If your pregnancy taste buds have led you to abandon your usual coffee-drinking ways, there’s every chance you’ll find solace in a cup of herbal tea. Delicious with a cup load of pregnancy health benefits, here are 10 pregnancy teas to try!
Constant nausea, feeling epically tired or just not seeing that pregnancy glow everyone keeps banging on about? Perhaps an herbal tea might help to reboot all those not-so-great pregnancy feelings and help you get your MOJO back.
New to herbal tea drinking? Find your favourite cup and steep a teabag with confidence with this quick guide to what teas are safe to consume during pregnancy and what potential benefits they might bring.
Pregnancy teas – the benefits of drinking a good ‘ol cuppa
- Herbal teas can help reduce dreaded morning (or all day) sickness, along with some of the other pregnancy symptoms. They can help you relax for a better night’s sleep and even prepare the uterus for labour. Amazing!
- Hydration boost! Can’t face drinking another bottle of plain water? Good news, herbal tea absolutely counts towards your daily water intake. Drink it hot or cold, it packs a flavourful punch.
- Herbal teas can be an extra source of nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants. Making them a sneaky way to boost your health, without even trying. Hallelujah!
- And don’t forget, just the sheer act of having a cuppa with a friend or your partner (or just by yourself for five minutes of peace) does great wonders for the soul. We’re talking lower stress and anxiety levels. So go on, put your feet up and pop the kettle on!
Get ready to dunk, here are 10 herbal teas to drink when pregnant!
1. Nettle tea
Yep, those very same stinging nettles we try to avoid touching have been morphed into tea and can be drunk without causing a rash! Best drunk during the later stages of pregnancy (second and third trimester), it is packed with magnesium, calcium, and iron. This makes it great for both mumma and bub.
2. Ginger tea
When you feel truly awful and plagued with nausea, try a cup of ginger tea. Sipping a ginger-infused brew can help with those pesky morning sickness symptoms, as well as bringing sweet relief from digestive issues.
3. Peppermint tea
A fantastic all-rounder for anyone, peppermint tea is especially good for mums-to-be who are suffering from morning sickness. Drinking peppermint tea brings relief to the stomach muscles, which is so very beneficial when they’re getting a good workout. (You know, from all that vomiting and retching!)
4. Spearmint tea
The sister tea of peppermint, spearmint tea delivers all the same magical stomach muscle-relaxing action without increasing reflux. If you find yourself battling with nausea AND chowing down Quick-Eze for your heartburn, spearmint tea is the brew for you!
5. Rooibos tea
Full of antioxidants, rooibos tea is said to taste most similar to that of your average black tea, making it a great option for all you go-hard-or go-home tea drinkers out there.
6. Red raspberry leaf tea
Red raspberry leaf tea is popular during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Perhaps because it’s high in iron. It’s believed that mineral-rich red raspberry leaf tea can help prepare the uterus for labour. Plus, it can help prevent post-partum haemorrhage. AND if that’s not enough, raspberry leaf also supports your body’s breast milk production. Talk about an overachiever!
7. Dandelion tea
Best left until late pregnancy to drink, dandelion tea is high in potassium. It’s also a great reliever of fluid retention, which is handy if you’re suffering from uncomfortable cankles (we can relate to that).
8. Lemon balm tea
A cup of comfort! If you’re full of a headache, cold or the flu—or just generally feeling crappy, a cup of lemon balm tea could do the trick. It’s a soothing, calming brew, which is also said to bring on a great night’s sleep.
9. Chamomile tea
A very occasional cup of chamomile tea can help release stress and anxiety. Consequently, you might even find yourself enjoying a FABULOUSLY DEEP SLEEP. Wouldn’t that be nice?! Insomnia be gone!
10. Specialty pregnancy teas
Of course, like any good recipe – mixing your flavours can result in some really delicious outcomes. If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to drinking herbal teas, commercial pregnancy teas are an awesome, super easy starting point. Mama Body Tea, Pukka and Mummy Tea all get our teacup check of approval for a good cuppa.
Not all herbal teas are created equal – teas to avoid during pregnancy
Don’t be quick to assume that because you’re skipping the caffeine and drinking herbal tea, it’s perfectly safe for you and your baby – ahhh pregnancy, such a confusing time.
While drinking certain herbal brews in limited quantities might be fine, some are considered unsafe for drinking when pregnant. Avoid drinking chicory root tea, pennyroyal tea, liquorice root tea, sage tea, parsley tea, and slippery elm bark tea while pregnant.
That’s it mamma! All that’s left to do is choose which biscuits best match your herbal brew, sit back and RELAX. We all know that when the baby arrives there won’t be much relaxing to be had, so enjoy your cuppa while you can!
