Have you crossed the 40-week mark but have yet to feel any signs that your babies are on their way out? The final weeks of pregnancy can really drag on and can stress out a mom, which is why lots of expecting moms try various tricks like drinking cumin tea to induce labor.
Does drinking a cup of cumin tea to induce labor works? If you’re waiting for your little one to come out and are getting frustrated about missing your due date, you may be tempted to try anything your well-meaning family and friends suggest. But before you do that, let’s take a look at cumin tea and its purported use in inducing labor.
Using Cumin Tea to Induce Labor
The last few days of pregnancy can stretch on and on, and in the meantime, you’re exhausted, struggling with the weight of your babies, and finding it impossible to find a comfortable sleeping position. For some moms, this is enough to try some of the many natural methods that can supposedly help labor get started.
Another reason you may want to try cumin tea to induce labor is the fear of an induction. When you pass your due date, your pregnancy is officially considered overdue. It isn’t necessarily dangerous for either you or your baby, but if you go beyond two weeks past your due date, your doctor will have to induce you.
Induction is done by either stripping the membranes, breaking your water, or giving you hormones that stimulate contractions or ripen the cervix. Inductions come with plenty of risks, which is why most moms would rather avoid them.
Grandmas and midwives have long recommended drinking cumin tea as a natural way of kickstarting labor. Like when drinking ginger tea, raspberry leaf tea, and thyme tea, drinking cumin tea to induce labor is a popular folk remedy that has been used for generations.
Cumin Tea to Induce Labor: How Does the Tea Works?
Cumin tea is said to stimulate contractions in women who have gone past their due dates. Like other spicy foods, it increases your metabolic rate. A study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology found that this temporary spike in metabolic rate is how it potentially stimulates labor.
The labor inducing properties of cumin has yet to be established by science, but the good news is that it’s considered “probably safe” for pregnant women.
Unfortunately, cumin tea isn’t the most delicious of beverages. The earthy spice is great in things like tacos and curries, but in tea, it’s just not very pleasant. But, hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.
If you want to try cumin tea to induce labor, here’s how to prepare it:
- Get a saucepan and add a teaspoon of cumin seeds into it.
- Quickly heat the seeds on low to medium flame. About 5-10 seconds is enough time.
- Add 250 ml of water into the saucepan. Let it boil.
- After the tea has boiled, cover the saucepan and let the tea steep for about 5 minutes.
- Strain the tea into a cup.
- Drink and enjoy!
Tips on How to Make Cumin Tea to Induce Labor
And here are some tips on making cumin tea:
- Don’t use cumin powder. Look for cumin seeds, which should be in the spice aisle at the grocer.
- You can use ground roasted cumin, but it will probably not be as effective as whole cumin seeds, as the oils in the ground seeds have already dried out.
- If you find that the tea is too bitter, add a slice of raw potato into the tea and then strain it.
- You can add a bit of honey or a pinch of salt to the tea to make it more palatable.
For some women, drinking cumin tea stimulates contractions and can cause the cervix to start to dilate. If you find that it doesn’t work for you, rest assured that cumin tea can at least help with digestion and has enough iron in it to reduce anemia during pregnancy.
Other Benefits of Drinking Cumin Tea
Even if drinking cumin tea to induce labor doesn’t help get you closer to delivering your babies, it does have numerous health benefits. These include:
- Promoting lactation
- Supporting digestion
- Treating diarrhea
- Easing gas and colic in babies
- Detoxifying the liver
- Giving the immune system a boost
- Antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial properties
- Enhancing metabolism
- Giving you clearer, smoother skin (when used as a face scrub or mask)
- Treating colds, coughs, sinusitis, and bronchitis
Cumin Tea: Safety Precautions
If you have an existing medical condition or if your pregnancy is considered high risk, please don’t attempt to induce labor on your own, even if you’re using natural methods. And definitely, don’t try to kickstart labor before 40 weeks.
Please note that you should never take any herbal teas or supplements during pregnancy without first getting the approval of your doctor or midwife. Specifically, you should be careful with cumin tea, as it has blood thinning properties. If you have a heart condition or a clotting disorder, it may be best to avoid drinking cumin tea to induce labor.
