When I was pregnant the first time, the nausea was…fun.
Sometimes all I could eat was whatever I was craving — and that was often total junk food. Sometimes I couldn’t even eat what I was craving by the time I actually made it! (My husband already thought I was complicated regarding food before I was pregnant, so this seriously drove him nuts.)
Of course, I’m not alone. Lots of mamas deal with little pregnancy woes — nausea, heartburn, constipation, and more. It’s kind of par for the course, but that doesn’t mean you have to just suffer.
One of my favorite things to do in pregnancy is to use tea! Different types of herbal tea — many of which are perfectly pregnancy-safe and can help to ease many of the common pregnancy complaints.
8 Ways to Use Herbal Tea for Common Pregnancy Complaints
Herbal tea for common pregnancy complaints is awesome. There’s something super soothing about a nice cup of tea. And, the specific herbs in that cup of tea can actually help to alleviate some of the issues! Pretty neat.
1. Nausea
Many pregnant women experience nausea, especially in the first trimester. Spearmint is a wonderfully soothing tea for upset tummies, as is ginger. I like to use whichever “feels” the best to me at the time, or even blend them. Ginger is very strong, and spearmint is much gentler — it’s a sweeter mint than peppermint, with less menthol.
Both of these herbs are found in Earth Mama Angel Baby’s Morning Wellness Tea, along with chamomile, orange peel, lemon balm, and peppermint.
2. Heartburn
“The baby will have lots of hair…”
It’s an old wives’ tale, but many pregnant women swear they have babies with lots of hair when they’ve had awful heartburn. (Then again, some say they had heartburn and had bald babies, and still others — like me! — didn’t have much or any heartburn and had babies with long locks, so.)
Heartburn is common often later in pregnancy, when baby’s big and is squishing mom’s stomach. Many moms are desperate for some relief!
For me, the biggest culprit was foods I was unknowingly sensitive to — nuts and chocolate, I found. Many moms don’t have a specific trigger (or can’t figure it out), and in that case, chamomile and marshmallow root are excellent choices.
Both are found in Earth Mama Angel Baby’s Organic Heartburn Tea.
3.Constipation
One of the most surprising and un-fun symptoms of pregnancy, many moms notice that things to seem to sloooooow doooooown once they are pregnant — which can be pretty uncomfortable and lead to hemorrhoids, especially late in the game!
Marshmallow root can ease constipation, but for many women, magnesium deficiency is the culprit (the body uses a lot while pregnant). An Epsom salt bath, magnesium lotion, or an oral supplement can be very helpful.
4. Labor Preparation/Easing
Lots of women are worried about labor — or at least are looking for it to be a little easier. Many women find that labor is more efficient (and thus, a bit less painful and a bit shorter) when they use red raspberry leaf. Nettles are also an excellent herb for labor preparation.
I used both of these quite a lot during my fifth pregnancy, and found that while labor wasn’t necessarily easier (baby wasn’t positioned all that well), the after pains were much less than in previous pregnancies, both in duration and intensity, and I had very little bleeding. My recovery was much better!
These herbs are found in Earth Mama Angel Baby’s Third Trimester Tea, along with oatstraw, spearmint, rosehips (rich in vitamin C), chamomile, and alfalfa (rich in vitamin K).
5. Anxiety
Unfortunately, a lot of mamas experience anxiety in pregnancy — and after. More and more women are struggling with both anxiety and depression.
I’ve personally struggled with anxiety, and have found that cutting out all sugar, strictly, for several months helped a lot. Also learning my personal triggers (corn, soy, chocolate — that last one was sadly a big one) and avoiding them.
On top of working through the underlying causes, herbs like chamomile, oatstraw, and lemon balm can help to ease anxiety.
All of these herbs are found in Earth Mama Angel Baby’s Peaceful Mama Tea.
6. Sore Back
Later in pregnancy, it’s pretty common for your back to be sore. The weight of the baby shifts your center of gravity and balance, and, well — it’s just a lot. This can lead to a very sore back!
To some extent, nothing but having a baby is going to cure it. It’s just kind of the way it is!
On extra sore days, a little arnica is warranted (topically). A nice cup of chamomile tea might help, too — it relaxes you, so at least you’re not feeling worse because you’re tense.
7. Colds and Coughs
While this isn’t unique to pregnancy, a lot of mamas do deal with a cold at some point during pregnancy, and not all medications are safe at this time.
Ginger and mullein are two herbs that are pregnancy-safe and can make a big difference for coughs and colds. Elderberry is pretty good, too. (One of my other favorites, fenugreek, is not safe in pregnancy, but is safe while breastfeeding. Yarrow is also not pregnancy-safe.)
8. Leg Cramps
One symptom some women don’t experience, but many women do, is leg cramps. They can strike any time, but often while sleeping, waking you up out of a sound sleep. That’s no good!
A strong cup of nettle tea may help — it’s rich in potassium. Deficiency of potassium is sometimes the reason for these cramps.
For myself, I found that once I started using magnesium lotion, I no longer had leg cramps in pregnancy at all.
My best remedy for heartburn this pregnancy has been eating grapefruits. Also, Meadowsweet herb tea for heartburn!