A new US government study says parents commonly give young children teas and herbal supplements that are said to relieve “irritability,” even though there isn’t enough evidence that the products are effective. The market is full of these teas and botanical products containing ingredients like chamomile, ginger, and fennel that are marketed to alleviate tummy problems, restlessness, and sleep problems in infants. However, there is no evidence that these are effective or safe.
In a new study published Monday, Dr. Yuanting Zhang of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and colleagues sought to determine how common it is for parents to give tea and herbal products to young children. Researchers surveyed more than 2,600 U.S. mothers and found that 9% had given their babies at least one product within the first year of life. The findings were collected in the Infant Feeding Study II, a longitudinal study of women from late pregnancy through the first year of life, conducted by the FDA and CDC from 2005 to 2007, researchers said. The results were obtained from data analysis.
This study is the first to investigate the use of herbal tea and DBS in infants only, and compares to the 0.8% prevalence found among children in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, showed a much higher prevalence than previous studies, such as a prevalence of 3.9%. In the National Health Interview Survey. A commonly used product is tea with chamomile and other calming herbs. Gripwater is a commercially available botanical for colic relief that contains ingredients such as ginger and fennel. Teething tablets contain ingredients such as calcium and chamomile.Mothers reported using the product to help their babies with fussiness, colic, digestion and teething, the FDA team reported in the journal Pediatrics.
The researchers also reviewed 15 studies and reported: Pediatrics. They found little support for the use of herbal extracts, sugar water, or “probiotics” to aid digestion for colic. Colic is seen in healthy babies who cry excessively. Colic is very common and usually disappears after a few months of birth. Experts often recommend that parents try strategies like feeding infants with colic smaller, more frequently, and giving them more touch and attention. However, there are no known products that relieve colic.
These products are considered dietary supplements and are not regulated in the same way as pharmaceuticals, so they do not need to be proven safe and effective before hitting the shelves. They can contain contaminants such as heavy metals and may not be particularly safe for infants, FDA researchers say. They added that there have been cases of poisoning of infants and adults using traditional Indian Ayurvedic remedies contaminated with lead. “The purity and potency of such supplements and teas are not regulated in the same way as medicines, so co-administration with medicines can result in drug-drug interactions, and they may contain heavy metals or other contaminants. Physiology, metabolism, and dose-for-body weight may predispose infants to adverse events,” the researchers wrote.
And even if the product were safe, experts generally recommend that infants be fed only breast milk or formula for the first four to six months of life, Zhang’s team wrote. Giving your baby tea or other liquids can reduce their desire for the nutritious milk they need. Experts generally recommend not giving medications or supplements to infants without the advice of a pediatrician.
“Healthcare providers should be aware that infants under their care may ingest a wide variety of supplements and teas,” said Yuanting Zhang. Researchers say clinicians should be aware of potential drug reactions and adverse events.
The researchers said the study was not nationally representative, so the findings are not generalizable to the entire U.S. population. The researchers also noted that the majority were non-Hispanic white older mothers of high socioeconomic status.
