Is it safe to take herbs while breastfeeding?
It depends. Herbs and herbal products may be considered natural, but they aren’t necessarily safe. Since herbs can be very potent, it’s important to check with your healthcare provider before using herbal supplements, herbal teas, and essential oils.
As with pharmaceutical medications, herbs can get into breast milk and possibly affect your milk supply and your baby. Herbs are regulated by the FDA as food products, not medicinal products. There’s no guarantee of safety, strength, or purity. And very few herbs have been studied to learn their effect on nursing infants.
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Herbs such as fenugreek and fennel, for example, have been used for centuries to increase milk supply, but there’s little data to show that they’re safe (or effective) in nursing moms and their babies.
Most herbs used to season food – such as cumin, rosemary, and cilantro – are fine to include in your everyday diet in moderate amounts. But some, like sage, can cause problems if you consume them in large or concentrated amounts, such as medicinally or in teas.
Work with your healthcare practitioner if you’d like to take herbs while breastfeeding. They can help you identify quality herbs, provide guidelines for amounts that are safe to take, caution you about any interactions with other herbs or medicines, and outline possible side effects that you should watch for in yourself and/or your baby.
When researching herbs online, look for reliable, noncommercial sites rather than those that are selling herbal products. The National Institutes of Health, MedlinePlus, and LactMed are good sources.
Herbs to avoid while breastfeeding
Avoid these herbs. Some interfere with lactation, and some could be harmful to you or your baby.
Note: This isn’t a complete list. Again, talk to your healthcare provider before taking any herbs.
- Aloe
- Anise
- Astragalus
- Blue cohosh
- Black cohosh
- Buckthorn
- Cascara sagrada bark
- Chaparral
- Chaste tree berry
- Coltsfoot leaf
- Comfrey
- Dong quai
- Elecampane
- Ephedra
- Ginseng
- Goldenseal
- Guarana (contains caffeine)
- Joe-pye weed
- Kava kava
- Licorice root
- Madder root
- Pennyroyal
- Prickly ash bark
- Red clover
- Rhubarb root
- Sage
- Saw palmetto
- Seaweed (bladderwrack)
- Senna
- John’s wort
- Uva ursi
- Wintergreen
- Wormwood
- Yerba mate
- Yohimbe
Use caution before taking any of these herbs. Some of the following herbs are known as galactagogues (traditionally used to boost milk production), but most haven’t been scientifically proven to be safe or effective. If you’d like to take any of these, talk with your healthcare provider first.
- Bilberry
- Bitter orange
- Blessed thistle
- Borage
- Calendula
- Cat’s claw
- Chamomile
- Coriander (cilantro)
- Dandelion
- Devil’s claw
- Echinacea
- Elderberry
- Eucalyptus
- Fennel seeds
- Feverfew
- Fenugreek
- Garcinia cambogia
- Ginger
- Ginkgo
- Goat’s rue
- Hawthorne
- Horsetail
- Lavender
- Milk thistle
- Mugwort
- Oregano
- Passionflower
- Pau d’arco
- Stinging nettles
- Turmeric
- Valerian
- Vervain (also called verbena)
Teas to avoid while breastfeeding
Teas containing any of the herbs mentioned above may not be safe for breastfeeding. That includes chamomile, echinacea, and ginger teas; yerba mate; and teas with valerian, sage, kava kava, anise, ginseng, comfrey, lavender, licorice root, passionflower, red clover, senna, or St. John’s wort.
Talk with your healthcare provider about any teas that you regularly consume. Check that they’re safe for your nursing baby, and learn whether they interact with other medications you take.
Here are some general guidelines for drinking tea while breastfeeding:
- Choose teas carefully. If you choose a tea blend, for example, make sure all of the ingredients are safe for use during breastfeeding. Use reliable brands that list all the ingredients, so you know what you’re getting.
- Your nursing baby will get some of the caffeine in your breast milk, so limit your consumption of teas that contain caffeine. (Green and black teas contain caffeine, while most herbal teas don’t.)
- Limit your consumption of herbal teas, even those that are safe, to a cup or two per day.
- Alternate types of tea you drink from day to day, so you’ll limit the amount of a specific herb you and your baby consume.
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Teas that are sold to promote lactation are generally safe for you to consume while breastfeeding (unless, of course, you have a problem with oversupply of breast milk). Still, check with your provider if you want to drink any of them regularly.
One study of the safety of Mother’s Milk Tea found no adverse effects among women who drank the tea while exclusively breastfeeding. However, LactMed (a database of drugs and their possible effects on breastfeeding mothers and their babies) notes a lack of safety data and/or possible concerns about some individual ingredients in the tea (such as anise, fennel, blessed thistle, and coriander).
Essential oils to avoid while breastfeeding
Essential oils are distilled or expressed from plant parts. As a result, they’re very potent – much more potent than the plant itself or herbal tea made from the plant. Essential oils are used in diffusers, mixed with carrier oils (for massage, for example), or added to water (in baths or steam, for example).
Only use essential oils that you know are safe during breastfeeding. Work with your healthcare provider to make sure. Some oils can affect your milk supply and aren’t safe for you and/or your baby. Many others simply lack scientific studies to support their safety.
Some essential oils to avoid:
- Basil
- Bergamot
- Hyssop
- Nutmeg
- Parsley
- Pennyroyal
- Tansy
- Wormwood
A few more tips for using essential oils (whether or not you’re breastfeeding):
- Never take an essential oil orally.
- Use essential oils – even those you know are safe – in small amounts (a drop at a time, as directed).
- Keep essential oils away from your eyes.
- Keep essential oils out of the reach of children.
Learn more:
- Pregnancy-safe tea
- Breastfeeding problem solver
- Foods to avoid when breastfeeding
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