How Safe Is Herbal Tea During Pregnancy

While many teas may brand themselves as herbal, not all are actually herbal. Some branded herbal tea may even contain chemicals. Besides, some natural ingredients are not always safe for a pregnant woman. Therefore, be careful in selecting your herbal tea. Always consult with your doctor before starting herbal tea.

Safe herbal teas

In India, people love to drink their tea (chai). At home, masala chai often uses a mix of natural herbs and spices, such as tulsi, ginger, lemongrass, clove, cardamom, and cinnamon. Usually, these ingredients are safe. However, remember tea is a caffeinated beverage, and consuming much caffeine during pregnancy can be harmful. Therefore, restrict your tea consumption to 2 cups a day. Reduce the amount of tea leaves in your chai to reduce the impact of caffeine on the fetus.

Avoid store-bought herbal teabags as much as possible. Many tea manufacturers do not disclose the name of ingredients transparently. Some teas even have hidden ingredients to increase their shelf-life and flavour. These ingredients may have adverse effects on the baby. At home, you can prepare herbal tea with the following ingredients:

• Tulsi

• Ginger

• Mint

• Chamomile

• Nettle leaves

• Lavender buds

• Ajwain

• Moringa

• Shatavri

• Fenugreek

• Cumin

• Fennel

• Cardamom

• Cinnamon

• Turmeric

Some of the teas mentioned above are extremely good for a pregnant woman. For example, ginger tea can help with morning sickness. Turmeric tea can increase immunity and keep infections at bay. Tulsi tea is good if you catch a cold. Mint and Ajwain tea is good for heartburn. Fenugreek and fennel tea improve your digestion. Cumin tea helps to remove toxins from the body.

Unsafe teas during pregnancy

Generally, store-bought herbal teas are not recommended during pregnancy. Even if you consume, try to limit the quantity. There is not enough evidence on how herbal teas affect the fetus. There is also not adequate testing and regulation in the herbal tea market. Some herbal teas like sage tea and parsley tea may cause miscarriage. Ideally, it would be best if you also restricted the consumption of green tea during pregnancy.