Herbal Tea in Pregnancy: Which Qehwa Is Fine and Which to Skip
Skip mulethi (licorice), gudhal (hibiscus), sana makki (senna), strong methi tea near your due date, any “cleanse” or slimming tea, and every unlabelled powder. That’s the short answer on herbal tea in pregnancy. Most everyday kitchen qehwas, like ginger, zeera, elaichi and a light saunf, are fine in ordinary food amounts, and the real number to watch is caffeine: 200 mg a day in total, from chai, kahwa, coffee and cola together. Below is a full table of 20 common teas, with a one-line reason for each.
The short version
- Avoid: mulethi, gudhal, sana makki, star anise tea, slimming or “cleansing” teas, loose powders with no label
- Limit: green tea, Kashmiri and pink tea, strong ajwain, dalchini, tulsi, lemongrass, babuna
- Usually fine in food amounts: ginger, zeera, elaichi, a weak saunf, pudina, a clove in your chai
- Caffeine cap: 200 mg a day, everything added together
- Labour teas: don’t try to start labour at home with any tea
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Which herbal teas to avoid in pregnancy, and why
Mulethi (licorice root). It contains glycyrrhizin, which can push blood pressure up, pull potassium down and make the body hold water. Health bodies advise pregnant women to avoid large amounts of licorice, and a daily mulethi qehwa for a sore throat counts as large. Our mulethi tea guide explains more.
Gudhal (hibiscus). The ruby-red tea tastes of cranberry and is sold as a heart tea. In pregnancy it’s usually advised against, because traditional use links it to bringing on periods and there’s too little safety data to say otherwise.
Sana makki (senna). A strong laxative, which makes it a medicine that belongs to the doctor, not the kettle. Many “slimming”, “cleansing” and “flat tummy” teas hide senna under a brand name.
Strong methi (fenugreek) tea, especially late on. Methi seeds in daal or a methi paratha are ordinary food. A concentrated methi tea is different: traditionally it’s thought to stir the womb, and it can lower blood sugar, which matters if you have gestational diabetes and take medicine.
Star anise (badiyan) tea. The spice itself is safe in biryani, but Japanese star anise, a poisonous lookalike, has turned up mixed into the real thing. You can’t tell the two apart in a loose bag. Read the full story in our star anise guide; in pregnancy, just skip the tea.
Unlabelled powders and “herbal mixes”. A packet of green powder from a Facebook seller could be anything, including laxatives, water pills, or worse. If there’s no ingredient list, there’s no drink.
Herbal tea in pregnancy: the full table
“Food amount” means what you’d put in a normal cup of chai or qehwa: a slice of ginger, a pod of elaichi, a pinch of zeera. It doesn’t mean four strong mugs a day of the same herb.
| Tea | Verdict | One-line reason |
|---|---|---|
| Adrak (ginger) | Fine, food amounts | Long, well-known use for morning sickness |
| Saunf (fennel) | Limit | A weak cup is fine; strong daily fennel tea has too little safety data |
| Ajwain (carom) | Limit | Fine in food; strong ajwain tea is traditionally avoided |
| Zeera (cumin) | Fine, food amounts | An everyday kitchen seed with no special warning |
| Pudina (mint) | Fine, food amounts | Can worsen heartburn, which is already common |
| Elaichi (cardamom) | Fine, food amounts | Flavouring, no special warning |
| Dalchini (cinnamon) | Limit | Cassia holds coumarin; a stick in chai is fine, strong daily tea isn’t |
| Laung (clove) | Fine, food amounts | A clove or two in chai; never clove oil by mouth |
| Tulsi (holy basil) | Limit | Too little pregnancy data for daily strong tea |
| Lemongrass | Limit | Traditionally avoided in large amounts in pregnancy |
| Babuna (chamomile) | Limit | An occasional weak cup; skip if you react to daisy-family plants |
| Gudhal (hibiscus) | Avoid | Linked to bringing on periods; little safety data |
| Mulethi (licorice) | Avoid | Raises BP, lowers potassium |
| Methi (fenugreek) | Limit, avoid late | Fine in cooking; concentrated tea may stir the womb |
| Rose (gulab) | Limit | Use food-grade petals only; sprayed garden roses carry pesticide |
| Blue tea (butterfly pea) | Skip | No pregnancy data at all; the colour is the main attraction |
| Green, Kashmiri, pink tea | Limit | Caffeine counts; pink tea also adds salt and soda |
| Star anise (badiyan) | Avoid as tea | Risk of poisonous Japanese star anise mixed in |
| Guava leaf | Skip | No pregnancy data, and it may lower blood sugar |
| Sana makki (senna) | Avoid | A strong laxative, a medicine in disguise |
Few rows say “fine” for a strong daily brew. That isn’t because these herbs are dangerous; it’s because almost none have been properly tested in pregnancy. A pinch in food has centuries of ordinary use behind it. A litre a day does not.
How much caffeine is OK in pregnancy? Chai, kahwa and coffee added up
The widely used limit is 200 mg of caffeine a day. That’s a total, and the figures below are rough, because leaf, brand and brewing time all change them.
- A cup of doodh patti chai: roughly 40 to 60 mg, more if it’s boiled long and dark
- A cup of green tea or Kashmiri kahwa: roughly 25 to 40 mg
- A cup of pink tea (noon chai): varies widely, since the leaves are boiled for a long time
- A mug of instant coffee: roughly 60 to 100 mg
- A 330 ml can of cola: roughly 30 to 40 mg
- A small bar of dark chocolate: roughly 20 to 50 mg
So three normal cups of chai and a cola sit close to the line, and two mugs of strong karak plus a coffee at work are well over it.
