Can you take echinacea when breastfeeding

Echinacea is an herb that is ground from a plant with pink or purple leaves and a cone shaped center. Echinacea is available in powdered formulations, as well as liquid extracts. While the herb can be purchased individually, it is also often combined with other herbs, including goldenseal. Echinacea is generally considered to be safe for nursing mothers.

You should be careful to only purchase echinacea from a reputable manufacturer and only as a single herb preparation. Goldenseal is an herb that comes from a plant with small flowers and fruit that resembles raspberries.

While goldenseal is often packaged and marketed with echinacea, it should be avoided while breastfeeding. Baby Center notes that goldenseal may be toxic, even when used in moderation. It has not been studied on lactating women, so the effects are unknown. Avoid the use of goldenseal while you are breastfeeding unless your doctor or health care provider prescribes it and monitors your baby closely.

If you choose to take echinacea while you are breastfeeding, you should only take the recommended dosage for no more than 7 to 10 days.

You can take mg of echinacea, three times per day 2. If you choose an echinacea tincture, you can take 1 to 3 ml, three times each day. That said, there are some essential nutrients breastfeeding moms should make sure they are getting daily. To help boost immunity, check the label of your multivitamin for vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin B complex, probiotics, and zinc.

In addition to a multivitamin or additional supplements, making healthy food choices can also boost your nutrient intake. To help with energy and keep you producing milk, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists ACOG recommend breastfeeding moms eat about to extra calories a day. Generally speaking, for most women this equates to about 2, calories per day. Whether or not you should take supplements is a conversation you need to have with your doctor or a registered dietitian.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC says if you follow a restrictive diet, you may not get adequate nutrients through food, which increases the risk of nutritional deficiencies. With that in mind, Ross says that supplementing with certain immune-boosting supplements, in addition to a multivitamin, is safe as long as you take a well-established brand that delivers safe dosages.

The key is not to exceed the recommended daily amount and to only take supplements that are proven safe to consume while breastfeeding.

Moreover, Rachel Borton, PhD, director of the Family Nurse Practitioner Online Program and assistant professor of nursing at Bradley University, reminds us that each mom and baby has a unique individual health history. Because of this, you cannot assume that every over-the-counter supplement is safe to consume, since breastfeeding moms will also be sharing the supplements through their breast milk with the infant.

Ross says dietary supplements like Airborne and Emergen-C are not recommended while breastfeeding since adequate medical studies have not been performed to show their effectiveness and safety. Taking immune-boosting supplements while breastfeeding can provide health benefits to both mom and baby.

If you are exploring herbal supplements, including echinacea, to manage decrease or increase breast milk production, then seek the advice of a complementary medicine expert. Echinacea is often used for lactation-related issues, such as mastitis, in traditional medicine. Research shows that the ethanolic extract of echinacea contains alkamides, ketoalkenes, caffeic acid derivatives, polysaccharides, glycoproteins, and caftaric acid, which are responsible for its medicinal properties 1.

These bioactive compounds exhibit immunomodulatory, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties 4. Confirming these claims needs more scientific research. The therapeutic effects of echinacea have been documented to be helpful in a few other health conditions, such as gingivitis, canker sores, cracked nipples, wound healing, and vaginitis Echinacea products are relatively well-tolerated.

However, they may exhibit side effects in some cases. The oral or topical use of echinacea while breastfeeding may cause the following side effects These symptoms are majorly observed in the cases of a cross-reaction, especially with other flowers from the Asteraceae family Thus, if you or your breastfeeding baby, are allergic to flowers, such as daisies, chrysanthemums, marigolds, and ragweed, then avoid using echinacea.

Echinacea has wide-spread use in herbal remedies associated with several ailments. However, these uses are not well-researched, especially in the case of breastfeeding mothers and their nursing infants. If you want to use echinacea for any health issue or prophylactic reasons, then do consult a medical professional or your healthcare provider. Does Echinacea Decrease Milk Supply? MomJunction's articles are written after analyzing the research works of expert authors and institutions.