Can you drink camomile tea while pregnant

Risk factors for gastroesophageal reflux disease: the role of diet. March Join now to personalize. Photo credit: istock. Can pregnant women drink tea? Is it safe to drink herbal tea during pregnancy? What teas are safe to drink while pregnant? Teas to avoid during pregnancy What about herbal teas made for pregnancy?

Sources BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world.

Featured video. Caffeine during pregnancy. Drinking soda during pregnancy. Raspberry leaf tea during pregnancy. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Pregnant with no pregnancy symptoms. Stuffy nose during pregnancy. Safe skin care during pregnancy. New to BabyCenter? Join now. Password Forgot your password? Keep me logged in. Log in. Get the BabyCenter app. Download now. The potency of the tea depends on the manufacturer and how long the tea is steeped. Chamomile contains flavonoids—naturally occurring plant pigments that are present in many nutritious fruits and veggies.

Foods with flavonoids have a host of health benefits, including, according to promising research, the potential to reduce risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke. Chamomile tea bags are sold at grocery stores, health food stores and drugstores across the country, and can also be purchased on Amazon.

You can also make chamomile tea by soaking the dried flowers also available online and at health food stores directly in hot water. This is a tricky one. We polled several obstetricians, and the general consensus is that drinking chamomile tea is a personal decision you should make with your doctor.

There is no hard-and-fast rule as to whether or not chamomile is definitely safe or definitely unsafe. Could chamomile tea be safe for some pregnant women and not for others? It's a tough call, because research is so lacking. In a study conducted by doctors at Case Western Reserve University including Sanjay Gupta , the benefits and risks of chamomile tea have been researched extensively amongst the general population.

Why the complete lack of evidence when it comes to moms-to-be? Hmm , fair enough. Unless you clear it with your doc, steering clear sounds like the best policy.

According to the Case Western Reserve study, chamomile has been proven to help reduce symptoms of the common cold, gastrointestinal conditions and throat soreness and hoarseness.

Chamomile is also widely recommended as an effective home remedy to reduce anxiety. In a study published by the National Institutes of Health , subjects diagnosed with moderate-to-sever generalized anxiety disorder were given mg of chamomile extract every day for 12 weeks. Chamomile was found to be safe and effective in significantly reducing GAD symptoms. While chamomile extract contains a much higher dose than your average cup of tea, you may also reap the anxiety reducing benefits by slowly sipping a warm cup and taking deep breaths.

While chamomile tea is largely considered safe for the non-pregnant population, anyway , it can cause vomiting if you take it in large doses, warns WebMD. Additionally, if you have an allergy to any plant in the daisy family like marigolds, ragweed and chrysanthemums , you may develop an allergic reaction after consuming chamomile tea.

Take care not to overindulge in any tea during pregnancy. A study suggests that high consumption of tea more than three cups per day may interfere with the absorption of folic acid, that essential nutrient for preventing neural tube defects like spina bifida. Overall, as with anything else in pregnancy, it's best to practice moderation. Unlike herbal teas, which contain only about 0.

Sip four or five cups throughout the day, and you've gotten about milligrams of caffeine. A study from Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Division of Research found that pregnant women who consumed more than milligrams of caffeine daily had double the risk of miscarriage compared with those who avoided the stimulant.

However, a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health found no association between intakes of up to milligrams of caffeine and miscarriage. Without a definitive answer on the effects of caffeine while expecting, most experts agree it's best to use caution and limit intake to less than milligrams a day.

And here's a trick to decaffeinate your favorite tea. Caffeine is the first substance released into the water during steeping this occurs within the first 25 seconds. To decaffeinate, steep the leaves or bag for 30 seconds, dump the water, then refill your cup with hot water and steep again. Most of the caffeine will be removed. Dandelion tea : There isn't enough information on dandelion tea to know whether it's safe in pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Lemon balm : This tea is considered possibly safe and commonly used to relieve anxiety, irritability and insomnia. Parsley tea : Avoid parsley tea during pregnancy. If you drink large amounts, it may increase your risk of miscarriage and affect how your baby develops. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.

Herbal preparations are not required to have the same level of testing and proof that they work as do prescription medicines. As a result, we know less about their side effects during breastfeeding. Some are known to be quite safe. Others have been shown to contain components that may not be safe. Read more on Australian Breastfeeding Association website. Caffeine is a stimulant, found in different amounts, in coffee, black and green tea, energy drinks, some soft drinks, and in chocolate.

Read more on Your Fertility website. Supporters of Ayurveda as a therapy for autistic children say it improves autism characteristics.

Read more on raisingchildren. Complementary and alternative medicines CAM include acupuncture, herbal medicines and manual therapies such as massage and reflexology. Read more on Better Health Channel website. About half of Australian women consult a complementary therapist while pregnant. Here's what you should know about integrative medicine and pregnancy. While most medicines are safe to take while breastfeeding, some can affect your baby.

Find out which medicines you can take and how to get advice.