raspberry leaf tea « Back to Group Discussions

[spotty4]

I drank a lot of this during my follicular phase when we were trying to get pregnant.  I quit drinking it after we got pregnant.  Now that I am at 20 weeks I have really been craving hot tea and I'd love to enjoy this tea again.  Does anyone know when it is OK for me to drink this again, even if just one cup whenever the craving hits?  I know its helpful in toning the uterus and help w/ contractions in the 3rd trimester.  I just don't want to incite any premature labor ...

[Sweet Huck]

I didn't know this about raspberry leaf tea. Interesting. I do see there is another tea, "Woman's Mother To Be" that is advertised by Yogi Teas... (http://www.yogiproducts.com/products/details/womans-mother-to-be)

It has raspberry leaf tea IN it...

[amlikam]

There are a few thoughts on RRL tea, some say yes, some say no.

I drink it during my pregnancy whenever but I stay under 4 cups max in one 24 hr period. This was what my midwife (also a master level herbalist) suggested. However I know other women who really bump it up during pregnancy. I am linking the RRL Tribe thread on mothering.com for you.

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/347728/red-raspberry-leaf-tea-tribe/2140#post_17256462

ETA: I have had several herbalist say up to 4 cups unless in active labor. One of them is a woman who lived/apprenticed/taught with Susan Weed for 13 years. (they still do classes together)

[dayiscoming2006]

You can drink RRL tea during pregnancy. Some midwives recommend throughout pregnancy, others the second and third trimester. I add two bags in with my gallon of tea mixture I make. The other tea bags I put in are nettle(highly recommended by midwife) and peppermint for a little flavor. Otherwise you could just get the yogi pregnancy tea, that stuff is tasty too. But, I make a gallon of tea at a time and drink it in 2 days. You should be able to drink 1-2 bags RRL tea a day at your stage. By third trimester you can up it to 3 and at the last part of the pregnancy 4. Then it's even recommended to do a tonic for during labor. - Super strong tea.

[bearandotter]

mmmm RRL tea. Just picked up a big bag of leaves this week. I like it strong and iced. A couple frozen raspberries thrown in for a touch of sweetness (and it just seems fitting). I agree with pp'ers about safe dosing, but I personally start with one cup a day at around 20w and slowly work up to about 4 cups by 36ish weeks.

[spotty4]

Thanks so much for the input and experience!

[amlikam]

I should add I do up to 4 cups because that is how much I drank pre pregnancy. I love it, it is my all time favorite non water drink.

[spotty4]

I just saw my doctor today for my 20 wk check up.  I asked her about raspberry leaf tea.  She advised me not to drink it yet and told me to wait till 36 weeks.  She OK'd caffeine free green tea, though.

[dayiscoming2006]

Originally Posted by spotty4 

I just saw my doctor today for my 20 wk check up.  I asked her about raspberry leaf tea.  She advised me not to drink it yet and told me to wait till 36 weeks.  She OK'd caffeine free green tea, though.

Doctors know very little about herbs. Just saying. 36 weeks is pretty late to start for much of any beneficial effects. It won't hurt, but the RRL is used to support the female system and help strengthen the uterus. It is really amazing stuff. It helped cure me of my super heavy periods after having babies for example. I drank it regularly with my last pregnancy from the second trimester. And I've drank it during all my current pregnancy with no ill effects.

[Amphyonis]

I am doing the RRL tea regimine this time around in pregnancy.  I have read so many benefits about it making contractions more efficient and post-partum bleeding minimal.  There is a thread on here somewhere (I think someone linked it above) that is a good overview for the things I have also read while researching.  I got a couple pounds of the loose leaf tea and currently I do a quarter cup with one cup of water.  I add a lot of honey too :)  I make it in our coffee press and let it steep for 45 min to an hour.  If you're just getting the tea bags, I wouldn't worry about pre-term labor since they are such a small dose.  Everything I have read says that you would only be concerned about something like that if you have a history of pre-term labor or miscarriage.

