The Truth about Raspberry Leaf for Pregnancy and Postpartum
As a herbalist, I am astounded at how useful some plants are for humans. And as a midwife, raspberry leaf is definitely one of the top ones for pregnancy, postpartum and all uterine health – from menarche to menopause.
For centuries, indigenous people of North America used raspberry leaf as an extremely effective uterine tonic, but it wasn’t until the 1940s that the Western world began to use it after several reports in medical journals extolled its effects on the uterus and pelvic region.
But there seems to be a persistent untruth about raspberry leaf in current times that just hangs on and on.
Many pregnant women and midwives seem to think raspberry leaf is to be used to help bring on labour.
This is completely false.
Raspberry leaf does not induce labour.
It works as a uterine tonic, nourishing the tissues of the womb and helping the myometrial cells (muscle cells within the uterus) to contract more efficiently.
Put simply, it helps the uterus empty out completely.
Let’s look at how this works for birth.
raspberry leaf is beneficial for birth and postpartum
During labour, a uterus has to contract with big, strong and coordinated contractions to help open the cervix and birth the baby. Just after the baby is born there is a quick series of events that happen that help prevent haemorrhage. As soon as the baby is born, the uterus needs to contract again to efficiently separate and expel the placenta. And as soon as the placenta is born, the uterus needs to contract well to prevent uterine bleeding, a main cause of haemorrhage.
So for birth, it helps contractions be effective and strong, avoiding painful inconsistent and inefficient contractions which prolong a labour, tire out the woman and increase the risk of haemorrhage. And then it helps these same contractions work efficiently to separate and expel the placenta and prevent excessive bleeding.
In the immediate postpartum period, raspberry leaf helps the uterus to empty out any membranes or bits of tissue possibly still in the uterus and therefore prevent infection. But miraculously, it also helps with bringing the milk in.
Herbs don’t work in the same way pharmaceutical medicine does. So raspberry leaf is not something just to be taken during labour. It needs to be taken regularly throughout the third trimester to tone the muscles of the uterus and aid elasticity (making contractions more effective and labour to progress).
So what’s the science behind it?
Let’s start with the active constituents:
Raspberry leaf is high in calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and vitamins C and E.
Calcium and magnesium work together to help muscles contract and then relax efficiently. Iron and vitamin C work together to keep your blood oxygen rich, nourishing the tissues.
It also contains ellagic acid and fragarine.
Ellagic acid is highly antioxidant, and studies have shown that it helps to ripen the cervix prior to labour starting.
Fragarine aids in toning connective tissue in the pelvis, which allows the tissues to relax. This leads to a less “crampy” feeling and reducing the feelings of needing to wee all the time.
Research on herbs is limited, as much research is funded by pharmaceutical companies set to make money from the research results. But medical herbalists are working hard to fund research to add to the evidence base.
There is a research study to show that drinking raspberry leaf tea regularly from 32 weeks shortened the second stage of labour (the pushing stage) and resulted in less forceps needing to be used.
A recent Australian study showed that women who used raspberry leaf tea during pregnancy had all stages of labour shortened and less of these births were augmented. These women also had less caesarean sections, instrumental deliveries and postpartum haemorrhage. This was a small study of 97 women.
Tea or Capsules?
Tea or Capsules?
Tea. Always tea.
Our bodies digest tea – and the active constituents in the tea – very quickly and the medicine goes almost immediately into the blood stream. Capsules take longer to break down in the digestive tract and are less bioavailable. Especially if you are constipated, and it is harder for your digestive tract to absorb the nutrients.
Capsules only if you really don’t like the taste of the tea.
Cautions
There is one case study involving one woman with gestational diabetes who’s blood sugars lowered after she drank raspberry leaf tea. Obviously, lowering blood sugar is what we are wanting to achieve with any diabetes, so this is a good thing. But it might be worth keeping a closer eye on your blood sugars if you have diabetes and are drinking raspberry leaf – you may need a lower insulin dose. But remember, this research (cited often!) involved ONE woman.
And if you’ve had a previous quick birth with no problems delivering the placenta or with blood loss, then maybe avoid raspberry leaf as your uterus is likely naturally very efficient!
But if you’ve had a previous speedy birth where the placenta didn’t release or didn’t contract efficiently to avoid haemorrhage, then raspberry leaf would be useful – provided you are ready for another quick labour (which you should be ready for anyway, raspberry leaf or not).
And always – in these cases – raspberry leaf tea would be beneficial postpartum.
How to take it?
Tea bags tend to not have very much herb in them so go for loose leaf, or use 3 teabags per cup. Pour over boiling water and cover for 10 minutes, then drink.
Begin at 32 weeks with one cup a day, increasing to 3 cups a day by 36 weeks and drink daily until 2 weeks after the birth.
