Nature's Sunshine 5W

meagan.pilkington

Have any of you used this for a previous pregnancy, to "tone" your uterus and prepare it for labor?Or is anyone using it now? It was mentioned in my Hypnobabies class and I'm curious if anyone has experience with it, or is red raspberry leaf better? I plan to ask my OB at my next visit, but I suspect she may not be familiar with it and may be opposed to it.

lindseyfabulous

Red raspberry is a uterine toner, and considered safe (according to my midwives) throughout the entire pregnancy. Although, this is controversial according to what I've read online...

The 5w is actually a birth prep pill, a combination of herbs including cohosh, that is intended to stimulate uterine contractions. The 5w is usually taken to induce or shorten labor, I've also read that it shortens the pushing phase. This is also debatable.

My midwives discouraged using any product containing cohosh, simply because there was no way to know how much herb would actually be in each pill. The midwives that I am seeing expressed concern also that the birth prep would overstimulate my uterus, whish could result in unnecessary complications in labor.

They left the decision up to me, and I am considering taking them again.
Basically they said, "In the end, if you believe that this is a natural process, then allow nature to do what it does best without any interference."

I am also curious though to hear from other moms that have used them successfully and/or unsuccessfully. I am still weighing the pros/cons.

lilyaster

I've heard of 5w but haven't used it.  I did use Gentle Birth Formula (which is similar) with my second pregnancy, whereas I only used RRL tea with the first.  It's hard to compare the two since second labors are usually shorter and "easier."  The first was 3 days late and second birth 3 days early.  The first was about 12 hours of active labor and 3 hours of pushing, and the second was maybe 3 hours active and just a few pushes.  Much better the second time!  However the second was more intense and I felt more out of control.  I just started taking a cal/mag supplement daily which I've read can make labor more comfortable.  Still drinking RRL tea and not sure if I'll do the Gentle birth formula again on top of those.

meagan.pilkington

lindseyfabulous:

Red raspberry is a uterine toner, and considered safe (according to my midwives) throughout the entire pregnancy. Although, this is controversial according to what I've read online...

The 5w is actually a birth prep pill, a combination of herbs including cohosh, that is intended to stimulate uterine contractions. The 5w is usually taken to induce or shorten labor, I've also read that it shortens the pushing phase. This is also debatable.

My midwives discouraged using any product containing cohosh, simply because there was no way to know how much herb would actually be in each pill. The midwives that I am seeing expressed concern also that the birth prep would overstimulate my uterus, whish could result in unnecessary complications in labor.

They left the decision up to me, and I am considering taking them again.
Basically they said, "In the end, if you believe that this is a natural process, then allow nature to do what it does best without any interference."

I am also curious though to hear from other moms that have used them successfully and/or unsuccessfully. I am still weighing the pros/cons.

Thanks ladies for your comments! I have read that cohosh can cause excess bleeding so I don't think I want to risk that, and what your midwives say makes sense. I think due to the lack of comments on this post, I'm going to decide not to take it or even ask my OB cuz I'm about 98% positive she won't like the idea. But I like the idea of red raspberry leaf so I think I'll get the tea, just to get a little bit of something that supposedly helps tone the uterus & seems less risky