Red Raspberry Leaf tea in 1st trimester?

[micah_mae_]

I've heard that it's safe/beneficial then I've heard that it's dangerous and can cause miscarriage. I've heard it can stop miscarriage too. What do I believe? I have a lb of it and I really want to use it, but I've been really crampy today...advice?

[is it puppies?]

I had decided from the info I found that it was safe in moderation but I would only have a cup here and there, and was fairly paranoid about my herbal tea intake overall in that first trimester limiting or avoiding a lot of potentially miscarriage inducing things like licorice which seems to be in all the teas I had. I bought a lot of more pure single ingredient teas instead of the blends. I had a lot of period-like cramping and some pretty sharp round ligament pains in my first trimester and I think that's pretty normal and unless there's bleeding you are probably okay, sometimes the pain would be so bad it was like bad period cramps and I am now at 25 weeks.

[mommamisty]

Originally Posted by is it puppies?

I had decided from the info I found that it was safe in moderation but I would only have a cup here and there,

I have a cup a day in first trimester of mothers brew, I found it helpful with morning sickness as well.

[sattygirl99]

My MW said that RRL can actually help prevent miscarriages. I avoided it in my first trimester but now am drinking a really yummy blend of various herbs (for various things), the main ingedient being RRL. I'm 18 weeks and drinking 3-6 cups a day.

There's a difference between making it medicinal and making it just a beverage. To make a medicinal tea, you'll use 1 TABLESPOON of hebrs to 8 oz of water. To make a beverage cup, it's 1 TEASPOON. A HUGE difference. The tea bags you buy at the store of RRL are medicinal strength.

I know this is an old post, but I thought I'd give my 2 cents!!

[OurLittleNest]

Here is what I just found about the RRL/miscarriage:

"NOTE: Some medical and popular media make reference to raspberry leaf tea as something to avoid during pregnancy for risk of miscarriage. This notion stems from a study conducted in 1954 where fractions were isolated from Rubus sp. and applied in vitro to the uterine tissues of guinea pigs and frogs. The scientists discovered such things as one fraction acted as a spasmolytic whereas another caused uterine contractions. Herein lies the risk of isolating the parts of a whole. When used as a whole plant, neither action is exacerbated and the herb is deemed safe. If a mother is prone to miscarriages she may feel safer avoiding raspberry until the third trimester. This is an herb with centuries of safe use behind it, there is usually little cause for concern."

Came from this website: http://www.motherandchildhealth.com/...raspberry.html

[micah_mae_]

Originally Posted by OurLittleNest

Here is what I just found about the RRL/miscarriage:


Came from this website: http://www.motherandchildhealth.com/...raspberry.html

Thanks!! I feel safer already.

[KistheMum]

I drank the tea starting about a week or two before the end of my first trimester, and had no problems.
When the placenta came out on its own, very easily, and my uterus tightened up quickly without assistance and whatnot, the nurse exclaimed, "You have an amazing uterus!!"
I smiled and told her I had a lot of red raspberry tea.
I will do the exact same thing with this pregnancy, but will probably start the tea sooner since I already know about it.

[grazy101]

i am on week 5, and started drinking red raspberry tea two days ago. I have people highly recommending it because of my morning sickness, and know... I am not so sure...

[ein328]

RRL DOES NOT cause contractions! It serves to "focus" contractions, when you have them.

My CNM encourages RRL right from the start.