# Peppermint tea



## letileon (Jan 9, 2011)

I'm sure we've all encountered this question before...is it safe to drink peppermint tea during pregnancy? I went my whole 1st pregnancy without any hot drink (I'm a coffee drinker). This time around I really would like something to have with breakfast. I've seen sources say it's fine and others say it causes contractions. I'm only having one cup of weakly steeped tea a day (I steep it for a minute or less). But that being said, I will eliminate it if it's a risk. Thoughts?


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## andaluza (Aug 3, 2011)

I read the same information. To be on the safe side, since often herbal teas have lots of extra ingredients I got sick of trying to verify, I put some fresh lemon slices in hot/boiling water, a few fresh mint leaves in hot water, or mix some pure cranberry juice with hot water. Just a work around I found good for me when I needed something hot. Also, I've used a few tsp. of blackstrap molasses in boiling water with some milk, which is slightly reminiscent of coffee, although a bit sweet for me since I don't usually sweeten my coffee.


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## Momma41 (Jun 12, 2012)

I drink decaf lipton tea with almond milk and honey!!! Mmmmm.


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## MichelleZB (Nov 1, 2011)

Dunno about peppermint! I avoided it because it was on my avoiding list from my doctor. I'm not sure if I'd avoid it the second time round.

One tea that's never on any "avoid" lists is rooibos. I drank that, and also hot water and lemon.


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## LizzieStewbutt (Jun 3, 2012)

ahhh!!! Ive was drinking Refresh by Tazo, which is mint, every night for about a week or so. I've never seen it on an "what to avoid" list! I've since been avoiding it since i read this post a couple of days ago, but I really hope the little bit that I did drink didn't do any harm. How can peppermint hurt?


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## CA Country Girl (Aug 13, 2011)

I have also never seen peppermint on an avoid list; on the contrary, I have seen it on several safe lists. Teas with lots of herbs sometimes do have a no no or two in them, but I think that most herbs are on lists for "lack of research" (though there are a few to avoid in early pregnancy because they can encourage uterine contractions, like good pms mixes) and a steeped bag of tea is nowhere near a medicinal does. There is so much contradictory info out there, we could all drive ourselves crazy.


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## writinglove (May 5, 2011)

I like the American Pregnancy Association's site, which was recommended by my MW. They have a sane list of things to avoid, and go into some detail re: teas: http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/herbaltea.html


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## kel (Nov 20, 2001)

I can't see how a cup of peppermint tea, even if you steeped in strongly, would have any ill effects. I actually drank it almost every night during the first month or two when I was super bloated - it helped my stomach feel a bit better before bed. There are definitely some herbs (esp in concentrated form such as tinctures) that should be avoided, but most herbal teas - you would have to drink many many cups of them to get too much of something.

And that is a pretty good little common sense article by the APA.


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## segolilymama (May 23, 2012)

You could always just go with a pregnancy tea - RRL, etc. No worries, plus you know you are doing something good for you & baby


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## sageowl (Nov 16, 2010)

Drank nothing but peppermint herbal tea last time I was pregnant, since it was the only thing that "felt good" at the time. Seemed totally fine to me, and definitely helped take the edge off the nausea. On a related note, I've seen it mentioned in botanical literature that peppermint/chamomile/catnip are supposedly not safe during pregnancy, but I didn't know that and drank all three. (shrug) Guess as long as you're not going crazy with the quantities, and don't have an unusual health condition, it probably doesn't matter a whole lot.


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