Herbal Tea in Pregnancy: Limits and Which Ones to Ask About

Herbal Tea in pregnancy: how to think about it

NHS guidance on foods to avoid in pregnancy suggests limiting herbal and green teas to about 4 cups a day, and advises checking with a GP or midwife about which herbal teas are suitable. The reasoning is that there is little evidence about the safety of many herbal products in pregnancy, rather than evidence of harm from ordinary consumption. Herbal teas are also not regulated as medicines, so the amount of active plant material in a cup varies between products. Caffeine is a separate consideration: green tea contains caffeine and counts towards the roughly 200 mg a day that guidance sets for pregnancy, alongside coffee, cola and chocolate. Some botanicals, including raspberry leaf, come up specifically in pregnancy discussions and are best raised with a midwife rather than started independently.

Working through a longer grocery list? The Pregnancy Food Safety Hub gathers all 50 SafeMama food and drink guides, grouped by pasteurization, cooking temperature and mercury questions.

Herbal Tea: safer choices

• Keeping herbal and green tea to roughly 4 cups a day, which is the limit NHS guidance suggests.
• Reading the full ingredient list on a blend rather than going by the name on the front, since fruit and herbal blends often contain several botanicals.
• Asking your midwife, GP or pharmacist about a specific herb you drink regularly, particularly if it is a medicinal rather than culinary one.
• Remembering that green tea and some blends contain caffeine, which counts towards the roughly 200 mg daily caffeine limit for pregnancy.
• Treating plain fruit infusions with no added botanicals as the simplest option if you want to avoid the question entirely.

Herbal Tea: what to avoid or double-check

• Do not assume herbal means safe. Many herbs have not been studied in pregnancy, and some are specifically cautioned against.
• Avoid drinking large quantities of any single herbal tea daily, which is where most of the concern lies rather than with an occasional cup.
• Avoid herbal remedies and concentrated herbal supplements without advice. These are a different exposure from a teabag.
• Avoid raspberry leaf tea in early pregnancy without advice. It is often discussed for late pregnancy and should be a conversation with your midwife rather than a self-started habit.

How SafeMama helps

SafeMama can read the full botanical list on a tea blend, flag caffeine-containing ingredients such as green tea and yerba mate, and highlight herbs worth asking a clinician about before you drink them daily.

Open the SafeMama app, scan the barcode or search the ingredient, then use the result as a starting point for a conversation with your healthcare provider.

Sources

• NHS foods to avoid in pregnancy
• FDA how much caffeine is too much
• ACOG moderate caffeine consumption during pregnancy