Red Raspberry Leaf Tea tribe - Page 100

[HippieIncognito]

Thanks for your response! I took yesterday off from RRL and have had much less so far today. I don't know if one day is enough to draw a conclusion, but if I had to I would say there is a connection between the amount I drink and the amount of BH I have. I will be 37 weeks on Tuesday and safe for a homebirth so I think I will pick it back up then. The BH are not painful at all, so I am thinking that I will keep drinking RRL and hope that the BH are toning the uterus. I can deal with the tightness/hardness. Just wanted to know that it was safe.

Originally Posted by cameragirl 


Yes and no. Most of the time, they don't do anything but tone the uterus, and that is fine. At 36 weeks, I wouldn't worry about it. I know they are uncomfortable and can drain you, but you're far enough along that you don't have to worry about contractions dilating your cervix. (Since many women begin to dilate at this point anyways.) I was in that group that had constant BH with my last pregnancy, and I have a lot with this one as well. IF the contractions aren't normal for you, they hurt, come out of nowhere, etc. then I'd suspect that they are a symptom of something like a UTI, dehydration, or possibly preterm labor. In that case, I'd call your doctor/midwife. Again, the vast majority of the time, the BH are just toning your uterus and are nothing to worry about.
I think you're fine on the RRL. If you stop the RRL, do the contractions stop?

[herbsgirl]

Braxton-hicks plus Cervical changes= preterm labor

Braxton-hicks plus NO cerviacl changes= everythings fine.

You are only one week away from full term!

I just read this in the book Be your own Doctor by Rachel Weaver.  The thing with Red Raspberry leaf is that it tones your Uterus and alot of women feel more harmless braxton  hicks than they would if they are not taking it. 

For my own personal opinion, these extra braxton hicks are worth it because in order for me to safely deliver another baby, I need a more toned uterus, my 4th birth I experienced a floppy uterus and a uterine hemmorhage, so I want to prevent that from happening.  I may have to experience alot more braxton hicks t han normal and I am ok with that.

Each woman needs to find her own answer to that what she feels comfortable with.

I cannot afford not to have a very toned uterus,  with my birth history, so I am prepared for tons of braxton hicks.

I am able to check my own cervix, and if you know what your cervix feels like on a normal basis, you will be able to notice changes more easily.

Another option is to take Magnesium Glycinate (200-600 mg)  with your red raspberry tea to help calm the extra braxton hicks

http://www.iherb.com/Doctor-s-Best-High-Absorption-Magnesium-100-mg-120-Tablets/15?at=0

or Natural Calm, add to your tea.

[contactmaya]

Interesting about the braxton hicks. I am not sure that raspberry leaf brings them on for me, but my baby definitely moves alot after i drink it. Can the baby feel the uterus toning itself i wonder?

In any case,  RLT is no longer giving me a headache, yay!  OTOH, i bought the órganic pregnancy tea' as an alternative, which contains nettles among other things. It certainly tastes much nicer.

Does anyone have experience  using these two teas concurrently? Or could you bypass RLT  and just use the pregnancy tea?

[kjm279]

Hey Ladies,

I started drinking RRL at 36 Weeks with my second pregnancy.  I had read that it wasn't safe to drink before that (don't remember everything exactly, as this was 4 years ago!)  I drank several cups a day starting at 36 Weeks until I delivered at 40 Weeks.  I gave birth to my daughter, naturally, in our home.  She was breech and she barely took one purposeful push from me.

I've got tons of RRL at my house right now because it is a great uterine toner.  I planned on drinking a glass a day before I found out that I was pregnant, but I never got around to it because I HATE the taste of it!  I'll probably start soon, with one cup a day and increase it the further along that I am.

I just use Traditional Medicine tea bags.  It was more tolerable to me if I made it into a sweet iced tea.

[lovetoteach86]

What about the pill form of red raspberry leaf? I just got a bottle of the pills, I am not pregnant yet, but I am on day two of my period which is the first period I have had since January 2011 when I stopped taking BCP.( I have been taking three vitex pills a day for a month and 5 days and I really believe that is what jump started my period finally.) I am trying to get my body prepared to concieve in the next few months or sometime in 2012 at least. I am in no rush to concieve, but would love it if it happened soon. The pills I have are 480mg of RRL. How many should I take now to get ready for implantation? Also once I finally get a bfp should I just take one pill a day the first trimester? Are the pills anywhere near as effective as the tea? Later on I might break down and get the tea, but we aren't "officially" trying, so I am just secretly researching everything and trying to get as prepared/as healthy as possible because my DH and I would love to see a bfp at any time.

[Mommie22]

I'm sure this question has been answered in a previous post, but there's so many to read. I'm in my 30th week now and am just about to order some rrl in bulk from wild mountain rose. How much should I get? I plan on drinking at least a cup a day and then the strong infusion when I go into labor. Also, the recipe for the infusion.. is it one cup of rrl to one liter of boiling water? Thanks mamas!

[Rainabow]

I wouldn't worry about getting too much, it has lots of vitamins in it that are good for nursing mamas or even just women in general I think, my kids make a pot of it every now and then and fill it with honey of course!! 

[herbsgirl]

I have read the pills arent as effetive as the infusions, but if you want to do the pills, I recomend 2 capsules in the 1st trimester, 4 capsules in the 2nd trimester, and 6 capsules up to 36 weeks, then 8 capsules a day.

In Australia, they recomend 4000- 4500 mg of Red Raspberry during the 3rd trimester after the 32nd week, so work up to that amount increasing a little in each trimster.

