Complete Mushroom Guide for Mothers As soon as you become pregnant or consider becoming pregnant, you’re met with a tidal wave of rules. Do this. Don’t do that. Avoid these foods. Cut out those herbs. The warnings multiply, while the explanations stay scarce.
Much (not all) of what’s offered is fear-based, rooted not in holistic wisdom but in a system that has long avoided studying women…especially pregnant women. Our bodies, our experiences, our medicines have too often been sidelined in sterile labs and risk-averse protocols.
And yet, across generations and geographies, mothers have worked with the earth’s medicines, including mushrooms. They weren’t waiting on peer-reviewed papers. They were listening to their bodies, to their grandmothers, to the land.
I decided to write this blog from that space…the gap, the silence, the need.
Because when it comes to mushrooms—sacred and functional—there are few trustworthy resources for mothers. So here are my favorite resources.
This is not medical advice but a collection of stories, research, as well as ancestral knowledge.
This was made for the mothers seeking the truth, who want to walk with clarity, not fear, and those reclaiming the right to make informed decisions about what they put in their bodies—during pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond.
You deserve more than “we just don’t know.” You deserve options.
Mushrooms before, during, and after pregnancy… What we know.
Thanks to the incredible work of Anna Sitcoff, ND, we now have a central resource mapping out the terrain of edible and medicinal mushrooms for mothers. Her article, featured in The Mycophile Quarterly—the North American Mycological Association’s (NAMA) publication (July–August–September 2024, page 53)—offers us insight so we can make our own informed decisions along our journey:
There is really not enough clinical safety information on the use of mushroom supplements throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding to be certain that they are all safe during this time.”
This isn’t just a disclaimer…it’s a mirror. Reflecting the greater issue we face: that when it comes to women’s health, and especially maternal health, research is scarce, incomplete, and often rooted in fear.
Still, Anna makes do with the limited research, weaving it together with traditional knowledge to guide us forward.
“Based on what I have gathered from the research and historical use, I conclude that they are likely safe, but of course, please ask your midwife and or OB-GYN about what would be right for you specifically. This article is intended for information purposes only.”
So what do we know?
“Mushrooms are more readily accessible as supplements to the general public than ever before in the Western world and they carry a reputation of safety during pregnancy. Indeed, the safety of mushrooms as a food source during pregnancy is seldom disputed, unless there is concern around accurate identification of an individual mushroom itself. You won’t find culinary mushrooms on any cautionary-pregnancy-food lists because well-cooked mushrooms are widely recognized as a healthy addition to a diet rooted in whole foods, regardless of one’s pregnancy status.”
As the popularity of drying, extracting, and encapsulating mushrooms continues to rise, so too does the caution. The shift from whole food to concentrated medicine raises fair questions, especially for pregnant bodies navigating a landscape of unknowns.
Here are the key takeaways from The Mycophile Quarterly—Mushrooms before, during, and after pregnancy 2025:
1. Culinary Mushrooms Are Safe and Beneficial During All Stages of Motherhood
Mushrooms like shiitake, maitake, oyster, and lion’s mane are widely recognized as safe, nutritious, and supportive during prenatal, pregnancy, and postpartum.
They’re not on “do not eat” lists, and when well-cooked, can support whole-food diets for pregnant people.
2. Prenatal Support: Fertility, Hormones, and Stress
Maitake has shown promising results in a small clinical trial for improving ovulation in PCOS patients—nearly as effective as the drug clomiphene.
Reishi may support fertility by regulating cortisol and androgens, helping balance stress hormones and support ovulation.
3. Mushrooms During Pregnancy: The “Evidence” and Caution
A clinical trial with white button mushrooms showed reduced risks of gestational diabetes, hypertension, and excessive weight gain.
Rodent studies suggest medicinal mushrooms like reishi and shiitake are safe and potentially therapeutic in pregnancy.
Reishi and Cordyceps may support sleep, immune function, stress resilience, and energy postpartum.
Lion’s Mane has shown benefit in menopausal women for memory, anxiety, and depression, suggesting value for postpartum cognitive health.
B-glucans (found in mushrooms) may support breast milk production via action on the pituitary gland and prolactin production.
5. Ergothioneine: A Potential Ally for Preeclampsia in Pregnancy
This amino acid is antioxidant-rich, builds up in organs prone to oxidative stress, and is linked to lower risk of preeclampsia in human studies. Found in oyster, shiitake, king oyster, and maitake mushrooms.
Ergothioneine supplement have been approved safe in specific doses by the European Food Safety Authority for pregnant people, infants, and children.
6. Safety Considerations: Navigating the Unknown
No known mushroom compounds present specific risks like teratogenicity, miscarriage, or clotting dysfunction.
That said, because human clinical data is limited, medicinal mushrooms can’t be definitively deemed “safe” especially in early pregnancy
Decision-making should be based on individual assessment, trimester, and informed consultation with a trusted provider.
There’s only so much we can hold on one page. The truth is, the world of mushrooms and motherhood is vast, interwoven with some science, but mostly story and remembering. We’ve only just scratched the surface. If you want to dive deeper into the research, the safety considerations you can find it all in Anna Sitcoff ND’s full article, published in Mycophile Quarterly (NAMA, July–August–September 2024, page 53). So if you’re ready to get into the details, check out the article here.
And while we may not have all the clinical studies. But we do have the wisdom of storytelling. And it’s being gathered here so mothers don’t have to walk this path alone. Which leads us to the next section.
Mothers of the mushroom
And then there’s the mushroom that no one wants to talk about.
The most misunderstood. The most criminalized & yet one of the most sacred…mushrooms containing psilocybin.
While culinary and medicinal mushrooms are slowly earning their place on the shelf of maternal wellness, psilocybin still lives in the shadows, especially when it comes to pregnancy and motherhood. But as with all things hidden, there are those willing to look deeper.