[littlegreenlady]

i have loose leaves and want to start using it, but every time I've tried its grossed me out. I don't know what it is, We drink Nettles (infusion) all the time. Anyone have any ideas/tips for making it taste a bit better? The raspberry sounds nice, but somehow don't think it will do the trick on it's own. I know that once I get used to it I'll like it more, but in the meantime.....yuck.

[amlikam]

I think it has more of a mild black tea taste. Honey is a great way to make it better. Or mix with the nettles?

[littlegreenlady]

I'll try that tomorrow and see how it tastes. I'm not a black tea drinker so that may explain it.

[dayiscoming2006]

I agree, I always drink my tea with honey and RRL tea tastes quite nice with honey. Adding in mint and nettles would probably help the flavor as well. Something they do with many official pregnancy teas. If you want a larger batch you could make it into iced tea. That's what I do. 

[bearandotter]

Originally Posted by dayiscoming2006 

Doctors know very little about herbs. Just saying. 36 weeks is pretty late to start for much of any beneficial effects. It won't hurt, but the RRL is used to support the female system and help strengthen the uterus. It is really amazing stuff. It helped cure me of my super heavy periods after having babies for example. I drank it regularly with my last pregnancy from the second trimester. And I've drank it during all my current pregnancy with no ill effects.

Ok fine, I'll give you that some doctors (and I assume you mean physicians trained in allopathic/"western" medicine) don't know a whole lot about herbs. But honestly, the research on RRL is NOT supportive of its supposed effect. There have been some studies that find it actually relaxes the uterus and has no effect on length of labor, length of pregnancy, or anything else. One rat study showed that the female offspring of RRL using rats had precocious (early) puberty. A study published in the "Journal of Midwifery and Womens Health" found that there were no adverse effects to use, but that it also had no beneficial effects.  A review article in "Complementary Therapies in Clinical Medicine", a very supportive alternative medicine journal came to the conclusion that there was no evidence of efficacy and suggests it not be recommended to pregnant women. Apparently, and I cannot read German or find an english translation, the German E Commission , which is THE source for herbal monographs does not recommend RRL in pregnancy.

You will see above in my previous post that I do drink RRL in pregnancy. Do I think it works? nah, probably not. But at least it helps me get in lots of fluids and perhaps, just maybe, it might make my labor an easy one. I have personally decided that I am OK with any potential risk in the quantity I take, but I am not going to insult a physician for making an evidence based recommendation for not taking it. 

[amlikam]

bearandotter I agree. Even my midwives (one who is an herbalist first)  and the herbalist I know do not generally recommend RRL in pregnancy though they might suggest it PP or during a woman's regular cycle. Not one of my practicioners have suggested large amounts of RRL (in fact 4 cups was my max. Pre-pregnancy I could drink over 40oz of strong RRL infusions. My midwife kind of freaked and said they really would not recommend that. Even Susan Weed believes it should be used in moderation during pregnancy... and supports the use of nettle much more so than RRL.

Really it is up to each of us to do what we think is right. After researching more I decided I really don't want *my* uterus relaxing this time around... too many losses and/preterm babies and I don't see many conclusive evidence or even ancedotal, to support copious amounts of it. (And when I have 6 different herbalist to use in moderation as well as my midwives.... I start to think maybe they are on to something.).  That being said I LOVE RRL and will keep drinking it (for hydration of course) 

[dayiscoming2006]

OK, I have no argument. I'm still learning. :) I don't know if RRL tea helps or not, but it did help with my periods to make them much lighter, if it helps to make the after bleeding lighter, that would help me because I tend to have a little too much blood loss with my births. So, worth a shot. I agree with not going overboard with it, just sharing what I read about it. 

My midwife is fine with RRL tea and also highly recommended nettles as something I can even drink throughout the day, which I do.