Nettle Tea???

[sarakrahn]

With my first pregnancy I had trouble with swelling due to water retention. I recently heard that nettle tea can help and was wondering if it was safe and what the dosage would be? I am currently 17 weeks pg and hoping to avoid that this time around

[dayiscoming2006]

My midwife said nettle tea is one of the best teas to drink while pregnant and that it was fine for me to have it as iced tea throughout the day. I don't know about any dosage. But, it is safe. 

[SamSarah]

I've been drinking it through my pregnancy and my midwife encourages this.  However, for me, it's a regular in my tea rotation regardless  from the pregnancy.  My impression is that there isn't a dosage concern with this - though I would ask your midwife.

[bazil323]

It's considered a pregnancy tonic, and it can be safely drunk several cups daily. Dandelion tea is also very helpful for water retention during pregnancy, and since it has natural potassium, it helps prevent becoming depleted (over the counter & prescription diuretics tend to flush everything and thus you become low on potassium, sodium, etc.).

EDIT:

Almost forgot: Both are gentle diuretics, so you may need to drink 2-4 cups a day to really see results. Drinking these types of teas regularly will help prevent that overload swelling, but it may take larger doses, resting with feet up, drinking extra water, etc., to really get swelling down if it's already fairly bad.

[1babysmom]

I have nettle and dandelion in my homemade pregnancy tea, and I add more to each batch if I'm feeling puffy and swollen at any time.  I drink it pretty regularly though so I don't end up "needing" it that often, but if I do have trouble I get really fast results with a nice, relaxing magnesium bath!

[A2JC4life]

If you're drinking it specifically because of the water retention, I'd stick with the dandelion (b/c of the potassium).  Nettle is in most pregnancy teas because of its other benefits, but Dr. Brewer (of Blue Ribbon Baby fame) says that diuretics are a no-no for pregnant women, as they can cause, increase, or interfere with the recognition of preeclampsia/toxemia.