Chamomile Oil During Pregnancy and Nursing
If you are pregnant or nursing and wondering about chamomile oil, here is the honest picture: no source we could find clears it, and none shows it causing harm. What exists is a gap, filled mostly with studies of chamomile tea. We sell chamomile oils for aroma and for diluted skin use, not as pregnancy products, so we cannot tell you what to do. What we can do is show what the sources say, so you know what to ask the person who looks after you.
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
Our own Roman Chamomile Essential Oil, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.
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Shop Now →What the evidence covers (and what it does not)
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health puts it plainly: little is known about whether chamomile is safe to use during pregnancy or breastfeeding (NCCIH). That statement covers chamomile in general, mostly tea and supplements.
The European Medicines Agency's herbal committee looked at the two chamomiles separately, in draft assessments. For German chamomile, the assessors reviewed large surveys of pregnant women who used chamomile, almost all as tea, and concluded they showed no risk from at least matricaria teas, while noting that for all other preparations there is a lack of data (EMA/HMPC/55837/2011, draft). Essential oil is one of those other preparations. For Roman chamomile, the draft says there have been no formal studies in pregnant women, mentions folkloric reports from the early 1960s about the plant bringing on menstruation, and notes a class 2b rating from the American Herbal Products Association advising against use in pregnancy at high doses (EMA, Roman chamomile draft).
Where the sources pull in different directions
The Roman draft contains both a caution and a reassurance. Most experts, it says, would avoid excess ingestion of Roman chamomile in pregnancy. Yet it also says there are no reliable human data or case reports on the effect on menstruation or pregnancy, so at the doses discussed such effects are not plausible. Read together, the warnings concern the plant taken by mouth in large amounts. Nobody has measured what a few drops of oil in a carrier do on skin or in the air, and the lack of a measurement is neither an all-clear nor a warning. That is why we land on neither side.
Tea studies also do not transfer to oil. The German draft states that tea carries 10% to 15% of the essential oil present in the flower, so a trial of the cup is not a trial of the bottle. The reverse holds too: nothing shows dilute oil on skin is worse than tea. It simply has not been studied.
The allergy point matters more than the pregnancy label
The German draft describes a severe anaphylactic reaction in a woman receiving a chamomile preparation, and the assessors describe it as not a pregnancy-related risk but something that could happen to any atopic patient reacting to daisy-family plants. That involved mucous membranes, not skin and not an essential oil, but it is a useful reminder that a ragweed, chrysanthemum or marigold allergy deserves attention at any stage of life.
Breastfeeding
For skin use during nursing, the German draft says data are not available, and the assessors proposed that nipples be cleaned of chamomile-containing products before nursing so the baby is not sensitized. So if you use any chamomile product on your chest or hands, keep it away from skin the baby will touch. A lactation consultant or your pediatrician can say what applies to your baby, and our guide for homes with children covers storage.
Questions to bring to your OB-GYN, midwife or pharmacist
- I am considering chamomile oil, diluted in a carrier, on my skin. Is that acceptable at my stage of pregnancy, given my history?
- If I smell it from a bottle or a diffuser, does the same answer apply?
- I react to ragweed or daisy-family plants. Should I skip it entirely?
Bring the bottle, which shows whether it is Roman or German, and our safety overview and dilution guide if that helps the conversation. Our guidance of 0.5% to 2% in a carrier oil with a patch test is written for adults generally and is not a pregnancy recommendation.
When the research is this thin, asking the person who knows your history is the most useful step you can take.
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil from our own shop, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.
From $32.99
Shop Now →