Red Raspberry Leaf Tea tribe - Page 105

[herbsgirl]

More info....

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/633692/red-raspberry-leaf-tea-when#post_7541870

Mountain Rose Herbs (online) has bulk organic RRL for a lot cheaper than the tea bags in the grocery store.

My mw (whose apprentice is a master herbalist) suggested that I drink a quart of RRLT per day for the entire third trimester, and anything less than 3 cups a day is unlikely to be enough to have any substantial effect on the pregnancy. Instructions were to steep 1/2 cup of RRL in 1 quart water, covered (with a few nettle leaves thrown in as well, if I want) overnight and that's my supply for the next day.

Mw said that she would love to see more studies done on its effects, because anecdotally, she can usually tell who drank RRLT immediately after their birth, because the amount of bleeding is very, very low afterward.

.

[blueyezz4]

I'd love to join you ladies!!!!  I've been reading and got through the first 15 or so pages and then jumped to the last few.  After we had our lost of our twins at 22.5 wks a doula recommended RRL tea to me which was the first time I'd ever heard of it and i had just bought the tea bags to help regulate my hormones, I think that was what she had recommended it for.  After finding this thread I'm very intrigued w/ this and I think that the benefits seem to be great and I'd like to jump on the RRL train.  I'm a little nervous about starting until after we get past 24 wks since we haven't gotten there before, I know that seems kinda crazy, but it's probably just psychological.  This may be a crazy question, but everyone talks about infusion.... can someone step by step explain to me exactly how you infuse this tea?  I'm assuming this is what you do when you buy it in bulk (also, when you buy it this way does it just come in a bag and it look like crushed leaves) so how do i do this????  Thanks!!!!
 

[herbsgirl]

Exactly how to brew an infusion

Put 1/4 cup heaping red raspberry leaf into a glass jar. (1/4 oz) Set aside the lid

Boil 1 cup water, pour over raspberry leaves, stir and cover tightly.

Let set 4-8 hours or overnight.

Strain and drink. I usually drink before going to bed...

For 2 cups infusion use 1/2 cup heaping raspberry leaf  1/2 oz      2 cups water

For 3 cups infusion use 3/4 cup heaping  raspberry leaf  3/4 oz     3 cups water

For 4 cups infusion use 1 cup heaping  raspberry leaf     1 oz        4 cups water

When starting raspberry leaf, work up   gradually   to the recomended amount, upping the amount every week...

You may dilute the infusion before drinking, the important thing is that the full amount is drank consistently every day or at least 5 days per week.

A good goal is to be at 1/4 cup heaping  raspberry 1/4 oz   by  27 weeks. Then working up to  1/2 cup heaping red raspberry  1/2 oz by 32 weeks and optionally  1 cup red raspberry 1 oz by 36-37 weeks.

[blueyezz4]

Herbsgirl - Thanks for the info!!!! If I were to use just the tea bags at first would it just be one cup a day do you know???  Also, can I add a little sugar to make it a little more easy to drink or is that a bad thing?
 

[birthjunkiemom]

I let mine steep overnight & then make it just like I would make sweet tea, adding sugar while it's still warm, then a little bit of cold water, & refrigerate.

[avivaromm]

Hi Lovely Mommas!

I drank it through my 4 pregnancies. 1 cup to several most days. All easy births, born at home, close to or over 8 lbs. Not a spot of bleeding other than normal with placental separation. Not steeping it for more than 15 minutes keeps the taste less astringent. It's fantastic mixed with nettles and a little spearmint leaf!

Looking forward to hearing how the experiment goes!

Love,

Aviva Romm, MD, CPM

author of The Natural Pregnancy Book

www.avivaromm.com

[herbsgirl]

As far as the tea bags, you can start with one bag and gradually work up to 4-6 bags by 27 weeks, Then  its good to use at least 9 bags per day by 35 weeks until delivery. The 9 bags per day is recomended by a midwife from 35 weeks to delivery.  It is more expensive using bags!

IF you want to use teabags, I have measured out on my scale how much herb is in each bag for doing Susan Weed Style infusions (steeped 4 hours)

Yogi Tea bags:

4 bags aprox almost 1/4 oz (1 cup infusion) good by 27 weeks

8 bags aprox almost 1/2 oz (2 cups infusion) good by 32 weeks

16 bags aprox around 1 oz (4 cups infusion) good by 37 weeks optional or During Labor, this is the labor dosage

Edited by herbsgirl - 12/7/12 at 11:59am

[herbsgirl]

Midwife recomendation that I read on Facebook..........

