Safety aspects of Chinese herbal medicine in pregnancy-re-evaluation of experimental data of two animal studies and the clinical experience.

•Pregnancy risks of CHM must conform to modern safety requirements.•Standard textbooks relating to risks of CHM during pregnancy are unreliable.•Two recent animal studies are unreliable data sources for pregnancy risks in humans.•The data of clinical studies suggest preliminary positive safety statements.•Regarding teratogenicity, there are insufficient data for evidence of safety.