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Is ashwagandha safe during pregnancy?

Written by the Full Measure editorial team, which sells supplements. Approved for publication by the Full Measure owners. Updated .

Drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below. How we write these

Quick answer

NIH's complementary health center says ashwagandha should be avoided during pregnancy, and NIH's dietary supplement office says some experts advise against it because of reports of miscarriage. A 2026 systematic review found the evidence of harm inconclusive and questioned how those reports were cited. Ask your doctor before using it.1,2,3

Key facts

  • NCCIH says ashwagandha should be avoided during pregnancy and should not be used while breastfeeding.1
  • NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements says some experts advise against it in pregnancy because reports suggested it could cause miscarriage, while the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia says its own report on the root has been misrepresented.2
  • Denmark banned ashwagandha in supplements in 2023, and France's food safety agency advised in 2024 against its use by pregnant women.2
  • A 2026 systematic review called the evidence for harm to a pregnancy or to development inconclusive and asked for better research.3
  • The only trial in pregnant women found by this page was small and open-label, covered the second trimester for 12 weeks, and used an extract supplied by its maker.4

What do NIH and NCCIH say about ashwagandha in pregnancy?

Two parts of NIH have looked at ashwagandha, and both lean toward caution in pregnancy. NCCIH's page on the herb is the more direct of the two.1

NIH's complementary health center says ashwagandha should be avoided during pregnancy and not used while breastfeeding. Some reports suggested it could cause miscarriage, although the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia says its own report on the root has been misrepresented.1,2

The Office of Dietary Supplements is a separate part of NIH. Its fact sheet for consumers says ashwagandha may not be safe for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and its sheet for health professionals says some experts advise against use in pregnancy.2,5

Where does the miscarriage concern come from?

The sources we read trace the concern to reports and to how they were passed along, and none describes a trial in which pregnant women were harmed. NIH's sheet for health professionals traces it to reports that ashwagandha might cause spontaneous abortion, including a 2000 monograph on the root. The publisher of that monograph says it has been misrepresented and that there is no evidence the root causes abortions.2

A 2026 systematic review in Phytotherapy Research went back to the sources. It found historical reports of abortifacient use, but said citation distortion and a lack of checks against primary sources raise doubts about them. It also reported that animal studies showed no significant reproductive toxicity at amounts relevant to people, and it concluded that evidence of significant harm to a pregnancy or to development remains inconclusive. Two of its three authors list company affiliations, Legal Products Group Ltd and Product Safety Labs, which readers may want to weigh.3

Have trials been done in pregnant women?

One has been published. A 2026 open-label trial in India gave 70 women in their second trimester either ashwagandha root extract for 12 weeks alongside standard treatment for low blood counts, or the standard treatment alone. Its abstract reports no adverse events and no harmful changes in liver, kidney or thyroid blood tests.4

Its limits matter. It was small, not blinded, and covered only part of one trimester, and the extract came from the maker. The abstract does not report how the pregnancies ended or how the babies fared, so it cannot answer the question people ask most. One trial of this kind does not outweigh NIH's advice to avoid ashwagandha.4

What have regulators in other countries done?

Denmark banned ashwagandha in supplements in 2023 after a risk assessment raised concerns about pregnancy and about thyroid and sex hormones. In 2024, France's food safety agency advised against its use by some groups, including pregnant and breastfeeding women and people with hormone conditions.2

These are decisions about supplements sold in those countries, and NIH reports them as context. NIH describes the Danish assessment as covering both a possible effect on pregnancy and possible effects on thyroid and sex hormones, which is why the thyroid finding below also matters here.2

Ashwagandha may change thyroid hormone levels. In a trial of 50 people with a mildly underactive thyroid, 600 mg a day for 8 weeks lowered TSH and raised T3 and T4, and three women developed an overactive thyroid while taking it, which settled when they stopped.2,6

Who should ask a doctor before using ashwagandha?

Ask your doctor or midwife before using ashwagandha if you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or not sure whether you might be. The same goes for anyone who took it before finding out they were pregnant: the sources do not say what that means for one person, and a doctor can look at the details.

  • Bring the product label, including the type of extract and any other herbs in the product.
  • Mention any thyroid condition or thyroid medicine, because NIH says ashwagandha might affect thyroid function.2
  • Mention any liver problem, because rare cases of liver injury have been linked to ashwagandha.1
  • Ask about options that have been studied in pregnancy for whatever led you to consider ashwagandha.

Questions people ask

Is ashwagandha OK during pregnancy?

NCCIH says it should be avoided during pregnancy, and NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements says some experts advise against it. Ask your doctor before using it.1,2

Is ashwagandha safe in the first trimester?

None of the sources separate the trimesters. The one trial in pregnant women enrolled women in their second trimester only, so it does not speak to early pregnancy. Ask your doctor.4

Is ashwagandha tea safe during pregnancy?

The sources do not treat tea differently from capsules or powders, and NCCIH's advice to avoid ashwagandha in pregnancy is not limited to one form. Ask your doctor before using any form.1

Did Denmark ban ashwagandha?

NIH reports that Denmark banned ashwagandha in supplements in 2023, after a risk assessment that discussed pregnancy, thyroid and sex hormone concerns.2

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Sources

  1. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Ashwagandha. Last updated March 2023. Opened 2026-10-07.
  2. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Ashwagandha: Is it helpful for stress, anxiety, or sleep? Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Updated May 2, 2025. Opened 2026-10-07.
  3. Tallon MJ, Koturbash I, Blum JL. A systematic and ethnobotanical review of ashwagandha's (Withania somnifera) teratogenic and abortifacient potentials. Phytother Res. 2026;40(8):4737-4758. A systematic review. Opened 2026-10-11.
  4. Ajgaonkar A, Tayade H, Nayak A. Efficacy and safety of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract in pregnant women: a prospective, randomized, comparative, open-label, 12-week study. Front Glob Womens Health. 2026;7:1767865. Opened 2026-10-11.
  5. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Ashwagandha: Is it helpful for stress, anxiety, or sleep? Fact Sheet for Consumers. Updated December 4, 2023. Opened 2026-10-07.
  6. Sharma AK, Basu I, Singh S. Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha Root Extract in Subclinical Hypothyroid Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2018;24(3):243-248. Opened 2026-10-07.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.