Has anyone else heard anything about Stevia (the herbal, artificial sweetener) increasing amniotic fluid values? I recently learned about this and am intrigued. I have had amniotic fluid levels on the "low end of normal" (e.g. about 8-10) for my entire pregnancy and I know that the level is going to naturally drop as the pregnancy progresses into these final weeks. I would strongly prefer to avoid unnecessary induction for something as subjective as low AFI, particularly since a perinatologist has already determined that my placenta is/has been working just fine and since the baby has been doing just fine.
I have an email into my OB about this and am awaiting a response... just thought I'd post on here too.
Re: Stevia to augment amniotic fluid?
Stevia is not an artificial sweetener (like aspartame), it's actually one of the few natural nature-derived sweeteners.
I have heard about some studies proving that it does increase amniotic fluid levels, but not sure if any of those were actually published. We've been using Stevia for years, long before it came to the American market, and love it. But I honestly doubt an OB will be into an alternative type of treatment. Before switching to a midwife, my OB told me that all supplements are worthless and only medically proven drugs should be used to treat things.
I'm hoping that she'll just say that she's not heard about this but that it can't do any harm to try, in which case, I will.
This is the type of response I've gotten from doctor's in the past. I know that DO's (doctors of osteopathy) as opposed to MD's are more into natural ways to heal.
BFP #1 3/13/13, MMC 4/17/13, D&C 4/19/13
BFP #2 8/7/13, Beta at 4w6d = 3,796