Raspberry Tea Leaf Tea

May Mama 330 · March 2012

I posted this in another forum, but realize this one is a better fit! Who out there is drinking the red raspberry tea (the kind you just get in a grocery store like the yogi brand, not supplements like a pill or anything like that)? If you are what was your experience? My mom swears by it and had great deliveries. Although it could just be her and that she has a strong uterus. I am 34 weeks and started drinking it once a day since 32 weeks. But this week I told dr and she reprimanded me and told me not to do it. I was shocked because if anything I didn't think it did any harm. She just said that there is no evidence which I understand. I will obviously listen to her and not drink it (after I bought like 25dollars of it on amazon

) but I wanted to see what other people were doing and what your dr said. Please share, I am so curious!!

Jcrab · March 2012

My MW gave me some and told me to start early in pregnancy although I have chosen to wait. It can't hurt, many here try it.

annabelle.27 · March 2012

I used it with DS1. Had a 16 hour labour, 3 hours of pushing, and then c-section. I didn't bother with DS2, and had a two hour labour. So I don't know that it helps, lol. You can't really get accurate answers on a message board, though; some people might swear it helped, some (like me) might not, but really there's no way to know what would have happened with/out the tea.

I certainly don't think it hurts, though.

StefandTodd · March 2012

I took the capsules b/c you have to drink A LOT of the tea and very consistently for it to be effective. It was easier to keep track of the capsules.

I don't know if it helped but I had 10 hours of relatively easy and fast labor that started spontaneously at 40+1. I arrived at the hospital 8 cm dilated, and was pretty sure we were there "too early" prior to the check.

So yeah...I obviously can't be sure if RLT (or the EPO I took) helped in any way, but I will most definitely be doing it all again for any future babies.

ETA: I started taking it consistently at about 27 weeks, never got my OB's opinion on it.

garnet10 · March 2012

I responded to your other post, but if you do it you need to drink a lot of very strong brewed tea over a period of time. I bought bulk RRL tea from the health food store and brewed in one of those Teavanna loose tea makers hot, or a loose tea iced tea maker from Bodum. I used probobly 10 times the amount as what you would find in a typical tea bag. I drank about 3 cups a day. I was a FTM, My water broke at 38 weeks. Contractions started 4 hours later. I was not in any real pain when we left for the hospital but my contractions were about 4 minutes apart I got checked in and monitored and the contractions were down to 2.5 minutes apart but I wasn't in a lot of pain, and the contractions didn't look that intense on the monitors. So they wanted to give me 1/2 hour of pit to jump start the intensity because they didn't think my contractions could possibly be that effective. What no one realized was I was already at transition. After the took me off the pit, I immediately got up, puked, tried to go to the bathroom but realized that the pressure i was feeling was that I was ready to push. 10 minutes later my daughter was born. 12 hours start to finish.

garnet10 · March 2012

I responded to your other post, but if you do it you need to drink a lot of very strong brewed tea over a period of time. I bought bulk RRL tea from the health food store and brewed in one of those Teavanna loose tea makers hot, or a loose tea iced tea maker from Bodum. I used probably 10 times the amount as what you would find in a typical tea bag. I drank about 3 cups a day. I was a FTM, My water broke at 38 weeks. Contractions started 4 hours later. I was not in any real pain when we left for the hospital but my contractions were about 4 minutes apart I got checked in and monitored and the contractions were down to 2.5 minutes apart but I wasn't in a lot of pain, and the contractions didn't look that intense on the monitors. So they wanted to give me 1/2 hour of pit to jump start the intensity because they didn't think my contractions could possibly be that effective. What no one realized was I was already at transition. After the took me off the pit, I immediately got up, puked, tried to go to the bathroom but realized that the pressure i was feeling was that I was ready to push. 10 minutes later my daughter was born. 12 hours start to finish.

MidwestSeashell · March 2012

i'm only 10 weeks along in my first pregnancy but i've been drinking it pretty regularly. it was recommended to me by both my herbalist and my acupuncturist. I'm not sure why your MW said not to take it. It's definitely on the list of safe herbs and is regarded as one of the best pregnancy herbs. I'm a herb tea junky so when I got knocked up I found all the herbs that were good for me in order to continue my tea habit. raspberry is definitely good, as are the mints (spearmint, peppermint), strawberry leaf, nettle leaf, rose hips, and lemon verbana. i'm a big fan of the "pregnancy tea" by traditional medicinals and these are pretty much the herbs in that. much love, mama

vrich · March 2012

My MW with DD1 recommended waiting until 35-36 weeks to begin drinking both red raspberry leaf tea (4 cups/day). Started drinking this tea around 38 weeks. I didn't find it helped, as I had to be induced at 42 weeks with 18 hour labor, but it is different for everyone. I plan to start drinking it again for DD2...a little earlier this time.

flyer23 · March 2012

My midwife advised me to start drinking it at my last appointment, because my uterine wall is a little thin. If it helps during labor, that'll be a bonus.

krisd87 · March 2012

MidwestSeashell:
i'm only 10 weeks along in my first pregnancy but i've been drinking it pretty regularly. it was recommended to me by both my herbalist and my acupuncturist. I'm not sure why your MW said not to take it. It's definitely on the list of safe herbs and is regarded as one of the best pregnancy herbs. I'm a herb tea junky so when I got knocked up I found all the herbs that were good for me in order to continue my tea habit. raspberry is definitely good, as are the mints (spearmint, peppermint), strawberry leaf, nettle leaf, rose hips, and lemon verbana. i'm a big fan of the "pregnancy tea" by traditional medicinals and these are pretty much the herbs in that. much love, mama

Same here! I feel like I wrote this post Stick out tongue

May Mama 330 · March 2012

Thanks everyone! I feel so confused. I want to drink it because it sounds like it could be beneficial but I can't get my drs reaction out of my head, like I am doing something wrong! Ugh

krisd87 · March 2012

May Mama 330:
Thanks everyone! I feel so confused. I want to drink it because it sounds like it could be beneficial but I can't get my drs reaction out of my head, like I am doing something wrong! Ugh

Here's the issue as I see it. Doctors are not very knowledgeable on the subject of herbs. And since there isn't a lot of scientific research in to their use, doctors don't want you to take them because they have "not been proven safe" although, they haven't been shown to be harmful either. And frankly, they've been used far longer than the medications most people take. I really trust my herbs, I also never take medications. My mother, who has no problem with med use (and takes far too many) has started listening to me in recent years, and been able to get off some of her "necessary" meds by changing to herbal remedies. When I started using herbs instead, I went to an herbalist, I can't recommend seeing one to enough people. They really help you understand and are very knowledgeable on their use and what is safe and not safe.

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