She says she recomends 10- 12 capsules [Red Raspberry Leaf]  3 x per day in the immediete postpartum time, when the uterus isnt staying tight and tone, especially with multip or grand multip mamas. She says it also good if you tend to have clots after birth.

Very good info! 

[southernmommie]

I drink this through all my pregnancies. However, Mountain Rose Herbs doesn't have the Red Rasberry Leaf tea anymore. Is it the same as the Rasberry Leaf tea now? I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find the RED Rasberry Leaf tea. For my previous pregnancies, it was stressed to me to find the RED leaf tea.

[herbsgirl]

The Raspberry Leaf tea on Mountain Rose Herbs is one and the same as Red Raspberry Leaf. Look at the name under it. Rubus Idaeus. That is the special botantical name. And Red Raspberry and Raspberry Leaf are both Rubus Idaeus.  If you look under t he Raspberry Leaf profile on Mountain Rose website, you will see, that it says also known as Red Raspberry Leaf

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/raspberry_leaf.php
 

[HBYD]

It works wonders for menstral pain so I'm not surprised it works for labour ! Wish I had known back when I was pregnant 20 years ago.

[avivaromm]

How much raspberry leaf to use for efficacy is entirely speculative -- there really is no consensus or clinical data other than what midwives recommend -- which is all over the map!

Some studies have shown that RRL improves labor outcome; one study actually showed it prolonged gestation. Overall, it has been shown to shorten second stage and need for interventions at birth. Anecdotally, many of us feel that our mommas who used it in pregnancy as less like to have excessive bleeding after birth. But there is no rule.

Oversteeping too much herb gives you a tea intensely high in tannins, which speculatively, could interfere with nutrient absorption, though is not highly likely to do so. The study that showed good outcomes used a fairly minimal amount in capsules. Several grams per day, only. This is FAR less than 1/2 cup steeped for a long time. Remember, there are 28 grams in an ounce. The study use 1.2 grams, twice daily, in capsules! One study suggests tea might be better, but there's no great evidence for this. I personally used tea with a very small handful of RRL, steeped usually for a max of 30 minutes. Yes, you can steep it overnight, but it doesn't taste lovely and you get a lot of tannins that way. Nettles, on the other hand, does well steeped overnight.

[herbsgirl]

All about Nourishing Herbal Infusions and steeping leaves for 4 hours

http://herbmentor.s3.amazonaws.com/PDF/Nourishing-Herbal-Infusions-eBookv2.pdf

http://api.ning.com/files/Cv7w7fhAl5SUecZhDf8il9PhLmoULBUn8h1H2VX-Xn8MvOWSdAoxiNP6ykV9ay6te0iJDvCd0LJ3eKNLjADQzNB29mkjmXW0/How_To_Make_Nourishing_Herbal_Infusion.pdf

http://www.nourishingherbalinfusions.com/

[southernmommie]

T

Originally Posted by herbsgirl 

The Raspberry Leaf tea on Mountain Rose Herbs is one and the same as Red Raspberry Leaf. Look at the name under it. Rubus Idaeus. That is the special botantical name. And Red Raspberry and Raspberry Leaf are both Rubus Idaeus.  If you look under t he Raspberry Leaf profile on Mountain Rose website, you will see, that it says also known as Red Raspberry Leaf

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/raspberry_leaf.php

 

Thank you so much for that. I'll order it now that I know.

[hollydolls]

Originally Posted by provocativa 

What else do you put in your tea besides RRL? I'm using nettle, alfalfa, oatstraw, and dandelion. I forgot to make it the past two days, or I was too lazy. The RRL story page galvanized me, I'll have some soon.

I used RRL with nettles, oatstraw, alfalfa, and rose hips. The rose hips made the alfalfa taste much better!

[purpledragonfly]

So glad to have found this RRL tribe.  I actually just finished reading all 105 pages of it!  Theres a wealth of good information in here for those of you who haven't read any of the previous pages yet.  I drank the tea faithfully during my first pregnancy, but I didn't know about the infusion, so I just did 1 tea bag in 1 C. water about 3x/day.  Labor was very bearable, I never experienced anything that I could call pain.  Just really intense contrax during the last half (labor lasted 13 1/2 hr. ) of labor.   It was a really good experience and nothing like my own mothers labor with me which lasted a horrible 24 hr.  After having me she started with the tea for her other pregnancies and had much better labors.  So I'm really glad I started the RRL with the first baby!  

