# peppermint and pregnancy



## impchild (Nov 23, 2006)

Ok wonderful wise women, I have a question for you. I LOVE peppermint tea and just decided to look up if it was safe during pregnancy ( I am 10 weeks pregnant). I had not really been drinking it but recently our house water started tasting funny to me so I had a big glass of iced peppermint tea yesterday and today. Now looking it up I find that it is safe after the first trimester or should be avoided (but not never take). I usually make it cold just throwing the teabag in the water and leaving it all day while refilling the water as I drink it. Can I have my tea? Please say yes... or give me another idea to flavor my water.

thanks in advance


----------



## mwherbs (Oct 24, 2004)

freshly picked peppermint in a certain time of year may produce contractions-- I think that some people would warn you against water or air -- as not being proven safe in pregnancy.... should be fine unless you feel that it makes you sick or.... heck when I was pregnant with my first in the 70's doctors would recommend you eat peppermint hard candies in order to help with morning sickness.


----------



## amnda527 (Aug 6, 2006)

There is peppermint in my "pregnancy tea". There is no warning on the box that says anything about not drinking it in the 1st tri.


----------



## ~Demeter~ (Jul 22, 2006)

I was told the tea is ok but to avoid the oil and things like that. It's silly how many differing opinions there are out there about things like this.







:


----------



## treemom2 (Oct 1, 2003)

The pregnancy tea concoction I have made with every one of my children consists of RRL, nettle, and peppermint just to help with the flavor. I've never read anything about peppermint tea being contraindicated during pregnancy. In fact, I've read that it actually helps with morning sickness.


----------



## mamada (Oct 4, 2006)

During my 1st pregnancy, 2 years ago, my midwife said that peppermint tea was fine to drink. This time around (my 2nd), my midwife (same midwife) told me that peppermint tea has been found to be contraindicated during pregnancy. She also said to not worry about the few cups I had at the beginning of this pregnancy as she drank peppermint tea all throughout her own pregnancy and her ds is fine. I wasn't worried at all, as I had also drank peppermint tea all throughout my first pregnancy and my ds is fine too.

I don't know how they determine what tea is safe and what is not. I'm one to play by the rules so I don't drink peppermint tea anymore, while pregnant. But do I think you'll severely damage your baby by drinking a glass here or there? No, I doubt it.


----------



## stacey2061 (Feb 1, 2006)

ACK ~ why does it seem like every time i decide to consume something i don't normally, i find out later that maybe i shouldn't have?


----------



## mwherbs (Oct 24, 2004)

so I will try this again-- sometimes pregnant women will be told that peppermint is not recommend if they are having heartburn- because it relaxes the muscles in the stomach and will cause heartburn to get worse.
Peppermint oil is used in enteric coated caps for IBS because it will relax the intestines in the same way-- giving relief to someone with IBS...
-------------------------
another way to think about it is mouthwashes and tooth paste would have warning labels on them if they were though to be dangerous-
-------------------------
if science has not studied something it's safety is unproven--
here is an abstract from 2004--
Complement Ther Nurs Midwifery. 2004 Feb;10(1):30-6.

Use of anti-emetic herbs in pregnancy: women's choices, and the question of
safety and efficacy.

Westfall RE.

Department of Biology, Box 3020, STN CSC, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC,
Canada V8W 2Y2. [email protected]

The majority of North American pregnant women experience some degree of nausea and vomiting, usually in the first few months of pregnancy. Women utilize many coping strategies, including self-treatment with herbal medicine and other alternative therapies. In a qualitative study of self-care in pregnancy, birth and lactation within a non-random sample of 27 women in British Columbia, Canada, 20 women (74%) experienced pregnancy-induced nausea. Ten of these women used anti-emetic herbal remedies, which included ginger, peppermint, and Cannabis. The safety and efficacy of each of these herbal remedies is discussed here. Only ginger has been subjected to clinical trials among pregnant women, though all three herbs were clinically effective against nausea and vomiting in other contexts, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and post-operative nausea. While safety concerns exist in the literature for all three herbs with regards
to their use by pregnant women, clinical evidence of harm is lacking.

PMID: 14744504 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


----------



## Avena (May 27, 2005)

Enjoy your tea mama!

wow! a mw saying pepermint leaf tea is contraindicated during preg, Are you sure she didn't mean the Essential oil?


----------