Green tea has one more quirk. Very large amounts may get in the way of folate, the B vitamin a baby needs early on, so keep it to a cup or two and don’t treat it as a health drink you can’t have too much of.
Ginger tea in pregnancy for morning sickness
Ginger has the best track record of any kitchen herb for nausea in early pregnancy, and midwives often suggest it. Keep it to food amounts, and sip slowly; big gulps on an empty stomach tend to come straight back.
- Peel and slice about 2 cm of fresh ginger into thin coins.
- Pour 250 ml of just-boiled water over them in a mug.
- Cover and steep for 5 to 7 minutes, then strain.
- Add a slice of lemon if it helps the taste; skip sugar if you can.
- Drink it warm, in small sips, between meals rather than on a totally empty stomach.
If you have a bleeding disorder or take a blood thinner, ask before making ginger a daily habit.
Go the same day if you can’t keep fluids down for 24 hours, your urine is dark or you haven’t passed urine for 8 hours, you feel faint or dizzy when you stand, you vomit blood, or you’re losing weight. Severe pregnancy sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum) is a medical condition, and it’s treatable. Also go urgently for bleeding, strong tummy pain, a severe headache with blurred vision, swelling of the face and hands, or fewer baby movements later in pregnancy.
Tea to make you go into labour: why we won’t give one
Searches for “tea to make you go into labor” are common in the last weeks, and the honest answer is that no tea reliably and safely starts labour. Some traditional labour teas contain herbs that can cause strong, uneven contractions or tummy upsets, and some “labour” blends online contain castor oil or senna. Starting labour before a baby or body is ready carries real risks, which is why doctors do it in hospital, with monitoring.
Raspberry leaf tea is the one people ask about most. It has a separate guide as a period tea; in late pregnancy, take it only if your own midwife or doctor has said yes.
No tea safely starts labour. If you’re overdue, the plan belongs to your midwife or doctor.
Myth: herbal means safe in pregnancy
People believe it because the herbs are already in the kitchen. But food amounts and a concentrated tea drunk daily for weeks are different exposures, and several traditional pregnancy “don’ts” (strong methi, certain barks) exist precisely because elders noticed trouble.
The same thinking applies to totkay for a cold. Our list of pregnancy-safe cold and cough totkay covers steam, saline and warm drinks, and the wider pregnancy foods to avoid guide separates folk rules from the ones with evidence. More kitchen guides sit under Desi Remedies.
In Unani terms many of these herbs are “hot” (garam), and elders often cut back on garam foods in early pregnancy. It’s tradition, not a test result, but the instinct (go gently, keep amounts small) matches modern caution well.
Herbal tea in pregnancy: your questions
Is herbal tea safe in pregnancy?
Some are, in food amounts. Ginger, zeera, elaichi and a weak saunf are fine for most people, while mulethi, gudhal, senna, star anise tea, slimming teas and unlabelled powders should be avoided. The problem is strong daily brews, not the odd cup.
Can I drink kahwa in pregnancy?
Yes, in moderation. Kashmiri or Peshawari kahwa is usually made with green tea, so each cup adds roughly 25 to 40 mg of caffeine to your 200 mg daily total. Keep the elaichi and dalchini light, and skip any added mulethi.
Is ginger tea safe in early pregnancy?
Yes, in food amounts, and it’s one of the best-known kitchen helps for nausea. A slice or two of fresh ginger steeped in hot water is the usual cup. If you have a bleeding disorder or take a blood thinner, check with your doctor first.
Can we drink saunf tea in pregnancy?
A weak cup now and then is fine. Fennel holds a natural compound called estragole, and European herbal regulators don’t recommend it as a remedy in pregnancy, so skip a strong daily fennel tea and never use fennel oil. Chewing a few seeds after a meal is ordinary food use.
Is cinnamon tea safe in pregnancy?
A small piece in chai is fine. A strong daily cinnamon tea isn’t a good idea, because the cassia sold in most markets contains coumarin, which can strain the liver in larger amounts. With gestational diabetes, ask whoever manages it before adding a cinnamon tea “for sugar”.
How many cups of chai can I have while pregnant?
Usually about three normal cups, if nothing else in your day has caffeine. The limit is 200 mg a day in total, and a cup of doodh patti is roughly 40 to 60 mg, so coffee, cola and chocolate all come out of the same allowance.
Can I drink blue tea in pregnancy?
It’s best skipped. Butterfly pea tea has no pregnancy safety data at all, and its claims are mostly about colour and marketing. There’s nothing it offers that plain water or a mild ginger cup doesn’t.
Is there a tea to make you go into labour?
No tea safely and reliably starts labour, and some so-called labour blends contain laxatives. If you’re overdue, speak to your midwife or doctor, who can check you and plan an induction safely if one is needed.
Can I drink jaggery (gur) tea in pregnancy?
Yes, but count it as sugar. Gur is not a health upgrade on sugar in a cup of chai, and if you have gestational diabetes, it raises your reading just like white sugar does.
Is babuna (chamomile) tea safe in pregnancy?
An occasional weak cup is generally considered fine. Skip it if you’re allergic to daisy-family plants, and don’t drink several strong cups a day, since there isn’t much pregnancy data behind it.
Can I take ajwain water or ajwain tea for gas in pregnancy?
Ajwain in cooking is fine. A strong ajwain tea is traditionally avoided in pregnancy, so if gas is bad, try smaller meals and a short walk first, and mention it at your next check-up.
Are herbal teas safe while breastfeeding?
Similar rules apply, with caffeine passing into milk. Keep caffeine moderate, avoid mulethi, senna and slimming teas, and ask your doctor about any herb you want to drink daily for milk supply.