The guidelines of the Italian Society of Pediatrics speak for themselves: it is advisable not to offer liquids other than breast milk to infants under the age of six months who are breast-fed ; therefore neither water, nor herbal teas and, therefore, no chamomile .

Furthermore, breastfed infants often do not easily accept the bottle , so the administration of chamomile, in addition to being inappropriate, could also be complicated, an absolutely unnecessary complication.

Usually, it is not particularly advisable to administer herbal teas even to infants who are breastfed with formulas , in the first months of life.

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Chamomile for newborns, better not

Before administering any product to a newborn, it is advisable to seek the advice of the pediatrician .

Chamomile tea is certainly a good natural , calming and soothing remedy when we are talking about an adult; it doesn’t always take effect, but in the vast majority of cases it doesn’t hurt either . The baby’s speech is slightly more complex. 

There are also granular products to be dissolved in water, specially formulated for early childhood, marketed by the most well-known brands of food products for babies and small children.

Warning: if you read the labels you will find that many of these formulations contain a huge amount of sugar and / or other sweeteners, which are not exactly a cure-all for the newborn, indeed they can be harmful. In some of these products, chamomile is less than 1% of the total.

Chamomile also exists in the form of a homeopathic remedy ; if interested in its use, ask the homeopath’s opinion on administration and dosage opportunities.

Chamomile after six months, why not?

After the age of six months, the situation changes , and it is not recommended to administer mild herbal teas based on chamomile, but be careful to use truly natural products, so no to granular formulations full of sweeteners, yes to a light herbal tea made with chamomile flowers biological.

Organic, especially in very young children, is particularly important , to avoid bringing a certain amount of pesticides into the infusion. In any case, chamomile should not be sweetened or, in any case, very little sweetened. Do not use honey up to one year of age.

Why is chamomile given to babies?

The reasons why parents want to offer chamomile to the newborn are essentially two: the infamous colic and insomnia.

It would be very nice if a nice chamomile were enough to soothe the pain of gas colic or to promote sleep.

Certainly chamomile is a mild sedative and can help, but unfortunately, for these two problems in particular, it is not always successful.

Gas colic and insomnia in the newborn have, in most cases, physiological causes and resolve spontaneously with the growth of the child and the maturation of its organic structures.