It is a matter of debate among aromatherapy practitioners and the public whether the use of oils is safe enough to use during pregnancy. Some are in favor of it while others are against it. Those who are against it give the reason of their being against it as there is evidence that particular oils are abortificacents (can cause spontaneous abortion), can cause uterine contractions, and other oils should not be used by diabetics, even by those women who temporarily get diabetes during pregnancy.

If we look closely at the beliefs of those who are against the use of aromatherapy oils during pregnancy, we come to discover that there is a problem associated with the evidences they base their beliefs on. The problem is that it is unclear if the oils used in the reports or studies were ingested internally, which is not recommended without the guidance of a qualified aromatherapist, or if used externally. Also the dosages given are not indicated in these reports. Moreover, it is hard to believe that mothers would ever agree to be the part of a study where questionable oils are administered on them for the sake of seeing if there are complications in their pregnancy.

It was pregnant animals on whom much of the available research appears to have been conducted, and not humans. The research may not even apply to human pregnancies. For this reasons aromatherapy and pregnancy is an area of aromatherapy that is not quite known to man.

Here is a list of herbs of which oils are believed to be safe for use during pregnancy:

• Benzoin
• Bergamot
• Grapefruit
• Lavender
• Lemon
• Neroli
• Orange
• Patchouli
• Sandalwood
• Spearmint
• Tea Tree
• Vetiver