Herbal Tea while Pregnant question

This weekend I purchased 3 different types of Herbal Teas from the store "T2". They are Honey Vanilla (containing honeybush tea, vanilla pieces, and flavour); Chamomile & Lavender (containing Chamomile Flowers & Lavender); and Lemongrass Ginger (containing those 2 ingredients I believe, I don't have the box in front of me). Of course, I did things backwards - I purchased before researching. Now I'm wondering whether these are OK to drink - I've given up caffeine, which means no green tea either - now I'm wondering what can I drink if I want a hot drink other than boiled water? Are the teas that I purchase fine to have 1-2 cups a day? I'm not finding much on the web.

Hi Buliej

Congrats that you are here, that is fantastic.

I can't answer you in full, but I did a lot of internet research on this topic. There was basically much conflicting information, but from what I could gather, they are reasonably safe, but a bit of an unknown, so there recommendation is to have no more that one or two a day.

I also read that chamomile MAY be unsafe in large proportions, but have no idea how true this is.

Not sure where you are, but mothersafe in Sydney can be contacted and they would know - phone number 02 9382 6539.

good luck

Hi Buliej

I agree that there is a lot of conflicting information and that moderation is the key in all of this. I would personally stay away from the camomile just because of what I have read. If you put it in a nice air-tight container and store it in a dark place, then it should last until you decide to drink it.

I am also having a caffiene-free pregnancy and I can highly recommend Rooibos tea as it is very healthy and poses no risks during pregnancy. I am from South African and we all grew up with it - our mothers used to give it to us as babies for colic, indigestion and for its calming effects. Most of us never stopped drinking it!

That is all I will drink in the way of herbal teas during pregnancy. You can buy it at Coles / Safeway and it is relatively cheap. It is an acquired taste though (according to DH!).

HTH x

From those options, the lemongrass & ginger is the only one I know to be safe. I also know that peppermint and rooibos tea are fine.
I had a big long list of all the herbs that are safe and unsafe during pregnancy- I will try to find it and get back to you...

I think they are fine, the only herbal tea I have heard to be cautious about was gree tea and that was after I had been drinking it in my pregnancy :o

Wow - thanks everyone.

I'll have to have a think. It sounds like if my limit my intake to 1 -2 cups of any one of these a day and make them weak, it should be OK. But I might give MotherSafe a call on Monday. And maybe I'll put the chamomile away.

I do have Rooibos too - but I knew that was safe so I didn't mention it. Someone from South Africa introduced it to me a few years ago - it's very nice.

JellyBean - if you find that list let me know.

Neptune - the 12 week mark - woohoo - that is fantastic!

chamomile is fine to have, ans is lemongrass. not sure what the ingredients are in the other one.
Just dont have raspberry leaf too early.

Absolutely no problem with chamomile in pregnancy - in fact it helps with sleep and digestive problems. Where on earth did they say it was dangerous????
Often a 'do not use in pregnancy' warning is slapped on things cos no scientific clinical trials have been performed to proove their safety - and you can't run a clinical trial on pregnant women in the first place so all you can go on is anecdotal evidence...

Agree - chamomile is absolutely fine during pregnancy. It's actually recommended to help with releaxation! Like all things during pregnancy though, drink it in moderation.

There is a 'Herb and Drug safety chart' on the Baby Center website which is very informative.