Shatavari

Pregnancy

MotherToBaby's general herbal-products fact sheet says that information on most herbal products during pregnancy is limited and does not discuss Shatavari by name. The direct developmental evidence located was Goel et al. (2006), a rat study of a methanolic root extract. It reported fetal resorption, limb malformations, slower fetal growth, smaller litters, lower pup weights, and developmental delays. The abstract reports 100 mg/kg/day for 60 days, while the methods report 1000 mg/kg once daily for 60 days; the dose is not verified. These were animal findings from an extract, not human pregnancy outcomes. Australian Prescriber advised avoiding Shatavari in the first trimester on this basis, while noting that the precaution did not preclude later-trimester use. No human pregnancy study or Shatavari-specific human miscarriage or birth-defect outcome was located.

Breastfeeding

LactMed's July 2026 review describes mixed results and no published Shatavari milk-level measurements or direct infant-effect reports. Gupta and Shaw (2011) reported increased maternal prolactin and infant weight in a randomized trial, but its counts do not reconcile: the paper says 60 were randomized, then says 10 were excluded, while its results table states n=20 per group. Birla et al. (2022) randomized 78 women, 39 per group, to a Shavari Bar containing Shatavari and oats or a placebo bar; it reported higher expressed milk volume and earlier breast fullness over the first days after birth, but the Shatavari amount was not disclosed and Act Lifesciences supplied the bars and placebo. Ajgaonkar et al. (2025) enrolled 120 women and reported a per-protocol analysis of 113; its abstract reports higher milk volume and earlier breast fullness at 72 hours, but its dosing description conflicts with LactMed and could not be verified from the blocked full article. Saxena et al. (2025) tested a four-herb Ayurvedic blend containing 2 g of Shatavari in each 6 g dose. Its abstract reports 210 enrolled and outcome denominators totaling 211, while the full text says 173 were analyzed and 46 dropped out; its abstract and methods also differ on the analysis approach. The combination-trial results cannot be attributed to Shatavari alone. The 1996 Sharma trial is indexed as randomized, but PubMed has no abstract, so its methods and results were not verified. ABM says it cannot recommend a specific galactagogue, and Cochrane found low to very low certainty across natural galactagogue trials overall.

What was tested

Studies have tested fresh root powder, concentrated root extracts, capsules, and combination products, not one standardized Shatavari product. Gupta and Shaw (2011) studied root powder for 30 days; the primary report's participant and table counts conflict. Birla et al. (2022) tested a Shatavari-and-oats bar for five days, but did not state the Shatavari amount. Ajgaonkar et al. (2025) tested a postpartum root extract for 72 hours; the accessible abstract says 300 mg twice daily, while LactMed and a journal-methods search excerpt say one capsule daily, so the dose is not verified and is omitted from the summary. Saxena et al. (2025) tested an Ayush-SS blend with four herbs, including 2 g of Shatavari per 6 g dose, twice daily for 12 weeks; the blend's effects cannot be isolated to Shatavari. The FDA recall concerned a single named powder batch, not all products.