While some people often think of herbs as only having positive effects on health, the fact remains that there are some herbs that just aren’t necessarily safe to use at certain times. In terms of breastfeeding, there are several herbs that you should avoid.

The first types of herbs to avoid while breastfeeding are those herbs that can decrease your supply of breast milk. These herbs may include sage, black walnut, oregano, spearmint, periwinkle, yarrow, herb robert, lemon balm, thyme, peppermint, sorrel, and chickweed. You will want to avoid these herbs while breastfeeding. While these herbs are wonderful in helping with oversupply of breast milk while you are weaning, they can decrease your breast milk too much while you are breastfeeding, making it possible that your baby will not get enough breast milk for himself or herself. Having said that, these herbs may be useful for a woman as she nears the time that her baby will wean, and she needs to start decreasing her breast milk supply anyways.

The second type of herbs that you should avoid while breastfeeding include those that can have a harmful effect either to you or to your baby that is being breastfed. Some of the herbs that may be harmful to you or your baby while breastfeeding can include wormwood, bladderwrack, elecampane, Chapparal, rhubarb, star anise, buckthorn, coltsfoot, kava-kava, uva ursi, and indian snakeroot.

There are other herbs that should be avoided while breastfeeding on the basis of safety. These herbs may cause different types of harmful effects than the herbs above. They include Aloe vera, Basil, borage, Bugleweed, Cascara sagrada, coltsfoot comfrey and elecampane.

There are some herbs that are useful while breastfeeding. For example, herbs like alfalfa, fenugreek, and blessed thistle are some of the very best ways to increase a woman’s supply of breast milk. Women who are not producing quite enough breast milk may benefit from these particular herbs.

If you have questions or concerns about avoiding specific herbs while breastfeeding, you should consult with your health care provider and/or your herbal expert.

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