Pregnancy tea or herbal tea is a kind of tea that is made not from the usual tea leaves, but from other herbs and has been used for centuries for helping with easing the discomforts of pregnancy and also with improving the pregnant woman’s health.
This herbal tea may be made from roots, berries, flowers, seeds, and leaves of a variety of plants rather than from the actual tea plant leaf.
However there are questions often raised about the safety of pregnancy teas and the herbs contained therein during pregnancy.
If you are planning to use pregnancy teas, it is a good idea to decide based on the following pros and cons:
- Pregnancy teas contain no caffeine since they are not made from tea leaves that are typically fermented and oxidized
- They are known to help with preterm labor or long term labor
- Some experts believe that pregnancy teas can help prevent preeclampsia
- It is also thought that these herbal teas may help with postpartum bleeding
Also it is important to remember that regular tea contains beneficial antioxidants, which most women can continue to have safely throughout pregnancy.
One of the doubts that women face when considering pregnancy teas is the fact that many formulations contain raspberry leaf which is thought to induce contractions.
However, this is thought to be safe to take during pregnancy and in fact is thought to have benefits such as shortening labor, and regulating date of delivery. It may even ease labor pains and help in lactation.
Though there has not been adequate research carried out on herbal teas to accurately gauge their safety and efficacy during pregnancy on both the woman as well as the fetus; it is generally recommended by medical practitioners that use of pregnancy teas may best be avoided during the first trimester of pregnancy.
While most practitioners clear herbal teas for consumption in moderate quantities during pregnancy, it is important that the ingredients be checked before buying.
It is best to buy the kind of pregnancy teas that do not contain strong bitter herbs such as feverfew, tansy, goldenseal, bloodroot, broom, mandrake, and barberry.
Herb is also thought to be best avoided. Other ingredients to watch out for are Peruvian bark, poke, cotton root, and male fern. Even laxative herbs, like senna and cascara are to be avoided according to some experts.
So pregnancy teas are fine so long as you keep a vigilant eye on the list of ingredients.
