Essential Oils When Pregnant
Essentials Oils are a beautiful gift from Mother Nature. However, they are volatile molecules that we should treat with care and foresight when applying them at every stage of our wellbeing journey.
Below is a list of essential oils that should be avoided during pregnancy and list of essential oils that are considered generally safe during pregnancy at various stages.
Note: Essentials oils should not be ingested at any time during pregnancy.
Essential Oils to Avoid During Pregnancy & Lactation
Common & Scientific Name
Aniseed - Pimpinella anisum
Star Anise - Illicium verum
Araucaria - Neocallitropsis pancheri
Artemisia vestita - Artemisia vestita
Atractylis - Atracyllodes lancea
Sweet birch - Betula lenta
Black seed - Nigella sativa
Buchu (ct. diosphenol and ct.pulegone) - Agathosma betulina
Calamint (lesser) - Calamintha nepenta
Carrot seed - Daucus carota
Chaste tree - Vitex agnus-castus
Cinnamon bark, cassia bark - Cinnamomum vera, C. cassia
Clove - Syzygium aromaticum
Costus - Saussurea costus
Cumin - Cuminum cyminum
Blue cypress - Callitris intratropic
Dill seed (Indian) - Anethum sowa
Fennel, bitter and sweet - Foeniculum vulgare
Feverfew - Tanacetum parthenium
Genipi - Artemisia genepi
Hibawood - Thujopsis dolobrata
Ho leaf (Ravintsara) (ct.camphor) - Cinnamomum camphor
Hyssop (ct. pinocamphone) - Hyssopus officinalis
Lanyana - Artemisia afra
Spanish lavender - Lavandula stoechas
Mugwort - Artemisia vulgaris
Myrrh - Commiphora myrrha
Aniseed myrtle - Backhousia anisata
Oregano Origanum vulgare, O.compactum
Parsley leaf and seed Petroselinum crispum
Pennyroyal Hedeoma pulegioides, Mentha pulegium
Rue Ruta graveolens
Sage (Both Dalmation and Spanish) Salvia officinalis, Salvia lavandulifolia
Savin Juniperus sabina
Savoury - Satureia montana
Tansy - Tanacetum vulgare
Thuja, White cedar - Thuja occidentalis
Thuja, Western red cedar Thuja plicata
Thyme ct. thymol - Thymus vulgaris
Vanilla (absolute) - Vanilla plantifolia
Wintergreen - Gaultheria procumbens
Wormwood - Artemisia absinthium, A. maritime, A. herba-alba
Yarrow, green - Achillea nobilis
Zeodary - Curcuma zeodaria
Naturally Occurring Chemical Constituents to watch out for:
Beta-eudesmol
Beta-elemene
Trans-anethole, (E)-anethole
Thujone
Camphor
Methyl salicylate
Sabinyl acetate
Pulegone
Apiole
Pinocamphones
Thymoquinone
Root sources:
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Tisserand & Young, 2014 (Other cautions included in individual EO monographs)
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IFPA (International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists) 2013 document
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D. Tiran, 2016 (Adapted from Tisserand & Young, 2014.)