Lavender
HerbalAlso called · 6 names▾▴
English lavender, common lavender, French lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, Lavendula angustifolia, lavender oil
Herbal supplement (anxiety and sleep)
Herbs and supplements are not FDA-approved before sale. About these sources
- Tea
- Capsule/tablet
- Essential oil
- Topical
- Food / spice
Research strength: 1 / 5
NCCIH says little is known about using lavender during pregnancy. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) says lavender oil medicines are not recommended during pregnancy because safety has not been established and data are insufficient. A 2025 randomized trial involved pregnant women in the third trimester and measured sleep and fatigue after inhaled lavender oil. The study did not report fetal or newborn outcomes, so it does not answer questions about first-trimester use. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-16
Research strength: 1 / 5
NCCIH says little is known about using lavender during pregnancy. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) says lavender oil medicines are not recommended during pregnancy because safety has not been established and data are insufficient. A 2025 randomized trial involved pregnant women in the third trimester and measured sleep and fatigue after inhaled lavender oil. The study did not report fetal or newborn outcomes, so it does not answer questions about second-trimester use. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-16
Research strength: 2 / 5
NCCIH says little is known about using lavender during pregnancy. The EMA says lavender oil medicines are not recommended during pregnancy because safety has not been established and data are insufficient. A 2025 trial assigned 37 third-trimester participants to inhale lavender oil and 37 to a control group for one month. It measured sleep and fatigue, not fetal or newborn outcomes. A 2025 review also listed lavender among aromatherapy products studied for maternal sleep, but did not report lavender-specific pregnancy outcomes in its abstract. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-16
Sources
- NCCIH: LavenderUS government
- EMA: Final community herbal monograph on Lavandula angustifolia Miller, aetheroleumEU agencyEuropean guidance
- Celik et al., 2025 randomized trial of lavender inhalation in third-trimester pregnancyUS government
- Mascarenhas et al., 2025 systematic review of aromatherapy during pregnancyUS government
Lavender — Breastfeeding
Research strength: 2 / 5
LactMed's November 2024 entry says it found no data on lavender's safety or effectiveness in nursing mothers or infants, and cautions against applying lavender oil around the breast. A 2023 randomized trial of 180 breastfeeding women measured maternal sexual satisfaction after inhaled lavender; its abstract does not report infant outcomes. A 2022 review of three postpartum trials reported improved maternal sleep, with high variation between studies. The EMA says lavender oil medicines are not recommended during breastfeeding because safety has not been established and data are insufficient. Current evidence does not establish lavender's effects on infants through milk. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-16
Sources
- LactMed (NIH): LavenderUS government
- NCCIH: LavenderUS government
- EMA: Final community herbal monograph on Lavandula angustifolia Miller, aetheroleumEU agencyEuropean guidance
- Sharifipour et al., 2023 randomized trial in breastfeeding womenUS government
- Seiiedi-Biarag and Mirghafourvand, 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis of postpartum sleepUS government
Pregnancy
Pregnancy outcome data are limited. Celik et al. (2025) randomized 74 third-trimester pregnant women, 37 per group, to one month of lavender oil inhalation or control; the study measured sleep quality and fatigue, not fetal or newborn outcomes. A 2025 systematic review of pregnancy aromatherapy included 21 studies (16 randomized trials and 5 quasi-experimental studies) and listed lavender among oils that may improve maternal sleep, but its abstract gives no lavender-specific pregnancy outcome estimate. A January 2026 review of non-drug approaches for high blood pressure in pregnancy included six studies; one intervention combined lavender aromatherapy with classical music, so it does not isolate lavender. No direct lavender study on miscarriage, birth defects, or newborn outcomes was located in the reviewed source pages and PubMed abstracts. This does not establish either harm or absence of harm.
Breastfeeding
LactMed's record, last revised November 15, 2024, states that it found no data on lavender's safety and effectiveness in nursing mothers or infants, no published infant levels as of that revision, and advises against topical lavender oil around the breast because of estrogenic and antiandrogenic activity. A 2023 randomized trial included 180 breastfeeding women, with 60 assigned to inhaled lavender, 60 to citrus aroma, and 60 to almond-oil control; participants inhaled two drops twice daily for 40 days. The study measured maternal sexual satisfaction and did not report infant outcomes in its PubMed abstract. A 2022 systematic review included three postpartum trials using aromatherapy, cream, or tea; it reported improved maternal sleep and high heterogeneity (I-squared 75%). The EMA's lavender oil monograph says safety during breastfeeding has not been established and medicinal use is not recommended because data are insufficient. These maternal symptom studies do not establish infant effects through milk.
NCCIH describes lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) as a plant used in food, oral supplements, aromatherapy, and topical products. LactMed lists linalyl acetate, linalool, perillyl alcohol, and 1,8-cineole among the compounds in lavender flowers, leaves, and oil, along with at least 100 other known compounds. Products and routes differ: the EMA monograph concerns medicinal lavender oil for oral use or as a bath additive, while the pregnancy and breastfeeding trials cited here studied inhaled products. Findings from one form do not establish effects for another form.
