Herbal teas during pregnancy

[jillamona]

Hi, this is probably a silly question, but I have been drinking quite a bit of herbal tea during my pregnancy, am 17 weeks, mainly I've been drinking chamomile and peppermint. But I found some sites that say herbal teas should be taken in moderation and that some should be avoided. I haven't taken any of the ones on the list they say to avoid, what does anyone else think about herbal teas during pregnancy? thanks x

I have been drinking a lot of mint tea. Herbal tea is definitely better for you than regular tea as it has no caffeine.

I've been drinking loads of herbal tea mostly peppermint but some chamomile. I have 'What to expect when you're expecting' and it says something along the lines of there is no evidence that shows herbal teas are dangerous in pregnancy, but we recommend you avoid them anyway.

I personally thought that sounded like a load of covering their own back nonsense so decided that as long as I avoided random concoctions with ingredients I hadn't heard of (which I wouldn't drink anyway) and basically stuck to tradditional straight forward flavours I'd be ok.

I should however add my own disclaimer that if a supposed pregnancy risk can't be proven to me with actual scientific evidence then I tend to ignore it, so you may well wish to ignore my ramblings on it.

If you're avoiding the list of herbal teas which you shouldn't take then it'll be a good thing I reckon.

When you take a herbal tea medicinally, you take quite a bit of it anyway - 5 cups a day for a couple of weeks perhaps.

Chamomile is a lovely gentle herb, it's a great thing to have in pregnancy.

Just from my own experience I would say be careful on the peppermint tea if you get heartburn though. I love peppermint tea and often use it if I get an unsettled stomach, so when I got heartburn I naturally went for the peppermint tea. It took a little while before I realised it was actually making it worse! I've since heard other people say this too.

One of the important things to remember about herbs when taken medicinally is that they are meant to work with your body, and your intuition. This means - basically - if you don't like the taste of a medicinal herb, you shouldn't take it, your body is clearly telling you not too! Equally if you find you are wanting to drink lots of Chamomile tea there may well be a good reason for it.

I would agree that any herb you're not familiar with should be taken in moderation.

Herbs do have physical effects on people! I think there is sometimes an assumption that herbs don't really have any effect, it's just all made up by hippies and quacks so how could it have any effect, really.

But medicinal herbs do have physiological effects on you, if you take enough of any one of them.

Actually many modern medicines come from herbs. Asprin originally came from Willow bark for example (which is still used in herbal medicine).

Bonjella? Crushed cloves in gel.

Hemlock - now that's a herb, and no one would say it was harmless (although of course not a medicinal or drinking one, but you get my point).

Herbs have effects and unless you know a bit about them you shouldn't cane them! A little of any of them not contra-indicated n pregnancy should be absolutely fine IMO - listen to what your body is saying and if you don't like it, don't have it!

But do treat them with respect. Don't start drinking several cups a day, every day of something which is a medicine in those doses without finding out what effect it may have on you.

HTH

I just saw something about this in my US version of WTEWYE today and it mentioned that you couldn't do sage tea but generally things that you would drink/eat anyway are alright. Also, not raspberry leaf tea until the end of pregnancy, but raspberry flavour tea ok I think.

There is an evidence that mint type herbal teas at later stage of pregnancy or after can influence your milk supply, not sure if it is true but I have some peppermint tea once in the while. I also like rooibos tea. Herbal therapy is not advised during pregnancy because there is not much research done on it and not because it can do something to you or your baby, however it is always good to check before taking anything.

"Herbal therapy is not advised during pregnancy because there is not much research done on it" people have been taking herbs for millennia!

Of course you should proceed with caution but nothing wrong with taking chamomile tea to calm your nerves or as a sleep aid for example.

There are also some herbs you should specifically avoid in pregnancy, because it can do things you you or your baby.

Here a list of herbs to be avoided in pregnancy, taken from this site

Anthraquinone Laxative

* Aloe
* Buckthorn
* Cascara Sagrada
* Docks
* Meadow Saffron
* Senna

Uterine Stimulant

* American Mandrake
* Black Cohosh
* Blue Cohosh
* Bloodroot
* Calamus
* Cascara Sagrada
* Cayenne
* Fennel
* Feverfew
* Flax Seed
* Goldenseal
* Lady's Mantle
* Licorice
* Make Fern
* Mayapple
* Mistletoe
* Passion Flower
* Pennyroyal
* Periwinkle
* Poke Root
* Rhubarb
* Sage
* Senna
* Tansy
* Thuja
* Thyme
* Wild Cherry
* Wormwood

Alkaloids/Bitter Priciples

* Barberry
* Bloodroot
* Celandine
* Cinchona
* Ephedra
* Goldenseal
* Wild Cherry

Essential Oils

* Calamus
* Cayenne
* Fennel
* Juniper
* Lavender
* Marjoram
* Oregano
* Passion Flower
* Rosemary
* Sage
* Thuja
* Thyme
* Yarrow

Emmenogogue

* Cascara Sagrada
* Cotton-Root Bark
* Lady's Mantle
* Licorice
* Mayapple
* Thyme
* Wormwood
* Yarrow
* Mistletoe
* Passion Flower
* Pennyroyal
* Periwinkle
* Poke Root
* Rhubarb
* Senna
* Tansy
* Thuja
* Rue

Emmenogogues can bring on your period, for example, and you definitely wouldn't want them for obvious reasons.

thanks for all your replies, I'll stick to a few cups of chamomile, but avoid the ones they advise against. It is true that the what to expect book is probably just covering themselves, I mean if we are supposed to avoid to much tea and coffee we tea addicts have to make up for it with something, also I had thought that my herbal teas counted towards my water intake for the day. i get so thirsty but it can be hard to drink plain water when its so cold out. thanks again for all the advice xx