Is lemon balm tea safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about lemon balm tea during pregnancy?

1. No data exist on the excretion of any components of lemon balm into breastmilk, or on the safety and effectiveness of lemon balm alone in nursing mothers or infants. 1
2. Lemon balm is generally recognized as safe as a food flavoring by the FDA, and as a drug it is generally well tolerated in adults, with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, and wheezing reported occasionally. 1
3. Clinical trials of lemon balm have run in infants, young adults, middle-aged and older adults with no serious adverse events documented, but the reviewed literature does not cover use during pregnancy. 2
4. The calming effects studied for lemon balm used standardized extracts at defined doses rather than brewed tea, so a teabag delivers a smaller and far less predictable amount than the trials measured. 2
5. Herbs with limited human pregnancy evidence are classified in the caution category rather than the safe category in a multinational study of herbal use in pregnancy, which is where an untested herb sits by default. 3

Is lemon balm tea safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Lemon balm is a mint-family herb used as a food flavoring, which is the strongest thing you can say for it in early pregnancy. Its calming reputation comes from trials in non-pregnant adults, and none of that research extends to a first trimester. An occasional cup is a different question from a nightly routine, and your provider can help you place yours.
• Second trimester. People often pick lemon balm for sleep or for a queasy, unsettled stomach, both common in the middle months. The trials behind the calming claims used standardized extracts at set doses, not a teabag, so a cup of tea is a much smaller and less predictable amount than anything that was measured.
• Third trimester. Sleep gets harder late in pregnancy and herbal sleep blends become tempting. Lemon balm often appears combined with valerian and other herbs, which multiplies the unknowns rather than adding them. If sleep is the reason, say so at your visit, since there are better-mapped options to discuss.