Safe Teas For Breastfeeding Mums

While there is nothing quite like a good cup of tea, it does contain caffeine, which is important to limit during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, because babies metabolize caffeine at a very slow rate compared to adults.

When you drink a lot of caffeinated tea, you expose your breastfed baby to high levels of caffeine which can make them restless and irritable. Doctors recommend that you should limit caffeine intake to 300 mg per day. The easiest way to ensure this, is to find alternative teas containing small levels of caffeine or no caffeine at all.

What Alternative Teas are Best?

The alternative teas that you should go for are herbal teas and these days there’s a huge variety to choose from in most supermarkets or health food stores.

Ginger: in addition to having very low levels of caffeine, ginger tea is also a great remedy for colds and sore throats as it aids in clearing up congestion. The tea also plays a major role in digestion and nausea. You can even simply make this tea yourself by chopping a few pieces of fresh ginger and adding it to a teapot filled with boiling water.

To create variety, this tea can be changed up by adding honey, lemon or milk.

Rooibos: also known as red bush tea, is a caffeine-free tea often given to children in South Africa. It has high antioxidant qualities that aid in fighting free radicals. In addition to this, it’s rich in calcium that aids in bone building. Experts have also found that the tea helps the body to absorb iron which is very important after giving birth.

Red raspberry leaf tea: has high levels of magnesium, potassium, iron and vitamin B. This tea is best known for its role in toning and strengthening the uterine muscle and while often used before giving birth, is also a great tea to drink afterwards too.

Stinging nettle: is rich in calcium, iron and magnesium. It is also reputed to help a number of stomach issues such as constipation, bloating and IBS. Research studies have shown that this tea may help increase milk production; therefore, if you are having a problem with milk production, this is one of the best teas that you should go for. It goes hand in hand with our Lactation Cookies!

For the best results from Stinging Nettle tea, you should make it from the leaf and not from the root. Experts recommend that you should also drink it alongside other teas such as raspberry leaf tea.

Important Tips To Remember When Drinking Herbal Teas

While herbal teas are great, you need to be cautious when taking them. You should remember that some of these teas contain ingredients or plants that you might be allergic to. Before taking any tea, you should carefully read through the ingredients and ensure that they don’t contain anything you’re allergic or intolerant to.

Experts recommend that you should avoid pharmacologically active herbal teas as they can be harmful to your health and because most new mums are concerned with milk production it’s important to ensure that the herbal tea that you drink isn’t one that might lower milk production, such as peppermint and sage!

Delicious, 100% organic Lactation Tea options are available from Yummy Mummy Food Company containing many of these ingredients and MORE that are beneficial to breastfeeding mums.
Click here to try some today and give both yourself and your baby a treat!