What’s a Pregnancy-Safe Tea?
I wasn’t much of a tea person until I got pregnant. I wanted something to replace the calming ritual of coffee, but also give me some good nutrients. I started researching pregnancy-safe tea and found that in fact there are so many options.
I like to keep my tea drinking simple. We don’t have to get all British about it (no disrespect meant – I do love an occasional fancy English tea with triangle sandwiches and crumpets).
I define tea as boiling water with an herb or some other plant in it. You can strain it or drink it with the herb floating around.
Here are some pregnancy-safe teas that are highly recommended:
Ginger tea is great for nausea – just peel some ginger and grate it into boiling water. This is also helpful for clearing mucous away, plus preventing and healing from colds. Pro tip – if the nausea gets really bad, skip the water and just rub the ginger into your gums. It goes straight into your bloodstream.
Raspberry tea is probably the most often recomended pregnancy safe tea.
Raspberry is said to be a uterine toner, and supposedly pregnant cats stop to eat the leaves. In addition, hot water can really fulfill that desire to just be ingesting something when we’re not really hungry. Plus, it can help the agni (digestive fire) burn up what we don’t need that is blocking our channels, and warm and hydrate us on a deep level.
If you start drinking raspberry tea in the first trimester, some midwives recommend that you drink one cup a day throughout your pregnancy. If you start in the 2nd trimester, you can drink 2, and if you don’t start til the 3rd trimester, you have some catching up to do – drink 3 cups a day.
If you don’t have time/money/energy to order the loose leaves online, just buy raspberry tea. But if you can put a little more into it, you’ll get a LOT more out your tea experience.
Below is an excerpt reprinted with permission from: Healing Yourself During Pregnancy by Joy Gardner
Pregnancy-Safe Tea Recipe
Raspberry leaf tea is a universal remedy for easing childbirth. This tea is used by pregnant women in North America, South America, Europe, and China.
Pregnant women were drinking this tea long before scientists discovered that it contains a principle called fragine, which relaxes smooth muscle of the uterus, making delivery easier and speedier.
Pour 1 cup of boiling water of 1 teaspoon raspberry leaves.
Add 1 teaspoon peppermint or any other tea you like for flavor.
Let it steep in a covered pot for 5 minutes.
Strain and drink. Add honey of desired.
In the summer, you may want to freeze the sweetened tea in small ice cube trays and then suck on the ice cubes. When used during labor, these raspberry tea popsicles will help to keep your mouth from getting dry.
Late Pregnancy-Safe Tea
Many midwives suggest this tea to facilitate delivery.
Some herbalists recommend it during the last three months of pregnancy, but I prefer to use it only during the last two weeks.
If there is any suspicion that the baby may be undersized, this tea should not be used, because you want to be sure that the baby will have the maximum time it needs to grow.
This is an excellent tea to use during childbirth. Blue cohosh helps and the raspberry leaf relaxes the smooth muscle of the uterus. Squaw vine relaxes the pelvis, which eases delivery and lessens the chances of tearing.
To make this tea, pour 1 cup boiling water over 1/2 teaspoon each of blue cohosh, squaw vine, raspberry leaf, and peppermint.
The peppermint is used for energy, for flavor, and to prevent the nausea that sometimes occurs with blue cohosh. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
Drink one to three cups per day. While you are drinking this tea, you can discontinue your daily cups of raspberry leaf tea. If nausea occurs, or if you feel repulsed by this tea, eliminate the blue cohosh, and use an additional 1/2 teaspoon of squaw vine instead. During labor, drink up to 3 cups per day to facilitate contractions.
Likely Pregnancy-Safe Teas
“Likely pregnancy-safe tea” means there have been little to no studies showing any issues with these herbs in pregnancy, and there’s no reason to think they could be harmful.
However, always check with your healthcare practitioner anytime you change your eating routines when you’re pregnant.
Here are some likely pregnancy-safe teas:
~ Black Psyllium – When used orally with a lot of water for heartburn.
~ Blond Psyllium – Can help constipation and intestinal discomfort.
~ Chrysanthemum – An antioxidant and stress reducer
~ Dandelion – Rich in Vitamin A, calcium, and iron; dandelion root and leaf can also help relieve mild edema and nourish the liver.
~Nettle – High in vitamins A, C, K , calcium, potassium, and iron. Used in many pregnancy teas because it is a great all around pregnancy tonic.
~ Oat Straw – Rich in calcium and magnesium; helps relieve anxiety, restlessness, and irritated skin.
~ Peppermint Leaf – Helpful in relieving nausea/morning sickness and flatulence.
~ Red Raspberry Leaf – Rich in iron, this herb has helped tone the uterus, increase milk production, decrease nausea, and ease labor pains. There is some controversy about whether this should be used throughout pregnancy or just in the second and third trimester.
~ Slippery Elm Bark – Used to help relieve nausea, heartburn, and vaginal irritations.
Teas to Avoid During Pregnancy
- Alfalfa
- Black cohosh
- Blue cohosh
- Comfrey
- Dong quai
- Ephedra (called ma huang in traditional Chinese medicine and banned in the United States since 2004)
- European mistletoe
- Goldenseal
- Hibiscus
- Horehound
- Kava
- Labrador
- Lemongrass
- Licorice root
- Mugwort
- Passion flower
- Pennyroyal
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Sassafras
- Saw palmetto
- Vetiver
- Yarrow
- Yerba mate
I got this list from an article that talks about teas that are potentially unsafe during pregnancy. Unfortunately there’s very little explanation.
Like so many choices around pregnancy – very little is actually know, so it’s important to both education and meditate. Talk to experts, and then listen inward and make the choices that feel right for you.
Another benefit of being a tea drinker: when you are drinking tea, you are not drinking or eating anything else, something that might have a lot of sugar or caffeine for instance.
Plus, you get to be in the moment with your growing baby, deeply hydrating and nourishing both of you with nature’s most intelligent plants.
Slowing down and turning nurturing energy inward means you can begin to step into your highest, most powerful and wise “Ma” Self. Enjoy-
