, there have been no clinical studies to support their claims. You can find pregnancy teas in health food stores that contain ingredients such as strawberry leaf, lemon grass leaf, alfalfa, fennel seed, and rosehips. These are all safe as they are natural and recognizable ingredients.
However, there are some familiar ingredients that you should be careful with. From research that I have done on my own, ginger root is recommended by some doctors and advised against by others. Ginger is said to remedy morning sickness, as well as chamomile. Red raspberry herbal tea is recommended by many, but sometimes only near your due date. There is some believe that it aids in labor because it prepares the uterine muscles for delivery. Green teas are safe, although it should be limited as it contains caffeine.
There is much controversy about herbal tea during pregnancy. While I was pregnant with my three children, I avoided caffeine as much as possible and didn’t drink many teas, just to be on the safe side. The best thing you can do is to contact your doctor for advice before you drink any herbal tea and do some research on the ingredients that are found in these teas.