The Truth About Red Raspberry Leaf Tea During Pregnancy (2024)

Talk to any midwife, doula, or crunchy mamaand you’re practically guaranteedto hear about the importance of drinking red raspberry leaf tea for pregnancy.

I drank it with all three of my pregnancies. All my friends did. I’ve heard from tons of mamas on Facebook and via email about the benefits of red raspberry leaf tea.

But does it really work? What does the science say?

The Truth About Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

Despite being a favorite among pregnant mamas, there is actually a bit of controversy around the effectiveness of our coveted elixir.

In humans, there are some encouraging studies…

• This studyon a group of mothers indicates that RRLT helps shorten labor and results in fewer medical interventions, including cesarean.
• In this study, RRL in the capsule form helped to shorten second stage of labor (marginally) and reduced the need for forceps delivery.

In rats, the evidence isn’t as favorable…

• This study, conducted on rats, found that RRLT and capsules did stimulate contractions in rats. BUT, at thehighest concentrations, RRL actually inhibited contractions.They conclude that, overall, it doesn’t really work.
• But then there’sthis study, also conducted on rats, suggests that RRL can actually have some adverse effects on the baby later in life. Indeed, the babies reached puberty earlier, and THEIR babies had growth restrictions. Ugh.

With both the rat studies, the mother rats consumed RRL right from the start of their pregnancies, at doses much higher than what humans ingest in a cup of tea. And, they’re rats.

Whereas, the conventional wisdom in the crunchy community says to wait until your second trimester to drink red raspberry leaf tea, and do so at a dosage recommended on the package.

So, yeah. There’s controversy everywhere… even with pregnancy tea.

So, let’s start at the beginning.

WhatIs Red Raspberry Leaf Tea?

Red raspberry leaf tea comes from the leaves of the red raspberry plant. Thisherbal tea has beenused for centuriesto support respiratory, digestive and uterine health, particularly during pregnancy and childbearing years. While usually known as a female herb, red raspberry leaf tea can also help support the prostate and various stomach ailments in children.

Unfortunately, the tea does NOT taste like raspberries. It tastes more like a black tea. Not bad by any means, just not fruity as the name sorta suggests.

The Truth About Red Raspberry Leaf Tea During Pregnancy in post image

What Red Raspberry Leaf Teas Do I Recommend?

Health Benefits of Red Raspberry Leaf

Best known as “the woman’s herb,” red raspberry leaf tea contains the alkaloid fragrine, which can help strengthen the uterus as well as the pelvic area.

Red raspberry leaf is known to:

• Ease menstrual discomfort
• Improve reproductive health
• Balance hormonesto increase fertility
• Mayimprove chances of implantation
• May prevent miscarriage by strengthening and toning the uterine wall

The uterus needs a lot of vitamins and minerals to function properly and red raspberry leaf tea has almost all of them. Red raspberry leaf is rich in vitamins and minerals, containing vitamins C, E, and A, a variety of B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus. It also contains essential trace minerals such as zinc, iron, chromium and manganese. These vitamins and minerals are in a readily absorbable form, making Red Raspberry Leaf tea a wonderful, way to supplement a balanced diet during preconception, pregnancy and beyond. The nutritional boost that RRL gives you can help improve your immune system as well.

Other Uses for Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

Red raspberry leaf is alsoused in folk medicine for ailments unrelated to pregnancysuch astolower unhealthy blood pressure and blood sugar levels, as well asto treat acne, adrenal fatigue, sore throat, canker sores, and cold and fevers. It has been used to treatchildren with diarrhea, vomiting or the flu. Red raspberry leaf tea can also help ease apet’sstomach upset when he is eating something he shouldn’t have. Men can benefit from this tea tooas it supportsprostate health.

How It Can Help Pregnancy and Birth

Studies have shown that red raspberry leaf teacan help to make labor fasterand reduce complications and interventionsduring birth. One study found thatwomen who consumedRRL tea regularly are less likely to go overdue or give birth prematurely. These women may also be less likely to receive an artificial rupture of their membranes or require a cesarean section, forceps, or vacuum birth than the women in the control group. Red raspberry leafhas many other benefits to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum too.