What was tested
Pregnancy: the 2025 randomized trial studied 74 women in the third trimester, with 37 assigned to inhaled lavender oil for one month and 37 controls; it measured sleep quality and fatigue. The 2025 systematic review included 21 pregnancy aromatherapy studies (16 randomized and 5 quasi-experimental) and reported maternal symptoms, including sleep. The January 2026 review included six studies of non-drug approaches for high blood pressure in pregnancy, including one combined lavender-and-music intervention. Breastfeeding: the 2023 randomized trial studied 180 women, including 60 assigned to lavender inhalation for 40 days, and measured maternal sexual satisfaction. The 2022 postpartum review included three trials of lavender in different forms and measured maternal sleep quality. The abstracts reviewed do not report fetal, newborn, or breastfed-infant safety outcomes for these lavender interventions.
Does the available pregnancy research establish use of medicinal lavender oil during pregnancy?
- Source A says
- The EMA's final lavender oil monograph says pregnancy and breastfeeding safety has not been established and medicinal use is not recommended because data are insufficient. (EMA: Final community herbal monograph on Lavandula angustifolia Miller, aetheroleum)
- Source B says
- A 2025 systematic review concludes that aromatherapy appears to help some pregnancy symptoms and lists lavender among oils that may improve sleep. (Mascarenhas et al., 2025 systematic review of aromatherapy during pregnancy)
- Why they differ
- The EMA monograph assesses medicinal lavender oil and pregnancy or breastfeeding safety. The systematic review assesses symptom relief across multiple oils and routes; it does not provide lavender-specific fetal outcomes in its abstract. These sources address different questions, so the review's symptom findings do not answer the EMA's safety-data concern.
- What the evidence shows overall
- The review adds evidence about maternal symptoms, not evidence that establishes fetal outcomes for lavender. The EMA's precaution is based on insufficient data, so the pregnancy rating remains insufficient under R2.
Does topical lavender cause breast tissue changes in children?
- Source A says
- Henley et al. reported three prepubertal boys with breast tissue growth while using topical products containing lavender and tea tree oils; the growth resolved after the products were stopped, and laboratory tests found hormone-like activity. (Henley et al., 2007 case series of topical lavender and tea tree oil exposure)
- Source B says
- NCCIH says it is unclear whether lavender caused the reported breast swelling, which can have many causes. LactMed says the relevance of the laboratory findings has been questioned. (NCCIH: Lavender, LactMed (NIH): Lavender)
- Why they differ
- The report involved only three boys and products containing both lavender and tea tree oils, without a comparison group. Case reports and cell tests cannot isolate lavender or establish that maternal use causes infant effects through milk.
- What the evidence shows overall
- The evidence is a small, route-specific topical case series plus laboratory findings, with causal relevance disputed by NCCIH and LactMed. It does not establish that lavender in breast milk caused breast tissue changes in infants.
- NCCIH encourages people to discuss complementary health approaches they use with a health care provider. (NCCIH)
- The EMA states that medicinal lavender oil use is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding because safety has not been established and data are insufficient. (European Medicines Agency)
General research, not specific to pregnancy.
NCCIH describes possible effects by product form; these findings are not pregnancy-specific.
- NCCIH reports that oral lavender products may cause diarrhea, headache, nausea, or burping. (NCCIH: Lavender)
- NCCIH says lavender aromatherapy may cause headache or coughing, and topical products may cause allergic skin reactions. (NCCIH: Lavender)
- NCCIH describes a few reports of breast tissue swelling in children exposed to topical products containing lavender, but says it is unclear whether lavender caused the swelling. (NCCIH: Lavender, Henley et al., 2007 case series of topical lavender and tea tree oil exposure)
- NCCIH: LavenderUS governmentSecondaryIndependent check
- LactMed (NIH): LavenderUS governmentSecondaryPage dated 2024-11-15Independent check
- EMA: Final community herbal monograph on Lavandula angustifolia Miller, aetheroleumEU agencySecondaryIndependent checkEuropean guidance
- Celik and Nazik, 2025 randomized trial of lavender inhalation in third-trimester pregnancyUS governmentPrimaryIndependent check
- Mascarenhas et al., 2025 systematic review of aromatherapy during pregnancyUS governmentPrimaryIndependent check
- Aryunani et al., 2026 systematic review of non-pharmacological treatments for hypertension in pregnancyUS governmentPrimaryIndependent check
- Sharifipour et al., 2023 randomized trial in breastfeeding womenUS governmentPrimaryIndependent check
- Seiiedi-Biarag and Mirghafourvand, 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis of postpartum sleepUS governmentPrimaryIndependent check
- Henley et al., 2007 case series of topical lavender and tea tree oil exposureUS governmentPrimaryIndependent check
Last reviewed 2026-10-16
Independent check 2026-10-16
Not yet clinician-reviewed
Ask your provider about your situation.