I am sure this has been discussed before - but I am curious if anyone is drinking RRL tea or has any prior birth experience while drinking RRL tea that they could share? I just bought some at the store this morning, but I am thinking maybe I should start drinking it closer to 38 weeks. I haven't had any preterm labor scares or really any BH contractions, so I don't know if I should wait on drinking it or not. I plan to ask the doctor about it at my appt next week, but I am sure he will roll his eyes at it - unfortunately the practice that I go to (and the hospital I am delivering at) is not very natural birth oriented. You should have seen his face and heard the comments when I mentioned using a tub during birth .
I am occasionally drinking RRL tea. Some people start by drinking 1 cup a day in the 1st tri, 2 in the second, and 3 in the third. I find it bitter and need to sweeten it with sugar, honey, or something similar (I'm dying to try agave nectar!) and sometimes add a little lemon to it. My midwife said that it is not proven to cause PTL and that I was safe to start drinking it whenever, and this was at about 14 weeks when I asked her.
Generally the strongest dosages I've heard that people take are those cups/day as listed above, and then a really strong infusion taken when you go into labor, steeped for at least 30 minutes, and drank as HOT as you can stand it, as much tea as you can take.
I'm sure others here will have more info, and of course the Natural Childbirth group has some RRL ladies, too! :)
Alexis - 26, DH - 28
DS #1 - arrived a little early at 36+5 - Welcome Conor Vincent, 4/29/10!
I started around a cup every other day when I started my second trimester. I quit when I was having increased BHs, but that didn't help, they were still crazy. So I started back up after around 20 weeks. Once I hit the third trimester, I've been trying to get at least a cup a day, possibly two. And the closer I get to the end, the more I will try to drink it. Ideally I'd like to be drinking 3 cups a day at 39 weeks and maybe more after 40 weeks (I know the pressure will be on me to induce at 41 weeks due to my prior c-section). I haven't talked to my doctors about it because I know they wouldn't be all that supportive. They're nice and all, but they have very little clue about natural birthing (when I asked about classes, they said the hospital offered a generic one. When I said, what about bradley/hypnobirthing, they said that's great, but they had no recommendations as they've barely ever seen it! )
Susan - 30 married to Chris - 32
Catherine Anne born via c-section June 30, 2008
Rebecca Marie born naturally April 18, 2010
John McNary born naturally January 9, 2012
I shied away from it early in with my DD but at 36 weeks I started drinking it every day, several cups per day.
I found I preferred it iced and so I would make a pot of it hot in the a.m. and then ice it and put it in the refrigerator and drink it throughout the day.
I had my DD at 36w6d, no idea if the RRL had an impact but it was an efficient labor for sure! I drank several cups the day I had her as well, I think.
I drank it just whenever I felt like it during my last pregnancy. I was assured that it was safe throughout the entire pregnancy, so I went with it!!
Also, for anyone interested, since RRL Tea is kind of a uterine support thing, I thought someone might care...
There is a Dr. Christopher's prenatal formula that you take the last 5 or 6 weeks of pregnancy that prepares your uterus and such for delivery. It's supposed to make labor easier. I can't really say if my last labor was indicative of everyone that takes it or not, but I know my labor and delivery were fairly short and happy! Yes, it still hurt, but an unmedicated home birth that lasted UNDER two hours... I was happy with it! I also start taking a 10-40 drops of Blue Cohosh in a small shot glass of water/juice every day once I hit my due date. That helps to ensure that, once your labor comes on, it'll be productive and it shortens labor time. Since my first was under 12 hours and my second was under 2 hours, I'd believe it.
Anyway, just some more natural pregnancy therapy stuff in case anyone wanted the info!
Drink RRL tea anytime you like!! Everything in moderation, but it's safe throughout pregnancy!
MY CHART
I started drinking it quite late in my pregnancy and I went into labor soon after starting it - I have no idea if it did indeed kickstart the birth since I also had elevated b/p at the end (DS came at 38w2d). Just like VJHarvey, I also had a very quick and natural birth - again, no idea if RRL had anything to do with it but I will definitely be drinking it the next time around. My doula advised that it's very safe through the pregnancy and is wonderful for uterine health.
Congratulation and Good luck!
ME: 34DH: 38DS: 2 plus and adorable!TTC #2 - Sept 2011 - BFP! 10*02*2011 THANK YOU, GOD!
I've been drinking RRL tea the entire time. I just keep upping my intake... for the second tri, I was drinking two cups, and starting next week, I'll up it to three. It has never given me BHs, so I feel ok doing it. I am REALLY interested in this Dr. Christopher thing, VJ! I am going to look it up! Thanks for the info! Cool stuff!!
I love reading the "success" stories of the RRL L&Ds, and I wonder if Dr. Christopher has them too? I think positive mind and attitude can help lead to positive birth experience. :)
Same here! I started it around 32wks..1 cup a day at first, and then whenever I felt like it. My labor and delivery were quick! Active labor started around 11:15pm and he was born at 4:40am
If I get pregnant again, I'll be doing the same thing! I'm convinced it helped!
Me DH
Tristan Born Oct 30th, 2009
4
I started drinking RRL tea at about 24 weeks. I wanted to wait until the baby had a chance of survival if I was one of the few people that it caused pre-term labour with. But I still have only been actually having one strong cup a week until this week, when I've started 2 strong cups a week. I'll do that for a couple more weeks and then start drinking one cup a day. I'll move to 2/3 cups a day once I hit 35 weeks. I have not yet had any Braxton Hicks contractions or any other contractions.
