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Red Raspberry Leaf tea, anyone?

Last post 05-25-2009 7:26 PM by ~willowtree~. 5 replies.
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  • 05-23-2009 12:57 PM

    Red Raspberry Leaf tea, anyone?

    Hello, I have always been an avid respberry leaf tea drinker since I was introduced to it midway through my pregnancy with my daughter. I STRONGLY suspect that I am pregnant again and am wondering if anyone else has consumed this tea throughout their pregnancy and did you find it beneficial? My CNM has assured me that it is very safe, but there are some studies (that are misleading and possibly flawed) that may indicate otherwise. Wondering about your opinions!
  • 05-23-2009 2:09 PM In reply to

    • Keeger
    • Top 500 Contributor
    • Joined on 05-06-2008
    • BC Canada
    • Posts 895

    Re: Red Raspberry Leaf tea, anyone?

    I only used it in the third trimester.

  • 05-23-2009 2:20 PM In reply to

    Re: Red Raspberry Leaf tea, anyone?

    I'm six weeks pregnant with my second child, and I drink now, and all throughout my last pregnancy, one to three cups of raspberry leaf tea per day. It's a great uterine tonifier, and one of the few herbal teas that is completely safe to consume all through your pregnancy. It also tastes WONDERFUL!! There are, of course, exceptions, i.e. if you have incompetant cervix, or are extremely high risk. In strong doses, it can cause very mild, undetectable muscle movements of the uterus (not labor contractions) but to anyone who is very high risk, and already at risk for miscarriage, those tiny little muscle movements can be bad news. That being said, things like orgasms, which doctors have deemed safe for healthy pregnant women, are a whole lot stronger than any muscle contractions caused by raspberry leaf. Also, raspberry leaf can be purchased in capsule form, at most health food and supplement stores (I work in one) and what you find in pill form is usually much more potent than what you'd brew in a tea. Most pill forms of raspberry leaf, should only be taken during your last trimester, when the uterus is preparing for labor. I took it in capsules for the last three weeks of my pregnancy, under the assumption it might help stimulate labor, WHICH IT CERTAINLY DID NOT! I ended up going ten days overdue, and delivered a nine pound baby boy by c-section. Good luck and happy tea drinking!
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  • 05-23-2009 9:24 PM In reply to

    Re: Red Raspberry Leaf tea, anyone?

    Thank you for your input, Crissi. What you are saying makes sense. The tea is very nutritious and an excellent uterine tonic; I'm going to keep it up but limit it to one cup per day. I investigated the reasoning behind some professionals recommendation to avoid red raspberryleaves and it comes from data collected from a study sometime in the late 1950s. In this study, doctors isolated one compound found in red raspberry leaf and injected directly into the uteri of pregnant mice. The result was an increase in miscarriage. Hmmmm..... doesn't seem very relavent to human consumption....
  • 05-24-2009 11:40 AM In reply to

    Re: Red Raspberry Leaf tea, anyone?

    LOL I agree! To be honest, injecting ANYTHING into a pregnant uterus could cause miscarriage, just look at the risk of amniocenthesis, and they're not injecting anything nto the uterus! Well enjoy your tea, and you could always increase it toward the end of your pregnancy, I was drinking six or more cups of it during the last few weeks! Peed a lot more, but never went into labor because of it!
  • 05-25-2009 7:26 PM In reply to

    Re: Red Raspberry Leaf tea, anyone?

    i've drunk red raspberry leaf with both preggs and no issues. my midwives with #2 recommended a mixture of RRL, Oat Straw, Nettle Leaf, and....Afalfa something. i liked that, and they said it helped with "bleeders", and i didn't that time. i've never heard of lots of red raspberry leaf causing labor in normal women. 

    i did take blue and black cohosh tinctures toward the end of #2 preg, because of weeks of prelabor keeping me up at night.  i'm NOT recommending this, but my mom is a hippie medicine woman, so i come by it naturally. in tincture form, those are said to help "get things going" when it's time, but it sure didn't for me!     

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