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December 2012 Moms
marypnix
member
Red Raspberry Leaf
marypnix
member
I just saw that BrittdoesDerby mentioned this in an earlier post. I have the capsules but I'm not taking them yet.
Anyone else taking red raspberry capsules or drinking tea? I've read lots about it but would love to hear from women actually taking it. How much? How often?
Any tips are greatly appreciated. TIA
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Re: Red Raspberry Leaf
I'm taking the capsules, and I have been either taking the capsules since 2nd tri started.
I started out taking 2 capsules 1x a day and upped it to 2 capsules 2x a day at 32 week. I know some women start taking it at 37 weeks. I think they start with two capsules for week 37, then four for week 38, then eight for week 39/40/41.
I was drinking the tea, but I had trouble drinking it consistently enough. You have to drink at least 4 cups a day.
I've taken it with my last two & will this time. Protocol is to start at 34 weeks according to my mw. And, will add primrose oil capsules at 35 weeks. Be ready, it really does increase uterine activity. I had contractions nightly for several weeks before delivery.
I took a capsule of each every day., and doubled that at about 36/37 weeks
'I loved you for a thousand years and I will love you for a thousand more'
Per my MW, I started RRL at 13 weeks. I do the capsules b/c it's easier for me to be consistent. I was taking 2 capsules twice/day, but lately I've been taking 3 capsules/day. I think I'll go back to 2 twice/day starting tomorrow. I figure a capsule difference here or there when a lot of people are steeping it into tea means you really can't over or under do it as long as you're consistently taking about 3-4 capsules per day or so (I try to take about 1-2x what the dosage recommended on the bottle is). My MW recommends the tea, so she thought my guestimate of the capsules was just fine.
RRL is a uterine toner. It is thought to make your contractions more productive. It is not meant to bring on contractions or induce labor at all. It is an ingredient in many just plain ol' generic "pregnancy teas" that you see at the grocery store (i.e. safe for pregnant women).
I saw EPO mentioned above...EPO, unlike RRL, is actually a prostaglandin (like semen), and it actually is intended to aid in cervical ripening. So it's best to wait until later in pregnancy to take it. My MW recommended 34 weeks per our initial paperwork, but recently told me to go ahead and wait until 36. With my first, I took it orally from 36-38 weeks, then orally AND vaginally from 38-40 weeks (he came on his own at 40w1d).
My labor with my son was pretty quick - about 10 hours of active labor total. Everything went really smoothly, and my uterus contracted to birth the placenta and stop bleeding all on it's own (no post-partum pitocin, which is standard in most hospitals). So, I think the RRL was effective. I can't know for sure, obviously, but I will most definitely be continuing it until we welcome our baby boy! HTH!