Can you drink peppermint tea when pregnant?
Hannah Weiss
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Find out if it's safe to drink peppermint tea during pregnancy, and whether it can help with morning sickness or nausea. Plus, precautions to take to keep you and your baby healthy.
The official advice on drinking peppermint tea in pregnancy
Great news! Peppermint tea is safe to drink while you're pregnant. In fact, the NHS sometimes recommends it as a possible remedy for morning sickness.
Peppermint is an aromatic herb commonly found across Europe and Asia. It's used to flavour toothpaste, sweets, sorbet and essential oils. Its cooling effect and minty scent comes from menthol.
Peppermint tea is made by steeping fresh or dried peppermint leaves in boiling water. It’s caffeine-free, which makes it a great replacement for your morning coffee during pregnancy.
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Peppermint for nausea and morning sickness
Peppermint tea is a popular remedy for morning sickness and nausea during pregnancy. While a soothing herbal drink may help to alleviate your symptoms, the scientific evidence behind these claims is scarce.
This is because researchers are often reluctant to conduct studies on herbal remedies with pregnant women, due to the risk of potential side effects.
However, many women in the Netmums forum do swear by peppermint tea for easing nausea, and most healthcare experts agree it's safe, so it's certainly worth a try!
Other benefits of peppermint
- Studies show that peppermint oil can be an excellent herbal remedy for irritable bowl syndrome (though the same research also found that it may sometimes make heartburn worse).
- People also use peppermint as a herbal remedy to treat colds, aid sleep and alleviate allergy symptoms. However more research needs to be done to confirm the science behind these claims.
Pregnancy-safe drink recipes
Love peppermint tea? Why not try these pregnancy-safe drinks?
The Day-by-Day Pregnancy Book: Count Down Your Pregnancy Day by Day by Dr Maggie Blott is packed full of advice from a team of experts to help guide you through your pregnancy from conception to birth. See more details here at Amazon.
Looking for more pregnancy diet info? Check out our articles below, or swap tips with other mums-to-be in our forum.
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