Claire (Me) - 36DH - 38DD - 15 monthsDCat - Molly
Married the love of my life July 7, 2007 (he wanted a date we could never forget ;-)
TTC #2Beta 22 dpo? - 6245
September 12, 2011 10 wks, baby stopped growing at 7 wks 2 days http://tcoyf.com/members/kitcat75/pccharts/12.aspx
BFP November 20, 2011 http://tcoyf.com/members/kitcat75/pccharts/15.aspx
I followed the advice of my midwives, health food store, and internet sources and didn't start until 32 weeks. I drank 3 or 4 cups of tea a day (between meals, as I read something about the tea inhibiting iron absorption, but I could be wrong about that). My labour was "efficient," with active labour staring at 8pm, and me feeling the urge to push at 9:30pm (I tried not to push until 10pm, however, as I wasn't at the hospital yet!), and after being stuck behind a rigid perineum for an hour an a half, my son was born at 11:30pm. Based on my experience, I'd say a quick labour is not necessarily an easy labour, as mine was quite intense, even by my midwives' standards. This time I still plan on drinking the tea, but won't have more than 2 cups a day. Not only does my body need time for my perineum to soften before the pushing stage, but I need to make sure I have enough time to get to the hospital (I had to take an ambulance last time).
just wanted to say that i am a huge fan of RRL tea. i drank tons of it in my last trimester, as well as the infusion when i went into labor. and i am convinced it made a huge difference in my (natural) delivery. my son was almost 10 lbs and i pushed him out in about an hour and a half, and had essentially no after pains, even with a bit of pictocin (to control some minor hemorrhaging due to a second degree tear). and i hear those can be quite intense with a first child. So i would definitely recommend it! It will not induce your labor if you are not ready, it will only make your contractions more effective, control hemorrhaging and after pains, and prepare your uterus.
also, for anyone interested in natural induction, i would recommend looking into Caulophyllum thalictoides. it is the homeopathic form of blue cohosh, so it has none of the dangerous side effects that the regular form has, but is still very effective, it saved me from induction at 2 weeks past due, when my water started leaking, but i didn't go into labor. it also started my sisters labor when she took it as a last resort, just hours before she was scheduled for induction. hths
Lilfrenchgirl, that is really awesome information! Thanks! I was wondering about how long was your labor, and at what point did you drink the strong infusion? I have been drinking the RRL tea since I found out I was pg, but since starting the 3rd trimester I have really upped my intake.
Also, where did you get the homeopathic blue cohosh and how did you take it?
Thanks!!!
Mel
Not to hijack, but where does one buy some RRL tea? What is a good "brand". I looked at my local grocery store and found raspberry tea and red tea but not red raspberry tea.
Michelle
Michelle: Wife to Steven (6/13/1999); Mom to Kayla (2000); Joseph (2004); Samantha (2007) and Matthew Johnathan (3/31/10)
I got mine from vitacost.com.... I don't know what's a good brand... I keep wondering if mine isn't good enough because other people talk about how bitter their tea is - mine tastes great!
I found mine in the small organic section of the grocery store, the brand is Traditional Medicinals. I wouldn't call it delicious per se, but I can drink it without sugar just fine. Also, I saw some "Third Trimester Tea" at BRU the other day, it had RRL and some other herbs in it.
I buy mine from bulkherbstore(dot)com and I get the "Mama's Red Raspberry" Brew and the "Red Raspberry Leaf" and I mix the two of them together. The Mama's brew is pretty awesome alone, but I wanted to add a little more of the red rasp leaf to it. It's in bulk, so great great price for the amount you're getting, and I make a big pitcher of it each week and drink it all week long. I used to get the individual tea bags, but it was definitely not cost effective with how much I am drinking now. :)
Argh - the Mama's blend is sold out, and so is the alfalfa to do a DIY mix of the same ingredients. I am 30 weeks and don't know that I have the time to wait. I'm with you on the tea bags not being cost effective, and I honestly don't find the blend tasty.
Off in search of Alfalfa leaves.
Oh no! Ya know what? They replenish their supply REALLY quickly in my experience! Give them a call, and they could probably tell you exactly when. I didn't wait long at all for my bag. (And it's a huge bag! It's lasted me months!!!) Maybe you could do the tea bags while you wait for it to come in? Gotta tell ya, this blend is DEELISH! I'm going to have to order some more to get me through the end of pregnancy and then to make the really strong infusion! I better get on that! Good luck, Kat!
Meligerl1979: I buy mine from bulkherbstore(dot)com and I get the "Mama's Red Raspberry" Brew and the "Red Raspberry Leaf" and I mix the two of them together. The Mama's brew is pretty awesome alone, but I wanted to add a little more of the red rasp leaf to it. It's in bulk, so great great price for the amount you're getting, and I make a big pitcher of it each week and drink it all week long. I used to get the individual tea bags, but it was definitely not cost effective with how much I am drinking now. :)
Ditto this! And the RRL is organic, so even better!
I decided to do this and received my order last week. You can get a lot of tea for your money this way - it's much more economical than tea bags. To make the tea, you just need a tea leaf strainer or some of the large paper tea bags made for loose tea. I brewed three pots worth and then put them into a large pitcher, and it's lasted me several days.
Mary, 36 - Hubby, 35 - Cat, 8 - Adele, born 11/17/10!!! My Crazy Chart