[herbsgirl]

Originally Posted by Mommie22 

I'm sure this question has been answered in a previous post, but there's so many to read. I'm in my 30th week now and am just about to order some rrl in bulk from wild mountain rose. How much should I get? I plan on drinking at least a cup a day and then the strong infusion when I go into labor. Also, the recipe for the infusion.. is it one cup of rrl to one liter of boiling water? Thanks mamas!

It will take me 10 lbs to do 2 months before conception, through the 9 months and 4 weeks after delivery, so probably 2  lbs would do it for you. If you are planning on doing the stronger infusions in the last weeks  you may need 3 lbs.

The recipe for one cup of tea is 1 Tablespoon Red Raspberry to 1 cup water. The recipe for one cup of Infusion is 1/4 cup red raspberry to 1 cup water.  Let steep 30 minutes-4 hours

The strong infusion is 1 oz ( 1 cup rounding loosely) of Red Raspberry to 2 cups water, steeped 30 minutes. Also some women seem to vomit it, if you wait too close to transition or active labor, so either drink it in early labor OR  A better alternative would be just take the strong infusion daily after 36-37 weeks...see below...

It is recomended to take the strong infusions every day after 36-37 weeks of pregnancy,  some women do (steep 4 hours) 1 cup red raspberry to 4 cups water daily in the last few weeks before they go into labor.

[lovetoteach86]

Thanks!

[Mommie22]

Thank you so much for the info.. I ordered 2lbs and started the tea the other day. It's so yummy!! The info on the infusions are very helpful. My first son's birth resulted in a retained placenta. Can the RRL help with that? 

[herbsgirl]

Retained Placentas:  there is no proof that Red Raspberry does help Retained placentas, but I have done research on this topic myself for my own reasons...

I had a large placenta lobe that was retained after the birth of my little girl, leading to a postpartum hemmorhage at 3 hours after delivery. The doc didnt even catch it that there was a retained lobe until it passed on its own with alot of blood.

My research I came up with is animal studies Retained Placentas are prevented by Selenium, and trace minerals are used to prevent.

Quote

 There are numerous causes for retained placenta. Dr. James England (University of Idaho Caine Center) says one of the main causes is inadequate nutrition. Lack of certain trace minerals may lead to retained placenta. “There are good indications that trace minerals and especially selenium have a lot of influence on the health of the reproductive tract, and deficiencies can lead to retained placentas and uterine infections. What looks like a normal birth may end up with a retained placenta,” he explains. If your herd has more than an occasional retained placenta, this could be a clue there might be a mineral deficiency. A good trace mineral program may help resolve this

Quote

A nutritional evaluation of the contents of red raspberry leaf tea reveals it to be extremely high in vitamin B complex, vitamins C and E as well as several other chemicals (science has yet to name these components) that effectively strengthen the smooth muscle fibers of the uterus. This results in faster, easier labors, fewer problems with retained Placenta  as well as post delivery blood loss.

Guess what Red Raspberry Infusions are full of ? Minerals! So there is not gaurantee that it will help of course, but it makes sense that it could possibly help in the infusion form.

Also Here is a good thread on it

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/11076/retained-placenta-what-are-the-odds

Edited by herbsgirl - 12/30/11 at 6:17pm

[Blueone]

Is there a difference between Traditional Medicine and Yogi RRL tea?  I just prefer buying bagged tea.  Also, would combining a pregnancy tea with the RRL tea make too high a dose of RRL tea?

[Maxhug]

Can someone tell me how much loose RRL tea mix I should buy?  I've been drinking Traditional Medicine Pregnancy Tea bags for almost a week.  I'm 32 weeks today and would like to start making larger portions and leave it in a pitcher to drink.  I also need enough to make the infusion just before labor.  I'm going to buy the Mama's Red Raspberry Brew from Bulk Herb Store.  I 2lbs enough or should I buy at least 3lbs for now?  TIA

[Mommie22]

herbsgirl.. Thank you so much for the info!! Incredibly helpful. 

Maxhug... I'm 32 weeks and I just bought 2 lbs from Mountain Rose herbs. I'll have enough for the rest of my pregnancy and while I'm healing after. Hope that helps. 

[Maxhug]

Thanks Mommie22....

[penguintattoo]

Just wanted to give my experience with RRL. I drank it throughout my pregnancy but really upped the quantity in the last four weeks. I used the bag tea so I would put four bags of rrl tea and two bags of TM pregnancy tea in each cup of tea I drank. The last two weeks I drank 3-4 cups a day. I started having regular contractions at 1am, got to the hospital at 6-630am was 2cm and baby was born at 12:23pm. It went very quickly!

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[Sonkissed]

Hey Mommies, Im new here. And I want to just say some good things about red raspberry tea too! I have delivered 4 children, the last pregnancy I was drinking the tea. With the first 3, I had rather hard contractions and pain meds with all. The last labor, I had light pains starting in the morning until 6pm, they got a little stronger. I figured I would just go to the hospital to get checked, thinking I had several hours left. When I got to the hospital and checked at 8:30, I was shocked when the nurse said I was ready to deliver! I was expecting alot more pain and contractions. Too bad I had to wait an hour an a half till the doctor could get there at 10 to push her out with one good push. Even then, I only had one really hard contraction.  Red Raspberry is a miracle from God the Creator, all pregnant women should know about it so lets keep spreading the word!

[contactmaya]

What a great story Sonkissed, thanks for sharing. Youve inspired me to to increase my RLT intake. Ive been drinking just one teabag a day, but im 37 weeks going on 38, so want to now start drinking more.

Not sure how long ago you delivered, but congratulations!!!!

[cameragirl]

I ran out of the mix I made earlier in the pregnancy, and just got 2 lbs of RRL in the mail. I'm 31 weeks, so I figured it would be a good time to go with straight RRL and up the amount some. I've been drinking cold RRL infusion all day. I'm really hoping this helps with getting a VBAC!