I'm currently 28 wks preg. with my second, and have been drinking the tea since the beginning of the 2nd trimester, and am now doing the infusion and drinking 3 cups of it per day.  I really love adding nettle to the RRL - makes it taste much better in my opinion.  I'll start taking alfalfa with it in 4 wks or so.  I'll definitely post a short version of the birth story here when baby is born!  

[herbsgirl]

Hi Purpledragonfly!  I am 29 weeks, I am up to .47 or so of an oz of Red raspberry which ends up being a good 1/2 cup of red raspberry. I got a french press and drink aprox. 4 cups or so per day. Hoping to continue this, God willing. My braxton hicks feel nice and strong usually! So I feel like it is probably helping to strengthen my uterus.

[Dove84]

Originally Posted by avivaromm 

How much raspberry leaf to use for efficacy is entirely speculative -- there really is no consensus or clinical data other than what midwives recommend -- which is all over the map!

Some studies have shown that RRL improves labor outcome; one study actually showed it prolonged gestation. Overall, it has been shown to shorten second stage and need for interventions at birth. Anecdotally, many of us feel that our mommas who used it in pregnancy as less like to have excessive bleeding after birth. But there is no rule.

Oversteeping too much herb gives you a tea intensely high in tannins, which speculatively, could interfere with nutrient absorption, though is not highly likely to do so. The study that showed good outcomes used a fairly minimal amount in capsules. Several grams per day, only. This is FAR less than 1/2 cup steeped for a long time. Remember, there are 28 grams in an ounce. The study use 1.2 grams, twice daily, in capsules! One study suggests tea might be better, but there's no great evidence for this. I personally used tea with a very small handful of RRL, steeped usually for a max of 30 minutes. Yes, you can steep it overnight, but it doesn't taste lovely and you get a lot of tannins that way. Nettles, on the other hand, does well steeped overnight.

Thanks for that info aviva.  I personally don't mind the steeped RRL tea, but find the infusions (I'd leave it close to 24 hrs,) hard to choke down, even with a straw and honey.  I actually haven't drank any since Tuesday, as I had a stomach flu and since then the thought of drinking the infusion makes me nauseous .  Maybe I'll try some steeped tea for now, it will be better than nothing.  I'm 39+ wks and feeling plently of contractions, not painful but definitely strong and quite regular at times.  Hoping baby will make his appearance soon!!

[1babysmom]

double post, sorry!

Edited by 1babysmom - 12/17/12 at 1:29pm

[1babysmom]

So I have a question.  I saw someone mention somewhere that there have been some studies showing that regular RRL consumption during pregnancy resulted in a longer gestation???  How true is this, and does anyone have anything to compare to?

I've never done infusions, just strong tea.  It seems to work well for me!  I didn't drink much with DD1 (though she was my medicated hospital birth so I don't compare hers very often), but with DD2 I did a lot, and had a 4-5 hr labor with her and only 2 quick pushes.  Same with DS, drank a lot, had a longer labor (though only 3 hours to complete, but he had a GIANT 15.5" head so the remaining 6 hours was preparation for that, I'd say LOL) but still only pushed him out in 2 really quick pushes.  No tears, skid marks, or bleeding problems (and very short overall PP bleeding, too).  Perfect UC's. :) 

I'm only just starting drinking it this time (just because I've been taking a different approach after all my losses), but I am one who gets a lot of BH starting in my mid-1st trimester and the RRL sometimes intensifies them (especially while nursing, but unfortunately I'm not doing that this time around :( ), but they don't "do" anything for me.  I suspect it's probably a reason my prodromal labor ctx's have also always been CRAZY intense, like jumping straight into transition at the first ctx.  I have never gone into labor before my dates though, and never purely on my own (my babies have been very successful CO babies, except for #1 who was AROM), though I've had ridiculously high Bishop's scores for weeks before they were born.

This time I have some reasons that I'm simply kind of hoping and praying baby comes a TEENY bit before dates (won't get into that...) and so hearing the RRL and gestation thing made me wonder how true that really is...  I won't give it up because I feel it had a positive impact on my last 2 births, but definitely makes me curious...