Rasberry tea does it really work? | ExpatWoman.com
 

Rasberry tea does it really work?

270
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 February 2011 - 12:12

Hi I read an article on baby centre.co.uk that rasberry tea leaf helps with labour. SO I was just curious if any of you have tried it and what were your experiences with it? does it bring labour on early or does it help speed labour up? And in which week of pregnancy should you start to take it for it to work? How much do you drink? And lastly.....where can I buy it from in Dubai or should I order it from UK? If so any brand you would recommend?

TIA

270
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 February 2011 - 23:05
Thank you very much for your replies ladies. I guess every delivery is different, with my first I was in labour for about 20 hours and I really dont want that this time round. I dont want to start my labour early, but instead want to have a 'shorter' labour if this makes sense? Thanks again for the feedback, I will give it a try when I'm about 35+ weeks
98
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 February 2011 - 20:05
I drank it from about 34 weeks and ate lots of pineapple. However I had a VERY STUBBORN DS. He was 9 days late, had to be induced. Then after 23 hours of labour he still wouldn't drop!! So finally delivered by c-section. So not sure if Raspberry Tea works for everyone but it might make the contractions a bit easier. But loved my epidural! I found my Raspberry Tea at the organics cafe.
Anonymous (not verified)
0
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 February 2011 - 19:46
I drank it from 33 weeks, had 1 cup a day for a week and worked up to 4 cups a day, sweetened it with some honey and I liked the taste. My Ob asked me at 39 weeks if I was drinking it to "start my labour off" so even she didn't understand what it's purported effects are. As the uterus is a muscle that you cannot exercise before it's big day I thought that I had nothing to loose from trying it out, I had a short labour with no drugs or gas so I'm glad that I used it.... I drank lots of it (double strength) in early labour and also had a cup a day for about a month after giving birth to help uterus get back to normal. I also ate fresh pineapple every day in the last week!! baby was born on the due date. :)
708
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 17 February 2011 - 15:08
After looking for it all over Dubai, I chanced upon a post by one of the lovely women here who had some leftover stock that would expire in a few months. I just picked it up from her last evening. When looking for information, I too pretty much got what HK said. That it doesn't induce labor, but makes contractions more effective so maybe the labor shorter? I started it today, just as I enter my 38th week so have no idea if it'll do me any good. If it does, I'll report back in a couple of weeks :D
1861
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 17 February 2011 - 12:32
it's one of those things where it's difficult to document if it actually works or not because the same woman may have gone into labour anyway... and each labour is different. It is said that raspberry leaf tea is a uterine stimulant, which causes the uterus to contract. The idea is that it won't bring on early labour (not a good idea anyway - bubs ideally should be properly cooked!), but instead will help the contractions to be more effective. The advice is to definitely not start taking it before 34-35 weeks gestation... just in case! I drank the tea (not as often as recommended, which is something daft like 5-7 cups a day) with my 1st and had a 3 hour labour. I took it in capsule form (again, only when I remembered!) with my second and had an easier labour, if longer. Second time around, I tried every Old Wives tale in the book (short of Castor Oil) as I was 8 days overdue, but nothing worked to bring on labour. It'll happen when it needs to. It's for that reason that I feel that, really, if there's any effect, it's mainly psychosomatic and [i'>that is no bad thing[/i'>. If you firmly believe that, because you have taken the raspberry leaf, then your contractions will be more effective, then they probably will be, because you are thinking positively and feel that you have actively taken control of part of the process. Positive thinking will serve you in far better stead than any home-remedy, but if you need a crutch to help you, then absolutely go for it. Oh, and the tea tastes foul! ;)
 
 

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