You might have heard about the multiple benefits many herbal teas offer. However, we must never underestimate the power of herbal medicines. Although there are health benefits in many herbal teas, not all of them are safe to drink during pregnancy.

If you’re asking yourself: ‘Is chamomile tea safe to drink during pregnancy?’, then keep on reading to find out about the safety of drinking chamomile tea during pregnancy and the other information we’ve gathered about chamomile use.

What is chamomile tea?

Although you might have heard about chamomile leaf tea, the flowers are most commonly used to make this herbal tea. The chamomile extract comes from the flowers, where there is a higher concentration of this herbal medicine. There are various plants in the chamomile group. Among them, the two main types that are used for making tea are German chamomile and Roman chamomile. You might even find some brands that mix both types.

Chamomile leaf tea in pregnancy

Most herbal teas are made from leaves but, although it’s sometimes called chamomile leaf tea, this tea is, in fact, made mainly from chamomile flowers. Research shows that it is one of the teas most commonly used by pregnant women, as well as ginger tea, peppermint tea and red raspberry leaf tea.

Benefits of drinking chamomile tea during pregnancy, labor and the postpartum period

Drinking chamomile tea has many benefits. Let’s look at these benefits during pregnancy, labor and afterwards.

#1. Chamomile tea and morning sickness

Nausea and vomiting, aka morning sickness, is one of the most dreaded early pregnancy symptoms. Tea often seems to be the only thing that stays down during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Chamomile tea has anti-sickness properties and a cup of chamomile tea first thing in the morning seems to work. Pregnant women who have suffered from morning sickness in pregnancy have sworn by it.

Read more in our article When Does Morning Sickness Start… And End?

#2. Constipation

During pregnancy, especially during the first few months, the intestinal fibers relax, due to the hormone relaxin; this leads to very slow intestinal transit. It can cause you to ‘bung up’ and become quite constipated. Chamomile tea has been found to help with this temporary intestinal laziness. A cup of chamomile tea on an empty stomach can really help with this.

#3. Relaxation

As we’ve just mentioned, relaxin is a hormone that is specially released during pregnancy and it does exactly what its name suggests: relaxin relaxes. Chamomile tea induces natural relaxation. It helps with the natural flow of things and, therefore, helps pregnant women be more relaxed and worry-free.

Dr Michel Odent has been studying the primal period (from conception until a year after birth) and he has concluded that pregnant women should be as relaxed as possible for the higher benefit of the unborn baby. A baby who develops in a relaxed and stress-free environment is a baby who not only grows but thrives. Anything that can help a pregnant woman feel more relaxed brings many benefits to the situation.

#4. Insomnia

Chamomile tea is naturally caffeine free. Recent research has found a correlation between the use of lavender aromatherapy and chamomile tea and much better sleep outcomes in pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy. During pregnancy, chamomile tea has proved to be effective in beating insomnia.

#5. Post-term pregnancy

Herbal teas, especially chamomile and green tea, can help a lot during the last weeks of pregnancy. When you’re over your estimated due date, those around you tend to become impatient and, as much as they might try to keep that anxiety to themselves, you can certainly feel their restlessness.

As the World Health Organization suggests in its intrapartum care guides, the vast majority of women want physiological labor and birth with the most positive maternal and neonatal outcomes. Although chamomile tea won’t automatically trigger labor, it should be used as a complementary and integrative health product to help you relax. A soothing cup of chamomile tea during pregnancy, especially during those last few days, can really do a lot to help you relax.

#6. After labor?

Chamomile tea is very good to take after the birth. It has anti-inflammatory properties that boost your immune system. It also helps with milk production. Some women complain of a sore throat and even mouth sores after a long labor, especially if they’ve given birth in a unit where they were not allowed to eat or drink during labor. The anti-inflammatory agents present in chamomile tea can also help with this.

Chamomile tea to induce labor at 37 weeks

We’ve seen that chamomile tea helps with relaxation and with moving certain muscles that have forgotten to keep working once the pregnancy has happened. Therefore, this herbal medicinal product is very beneficial during pregnancy and helps prepare the body for the moment of birth. However, it’s unlikely that drinking chamomile tea can make a woman go into labor. It’s not clear whether or not chamomile tea can help to stimulate uterine contractions.

However, among factors that might delay labor are anxiety and fear. If chamomile tea helps you relax, there’s a good chance it will help you transition into labor more smoothly

Does chamomile tea make you dilate?

There are many different factors that will make your cervix dilate. Being stress-free and relaxed is a very important factor in the start of labor. If you asked me, ‘Does chamomile tea induce labor?’ I’d answer that, although chamomile tea has a lot of health benefits, it probably doesn’t induce labor on its own. However, because chamomile tea is a natural relaxant, it can help your body to be in the right disposition for labor to start. It’s also one of the herbal products that can be really helpful in early labor, especially if you experience a long prodromal labor (‘false labor’).

Can I drink chamomile tea in the first trimester?

A good systematic review is needed on the use of herbal teas during early pregnancy, to know which ones are safe to drink. You should however, let your instinct guide you towards what works best for you.

Is chamomile tea safe to drink in early pregnancy? I believe it really depends on how much chamomile tea you drink. No adverse effects have been found by taking chamomile tea. A good safety classification however, has not yet been done to determine what herbal medicinal products are safe to drink during early pregnancy. We know you should stay away from blue cohosh, parsley and rue, for example, but there’s hardly any scientific evidence about the safety of using most herbal remedies during pregnancy.

If you suffer from severe morning sickness or if, one day, you have a really upset stomach, a soothing cup of chamomile tea might be more appropriate than any other over-the-counter remedies that are deemed safe.

Consult a naturopath if you are struggling with pregnancy symptoms and you don’t know what to do about them.

Does chamomile affect baby?

As with most herbal remedies and herbal medicines, it’s difficult to establish whether or not these herbal preparations are safe to use during pregnancy. Although herbal remedies have been used for centuries to treat pregnancy-related symptoms, we cannot be sure about related pregnancy outcomes.

A review of the research on the most commonly used herbs – ginger, raspberry leaf, peppermint, and chamomile tea – during pregnancy has not shed a lot of light on their safety. This has more to do with the inability to blame any specific pregnancy outcome on any specific herbal medicine use. As with every herbal remedy and other medicine, more research is necessary to learn about the effects of these herbs during pregnancy.

How to make camomile tea for pregnancy and labor

You can find chamomile tea in most stores. In some health food stores, you might be able to find fresh chamomile flowers or, at least, organic chamomile tea.

Place the chamomile into a cup or mug. Heat up some water and, when the pan starts to fill up with small tiny bubbles, just before it boils, that’s when the water has reached the perfect temperature to make the tea. Pour the water over the chamomile and let it sit for a few minutes. You can leave the chamomile in while you drink it. If you prefer to take it out, don’t squeeze the teabag, as all the impurities will then go into your tea. Just take it out and dispose of it or leave it in the sink to drain.