Cat's Claw in pregnancy and breastfeeding

What NCCIH says about safety

Cat’s claw appears to be safe when used orally for short periods of time, as much as 6 months. However, there is insufficient reliable information about its safety when applied to the skin. Cat’s claw might make the immune system more active, which could increase symptoms of autoimmune diseases. If you have an autoimmune disease, consult your health care provider before using cat’s claw. Cat’s claw may slow blood clotting, and this might increase the risk of bleeding during surgery. Talk to your health care provider if you take cat’s claw and you are scheduled to have surgery. There are theoretical reasons to suspect that cat’s claw might interact with anticoagulant, antiplatelet, and blood pressure drugs, and other supplements as well. If you take any type of medicine, talk with your health care provider before using cat’s claw or other herbal products; some herbs and medicines interact in harmful ways. Some studies of the use of cat’s claw during pregnancy suggest it is unsafe. Little is known about whether it’s safe to use cat’s claw while breastfeeding.

Quoted in full from NCCIH so nothing is lost in summarising. Where they say “little is known”, that means the studies do not exist — not that the herb is known to be safe, and not that it is known to be harmful.

How much is actually known

There have been very few high-quality clinical trials (studies done in people) of cat’s claw.

What the research has found

There’s no conclusive scientific evidence based on studies in people that supports using cat’s claw for any health purpose, including COVID-19. Some research has been done in people on the effect of cat’s claw on various conditions, but many of the studies did not use rigorous methods and did not include enough study participants to allow definite conclusions to be reached.

Before you take this

Dose and form change the answer completely. A culinary amount of a spice, a cup of tea, and a concentrated supplement extract are three different things, and most research is done on the last of them.

Supplements are also not regulated like medicines, so strength and purity vary between products. Bring the actual bottle to your midwife, doctor or pharmacist — that conversation is worth more than any page, including this one.