• May reduce morning sickness
• Improves the effectivenessof contractions
• May be especially beneficial to VBAC moms. A stronger uterus may be less likely to rupture, and more likely to help birth a baby.
• Improve strength of amniotic sac
• Reduced pain during labor and after birth. By toning the muscles used during labor and delivery,labor may be shorter and less painful.
• Helps balance postpartum hormones
• High mineral count helps bring in breast milk for many women

In addition, anecdotal evidence and the centuries of use for women’s healthin traditional medicine speak tothe benefits of consuming red raspberry leaf tea.

When to Start Red Raspberry Leaf Tea During Pregnancy?

There is no simple answer to this question. Always talk to your healthcare provider about starting red raspberry leaf tea.

Having said that many healthcare professionals (usually midwives) recommend waiting until the 2nd trimester to begin drinking red raspberry leaf tea. This is becauseRRL is a uterine tonic and stimulates the pelvic floor muscles. This may increase uterine contractions and potentially threaten early labor, although there are no studies to corroborate this.

Some moms prefer to wait until the third trimester, or even until 34 weeks to start drinking red raspberry leaf tea. (They’ll combine their tea drinking with theirdate eatingto help prepare for labor.)

Other midwives and herbalists may recommend beginning red raspberry leaf tea as early as you want becauseit has been used safely during pregnancy for centuries.

The key is to watch how YOUR body responds and adjust accordingly.

How Much Red Raspberry Leaf Tea to Drink?

With your doctor or midwife’s approval, start with 1 cup of red raspberry leaf tea per day starting in the second trimester. Watch for any uterine cramping or other reactions. If you don’t experience any, you can talk to yourhealthcare provider about increasing to 2 cups per day. Again, watch for any uterine cramping. If you notice any, cut back on your dosage for two weeks and try again.

Keep in mind, some moms have irritable uteruses and can only drink red raspberry leaf tea once they reach their due date because of uterine cramping.

Looking to Get Started With RedRaspberry Leaf Tea? Try these Brands.

Is RedRaspberry Leaf Tea the Same as Raspberry Leaf Tea? How About Plain Old Raspberry Tea?

Sometimes. You really need to look at the ingredients to be sure. Note that there is no difference between “red raspberry leaf” and “raspberry leaf.”

The red raspberry leaf teas that we recommend are 100% red raspberry leaf. Other teas labeled as “raspberry” are often a blend ofrosehips, hibiscus, raspberry leaves, and raspberry flavor. So they may notbe as effective.

The teas to avoid are raspberry-flavored herbal teas, which may have ingredients likehibiscus, rose hips, apples, elderberries, natural and artificial raspberry flavors. Teas like this don’t contain raspberry leaf at all and thus won’t offer any of the potential benefits of RRLT outlined in this article.

My Experience With Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

With my first pregnancy, I remember my midwife recommending red raspberry leaf tea. She swore that it made all of the difference in her natural labors. I listened and tried a cup a few days later. I felt very slight uterine cramping, which scared me, so I stopped drinking and forgot about the rest of my pregnancy. I’m not a big tea drinker in general sothe whole thing wasn’t on my radar.

After my very difficult birth, I was committed to doing things differently next time.

• I got educated;
• I did my pelvis exercisesregularly;
• I listened to birth affirmations;
• and I drank my red raspberry leaf tea. Religiously.

The RRLTwas my afternoon ritual… 16 ounces of warm tea mixed with coconut milk. (See recipe below.)

The week of mydue date, I drank the Labor Day Tearecipe (also below) for two consecutive days and BOOM! Baby Paloma made her debut.

Her birth was so quick and painless (yes! Not painful!) that I almost didn’t make it to the birthing center on time. My contractions were so strong and effective (again, not painful) that she just moved right out with no issues.

Her birth was actually FUN! And I believe RRL tea definitely played a role in this.

Side note: I starteddrinking red raspberry leaf tea at 14 weeks. I tried at week 8 but again, I felt some uterine tightening so felt more comfortable waiting. By the second trimester, I drank it with no problem and didn’t feel any tightening (although I’m sure it was happening because of how “in shape” my uterus was on my labor day.)

With my third birth, I started drinking in my third trimester as my uterus was more sensitive to RRL tea. I also drank Labor Day tea starting on my due date. I ended up having a super fast birth at home! So, again, I’m a fan of red raspberry leaf tea.

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea Recipes

Drinking two cups of red raspberry leaf tea can get… boring. And if you don’t generally like tea? Well, that can make drinking your fill of this magical elixir feel downright impossible. Check out these red raspberry leaf tea recipesto get the basic ratio you need to brew a cup, plus six other delicious recipes that make it easier to drink up.