Elderberry syrup - worried!

[Starry4321]

Just found out I am pregnant (4/5 weeks) with baby no2. We have had lots of colds in our house and I’ve been taking an elderberry syrup (sweet bee organics) 1 tablespoon per day. I googled it and seeing conflicting results like it can stimulate the immune system and cause problems in pregnancy? I’ll stop taking it but feeling a bit concerned as the pregnant in such an early stage.

Pic of ingredients do you think this could have cause any issues? I know I am probably overthinking this but I’ll probably stop anyway

No I don't think it would have caused any issues

No I can’t see why. It’s done now anyway all you can do is just get on and have a good pregnancy no point dwelling

Turmeric and ginger can cause muscle contractions and in some traditional societies are used to expel the placenta after birth, or facilitate blood flow during menstruation, or to end a pregnancy. Avoid high concentrations of either. I'm not sure why some people recommend ginger against nausea during pregnancy; it's not safe at that time.

For goodness sake, what an utterly ridiculous statement.

You would have to consume an excessive amount of ginger and turmeric for it to carry even the slightest risk so stop scaremongering.

A gram of ginger in pregnancy is completely safe and it is widely recommended to help with sickness and nausea in pregnancy. Small amounts of turmeric can also help alleviate some pregnancy symptoms.

Both are perfectly safe in moderation

No. And I've known it to happen.

Sure you have.

Feel free to share any actual medical or scientific studies and research to back up your batshit crazy theories.....

Cultural arrogance. Can be a form of natural selection I guess.
No thanks I shan't be sharing details of bereavements or bleeding.

Absolutely fine! Maybe don't take every single day but myself and children take the same sweet bees syrup very regularly. It's been great for beating the colds

Just as I thought.

Enjoy your witch burning.

Absolutely batshit
MN sure does attract them.

Well I know what I know, and I know which cultures and who you've never bothered to know.

Western scientific studies are famously women-focused and also comprehensive in their knowledge of all medical traditions.

Not only crazy but also extremely ignorant - you have no idea about me and my background or what culture I'm a part of.

What I really don't like is seeing someone scaremongering on a pregnancy forum with crazy unproven theories and ridiculous statements which completely fly in the face of doctors, scientists and all current medical advice.

By all means, you crack on with your lotions and potions and whatever it is you believe in but don't be so irresponsible as to try and pass it off as fact when it's absolutely not.

Well when things happen you'll find different reasons.

Ginger is proven to cause uterine contractions. It is safe in pregnancy, but in smaller doses than many women are aware, so it's entirely possible to take too much if you drink a few cups a day.

Ginger tea is considered to be safe for consumption during pregnancy, as long as it is taken in low doses (1 to 3 grams, or 1/3 to 1/2 of a teaspoon, for a maximum of 3 to 4 days). In higher doses, this root has the ability to cause uterine contractions.
https://www.tuasaude.com/en/teas-for-late-period/#:~:text=Ginger%20tea,ability%20to%20cause%20uterine%20contractions.

I think it's important that pregnant women are aware of the facts to make their own decisions. I have taken ginger tea for years to bring on periods - it only takes a thumb sized amount of ginger for me - so I did avoid it during early pregnancy because I know my own body and what it is sensitive to. Other pregnant women will differ, but to dismiss the science as you've done is unwise.

Sure, Ok, well, for the time being, I'm just going to stick with the globally accepted medical advice and I suggest all other expectant mums to do the same.

You do you.

So just as I said - safe in pregnancy when taken in low dose.

Although I stand corrected when I said a gram, it's actually 1-3 grams so more than I thought..... I can't imagine there's more than that in the elderberry syrup can you?

It's simple scaremongering and not backed up by any scientific studies.

Studies have been picking up since 2017 and particularly in cultures where it's used more e.g. Norway, where there are concerns, but it needs to be studied on women rather than rodents. 'Chinese medicine' doesn't contraindicate. There's a U of Idaho page if you need language to be simplistic or American.

You're not entitled to generations of lived experience when you've been so rude. So nothing more from me.

Nothing more from you? Thank goodness for that

I did the same thing for a while whilst pregnant as I didn’t realise and everything was fine. Obviously anecdotal but I think so early too that won’t have caused any issues especially with it not being too concentrated.

1/2 to 1/3 teaspoon grated ginger (for no more than 3-4 days) doesn't seem a lot to me. That's one cup of ginger tea. Not sure this discussion is going anywhere though 😊

Great idea, keep your idiocy to yourself then. If a women ate some ginger then miscarried, that's literally a coincidence.
Here in the real world, no a few herbs in miniscule amounts is going to harm a pregnancy.
Ffs just don't comment.

You are free to believe whatever you want but you should be more careful about sharing random website links with wild theories from herbalists which you then declare as 'proven', 'facts', 'science' etc when it is none of those things at all.... especially on a forum where women are naturally going to feel cautious and many will be more receptive to online misinformation and scaremongering.

Where is the proven research from the world health organisation? Where are the scientifically backed studies? The documented findings and recommendations from those in the science and medical fields? Actual evidence of harm to humans?

Do better.

To the OP: the advice from scientists and medical professionals globally is that ginger and turmeric are fine in moderation and that low doses are perfectly safe in pregnancy. Your odd spoonful of elderberry syrup will not have caused you any harm.
Ginger is actually a widely recommended and pregnancy safe source of relief for some women suffering morning sickness and nausea and is taken literally every day by women around the world in its various forms - for me personally, this is the advice I'll be sticking with.

Absolutely this. You don't need people adding unnecessary stress OP. Hopefully you are OK.

You seem to be taking this quite personally when my comment clearly states that, for me, ginger brings on my periods but other pregnant women may differ. And that it's safe in small quantities but caution should be exercised. Please "do better" when speaking to people whose opinions differ slightly from your own.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4755634/

The gist of this scientific review is that ginger in small quantities and over a short duration is absolutely fine in pregnancy, which is what we both agree on. I however disagree that it should be pushed as a totally pregnancy-safe ingredient with no intake limit.

OP, I hope you know I'm discussing ginger doses in pregnancy in general, not the elderflower syrup that's clearly fine and contains miniscule amounts of ginger 😊