Lavender Tea Benefits Mothers After Giving Birth

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. A cup of lavender tea, consumed daily for 2 weeks, significantly improved fatigue, depression, and bonding in postpartum women; however, their quality of sleep did not improve significantly.

The postpartum period is an extremely important transitional phase for women after the birth of their child. New mothers frequently have disrupted sleep and overall less sleep quality ¹, which can strain their bond with their newborn ². Postpartum fatigue can also be “a significant predictor” of depressive mood ³ while reducing the quality of mother-infant interactions and adversely affecting relations with other family members ⁴. As a result, finding ways to help postpartum women improve their sleep quality and fatigue levels may improve their quality of life and their bond with the newborn.

A 2015 study from Taiwan ⁵ involved 80 postnatal women with poor sleep quality (defined as having a Postpartum Sleep Quality Scale ⁶ score ≥ 16). They consumed either 1 cup of lavender tea (2 grams of dried lavender flowers steeped for 10–15 minutes in 300 mL of hot water = 40 women) or a placebo (no tea consumption, only postpartum care = 40 women) per day for 2 weeks. Before and after the supplementation period and then 4 weeks after supplementation was stopped, each woman completed questionnaires on their sleep quality ⁶, depression ⁷, fatigue ⁸, and postpartum bonding ⁹.

After 2 weeks, although sleep quality did not significantly improve (p = 0.46), significant improvements in fatigue, bonding (as evidenced by a decrease in the questionnaire results), and depression were observed:

Unfortunately, the benefits did not reach significance in the questionnaires that were completed 4 weeks after stopping tea consumption (p = 0.901, 0.154, 0.057, and 0.312, respectively), signifying that tea consumption needs to be continuous to experience the health benefits.

When suggesting mechanisms for how lavender elicits the benefits regarding fatigue, bonding, and depression, the researchers pointed to “multiple chemical constituents” of lavender, including linalool and linalyl acetate as well as flavonoids and “a demonstrated effect” on a variety of nerve chemicals in the brain involved in depression ¹⁰. They also cited research on the ability of lavender’s scent to induce “a state of alertness, improve feelings of wellbeing, and decreases anxiety” ¹¹.

For the researchers, “The findings in this study can gain greater attention among healthcare practitioners and encourage the correct and positive use of herbal therapy in postpartum health care.”

Source: Shu-Lan Chen, Chung-Hey Chen. Effects of Lavender Tea on Fatigue, Depression, and Maternal‐Infant Attachment in Sleep‐Disturbed Postnatal Women. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 2015; 12:6, 370–379; doi 10.1111/wvn.12122

© 2015 Sigma Theta Tau International

Posted December 12, 2016.

Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, practices in Hauppauge, NY. As a Certified Strength and Condition Specialist and certified baseball pitching coach with the National Pitching Association, Dr. Arnold specializes in nutrition, conditioning, and injury prevention of baseball pitchers and student-athletes from all athletic backgrounds. Dr. Arnold completed his Chiropractic studies at the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, IL. Visit his web site at www.pitchingdoc.com.

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