Red raspberry leaf has been used by women around the world for thousands of years. And for good reason—its regular consumption offers a large range of health benefits. In particular, it is arguably the number one herb for expectant mothers to take.
It has been used by many ancient and indigenous peoples. This includes the ancient Greeks, Native American Indians, American Aborigines, and Gypsies.
Herbalists around the world today continue to recommend its use. In fact, it was one of the favourite herbs of the late Dr. Christopher, due to the continued success he saw from it.
Here’s why you should take this herb everyday
Today we will look at some of the advantages this herb provides. Let’s see whether you, or those around you, could benefit from adding it to your diet!
Red raspberry leaf is high in polypeptides, flavonoids, iron, malic acid, calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamins B1, B3 and E, and tannins. The fruit contains vitamin A, B1, C.
The leaves contain a compound called frangarine. This acts in a beneficial way upon a woman’s pelvis muscles and uterus during childbirth, and helps to tone them.
Time and time again, herbalists have seen first-hand the wonders of this herb, and the miracles it has worked.
My wife and I recently saw this for ourselves. During the pregnancy of our second child, my wife took red raspberry leaf on a regular basis. She recovered remarkably well after the birth of our son, experiencing very little bleeding and absolutely no after-birth pains. Our midwife said this was most likely due to her consuming this marvellous herb.
Countless women who had either previously been told they would never be a mother, or who had experienced extremely difficult pregnancies and labours in the past, have gone on to have easy pregnancies and birthing experiences after supplementing with this herb.
Red raspberry leaf is used for a range of health problems:
It helps to lessen the pain of contractions in childbirth. It regulates them and makes them more effective. This helps ensure a fast delivery and lowers the risk of haemorrhaging. Many women take it throughout their whole labour, usually in tea form
An easy birth of a big, big baby!
A patient of mine was pregnant with her tenth child. Since she was in her early forties, she wanted to do everything to make sure the pregnancy and birth was a smooth one. One of the main things I advised her to do was to take red raspberry leaf tea each day, which she did, vigilantly.
She was careful to supplement with each of her previous pregnancies. However, red raspberry leaf was one thing she had not taken up until this baby.
When she went into labour, she prepared a flask of the tea to take into the hospital with her. She drank this throughout the birth.
She gave birth to a baby who was over 11 pounds—the record for the hospital she was at! Despite this, the labour was much easier than she had expected. The baby came out quickly, and she did not tear at all.
In many of her previous births, she had experienced rather severe haemorrhaging. This was not the case with this birth, however. She largely attributes all of this to the red raspberry tea she took.
How to make this tea even more delicious:
The tea has quite a mild flavour; however, some people do find its taste somewhat objectionable. If this is the case for you, its flavour can be improved! Simply add an equal amount of peppermint leaves, and even some honey.
Red raspberry leaf is also available in tablet form. Often this is more highly processed than the pure leaf, though.
It can also be taken as a tincture. For those concerned about the alcohol content, it is available in a non-alcohol base. Often vegetable glycerine is used for this purpose.
Regardless of the form you take it in, be sure that you purchase an organic source. Cheap, imported forms of the herb can be contaminated with other ingredients…that’s the last thing you want if you’re pregnant!
Here’s what the studies say…
Several studies have been conducted about the efficacy of red raspberry leaf. Of note is one close to home. A group of midwives from Sydney’s Westmead hospital carried out an observational study. In it, they compared women who were taking the herb during their pregnancy to those who weren’t.
Altogether there were 108 women in the study. Those in the ‘red raspberry leaf’ group all began taking it at different stages in their pregnancy. Some started as early as 8 weeks and some as late as 39 weeks. Most, however, began taking the herb between 28 and 34 weeks’ gestation.
The midwives found:
Next, they conducted a randomised controlled study with a larger sample group. They wanted to reinforce the findings of their observational study. In 2000, this study was completed.
It found that:
Should you be taking red raspberry leaf?
Every pregnant woman wants to do all she can do to ensure she has an easy delivery, but most importantly, a healthy baby. Considering the wealth of benefits red raspberry leaf offers, it is a herb that every pregnant woman should be taking, both for her own sake and her baby’s.
And for those who do not fit into the ‘pregnant woman’ category, taking this herb still offers you plenty of benefits. No household should be without it!
A super easy and convenient way to get your intake of this remarkable herb
If you or someone you know is pregnant, Medicinal Herb Store offers a non-alcohol tincture of Red Raspberry and Nettle.
The nettle is added into this because of its high iron content.
Woman during pregnancy often experience lower levels of iron. This is because they are building more blood to make the baby.
The level of vitamin c in the nettle is just the right amount for the body to absorb the iron, unlike synthetic iron supplements that cause constipation or other side effects.
[i] http://www.pregnancy.com.au/resources/topics-of-interest/pregnancy/raspberry-leaf.shtml