The Efficacy and Safety of Using Chamomile Products During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period

TL;DR

This paper reviews the use of chamomile products during pregnancy and postpartum, finding limited evidence for their safety and effectiveness.

Contribution

The study provides a systematic review of chamomile use in peripartum and postpartum women, highlighting gaps in current evidence.

Findings

Only 23 studies were included, with limitations such as small sample size and overlapping research teams.

Evidence for the efficacy and safety of chamomile during pregnancy is weak and inconclusive.

Clinically significant findings were reported but lacked statistical significance.

Abstract

Herbal remedies have been a mainstay of medicine for thousands of years. This systematic literature review investigated the efficacy and safety of chamomile herbal products among peripartum or postpartum women. Four peer-reviewed databases were searched through June 2024. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol was implemented, and the quality of studies was assessed using Cochrane Risk-of-Bias Assessment tools.

A total of 23 studies (16 clinical trials and seven observational studies involving 2,065 women from nine countries) were included in this review. The development of clinical practice recommendations on using chamomile products during pregnancy is not feasible based on the available evidence, indicating the need for randomized, double-blind placebo control studies with larger study populations and consistent study protocols (e.g., type and dosage of chamomile ingested). Limitations of this review include its small sample size and the inclusion of multiple studies by the same research teams; these findings likely reflect insights from the same cohorts of women.

Some studies reported clinically significant findings that were not statistically significant. Thus, despite weak evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of chamomile usage during pregnancy, a provider might still share the potential benefits and risks of using chamomile products with patients who use or desire to use chamomile products.

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