Raspberry Leaf Tea Capsules

[4blue2pink]

TP i guessed you meant third and not first! all the advice ive seen has said its a complete no-no before the third trimester

XX thankyou this seems a silly question but do you put them into boiling water then allow to cool? or do you just leave them in cold water overnight?

the fact you can make a weeks worth in one go sounds good, i was thinking id end up forgetting otherwise i was bad enough with remembering the coffee for swaying!!

XX can i also ask what your midwives say about it? do they recommend it to all their women? alot of midwives here seem very keen on it though none of the ones ive seen have ever mentioned it.

[XXforhubby]

I boil about 48oz of water first either in the microwave or by kettle, put in the bags and steep until it cools to room temp. I usually forget about it until way later, haha! I then poor it into my pitcher, fill with additional water while keeping the bag in. I put this into the fridge and take out the bags if I have some at night or the next morning.

My midwives don't mention it unless someone asks. I asked about it, and they educated me on it. They think it helps with uterine tone and milk production, but they don't push it. They are really laid back here. I mean, I'll be 38 before she is born, and they aren't pushing scans, non-stress tests, etc. My pregnancy has been uneventful so far, and they are fine not pushing me to do this and that as long as it's not warranted.


8/2010 6/2013 11/2015
Baby Girl EDD 9/30/2017

[4blue2pink]

sounds like you have really good midwives XX

[atomic sagebrush]

I personally didn't think the capsules worked the way the tea did. I was disappointed in the results with the capsules but that may have just been coincidence. I also like how the tea is fairly standardized because you'll taste what is in there (they can't get by with putting a bunch of fillers or other herbs in there) while that isn't always the case with capsules, unfortunately.

I am pretty sure RRLT does something positive based on patterns of BH contractions when using them (definitely different) and also seemingly had different patterns of postpartum bleeding when using it vs. not. But I seriously doubt that it is necessary to anyone to "prevent hemmorhage" and sometimes it's better if you just let your body do its thing.

[atomic sagebrush]

RE first/third trimester - with my 3rd I had heard some bad info about starting it early and I will tell you I had massively strong Braxton Hicks with him, so alarming that I very quickly stopped using it. Now, many people do use it but that's one of the reasons why I know firsthand it really does do something to your uterus!! It was really dramatic, before, during, and after the RRLT.

[XXforhubby]

RE first/third trimester - with my 3rd I had heard some bad info about starting it early and I will tell you I had massively strong Braxton Hicks with him, so alarming that I very quickly stopped using it. Now, many people do use it but that's one of the reasons why I know firsthand it really does do something to your uterus!! It was really dramatic, before, during, and after the RRLT.

So just to make sure I understand what you said (pregnancy brain!!), the RRLT made your BH contractions stronger in the 3rd trimester or earlier? How did it effect you postpartum?


8/2010 6/2013 11/2015
Baby Girl EDD 9/30/2017

[atomic sagebrush]

So just to make sure I understand what you said (pregnancy brain!!), the RRLT made your BH contractions stronger in the 3rd trimester or earlier? How did it effect you postpartum?


8/2010 6/2013 11/2015
Baby Girl EDD 9/30/2017

Both. I was told to start RRLT during the first trimester (this was before I got into all of this stuff and was just a regular person then LOL) and then stop it during the second trimester and then resume it during the third. So when I tried that during the 1st trimester I immediately got very strong BH contractions and was told it was "normal" so I continued it for a couple weeks at which point I decided that it could not possibly be normal, stopped it, and the contractions immediately stopped.

I had already noticed in my 2nd and then again with subsequent pg that it does make BH contractions in 3rd tri but they were a lot less painful, dramatic, and alarming than those first trimester ones were.

So, my point was that I can testify that in my experience, the RRLT is doing something. Now is it something good, IDK, I believe it helped me (my first labor was a b--- and then my 4th labor was too, and those were the two I did not use RRLT with, since I had placenta previa with my 4th and couldn't chance it) and my other 3 were much easier. But I would still possibly chalk that up to coincidence if not for the krazy kontractions with my third.

[4blue2pink]

thankyou Atomic, that is a very good point about the capsules possibly being mixed with other herbs, i definitely wouldnt touch it before around 34 weeks anyway, 32 weeks is the absolute earliest its advised over here.

for the tea did you use it in a similar way to TP and XX brew up a weeks worth for a couple of cups per day with gradually increasing amounts of tea bags?

"sometimes it's better if you just let your body do its thing."

^^ yes, thats the thing, i worry that id be messing with things and like you said its maybe better to just let my body do its thing..

but then on the other hand it does appear to do something, those bh contractions it triggers must be a workout of sorts and a lack of tone is the biggest cause of hemorrhage particularly in women who have had lots of babies

can i ask what differences you noticed in post partum bleeding? most women who use it seem to experience bleeding for a much shorter length of time, which makes me think it has to be doing something to help your uterus return back to normal size quickly etc which again would mean it was well toned.

am i right in thinking there are no negatives to using it? worst case scenario is that it makes no difference at all?

sorry for all the questions i just have no idea what im doing when it comes to these things and it makes me slightly nervous.

[atomic sagebrush]

Nope, I like the taste of it and just made a few hot teas over the course of the day. I'm never that organized LOL!

I"m not totally convinced on the postpartum bleeding angle. With my first son I bled a lot for a long time (I bleed and bruise easily) and then I took it with my second son and bled only 6 weeks instead of 8+ and I thought "oh this is doing something. With my 3rd I bled for 6 weeks again. The weird thing was, with my 4th son (with whom I couldn't take the RRLT due to my previa and then some fainting issues I had after I had given birth) I only bled for like 2 weeks with him!! And then my 5th pg, I did use it during pregnancy, nowhere near as much as with #3 and #4, however - and not only was her labor the easiest by far, I ran out of tea right away and even though I didn't buy more, only bled about 2 weeks again with her. So this was not a very strong pattern for me.

[atomic sagebrush]

The straight truth is, wisdom is great but most of these things are not super tested (and honestly, even the things that ARE super tested invariably turn out to have some kind of downside)

I can imagine a possibility in which intense cramping could cause some sort of problem (like placental abruption or tearing of an old C section scar, that kind of thing) or some other side effect we don't have any clue about. I no longer can buy into the idea that any herb is always 100% safe since I've seen so many people on herbs they were given by medical professionals that had serious downsides to them. it doesn't mean that RRLT is bad or that you shouldn't use it, just that I can envision a downside to it.

To my way of thinking this is another reason to do the tea instead of capsules. At least you can control the amount - dilute it down more, use fewer bags per day, etc.