Red raspberry leaf tea

[TTCsince626]

Just got my bfp confirmed yesterday with a beta of 106... Conceived by iui and gonal-f

What's everyone's consensus on this tea? I drank it throughout my tww But stopped because of conflicting opinions. Now I get sharp pains and feel like I hapve a heavy uterus like I'm going to get my period.... Very worried and scared this bfp isn't going to stick. I'll do anything to keep it

 

[Cornfieldland]

Hi, I think that's normal early on. I felt like I was going to start AF at any time the first few weeks. There's a lot of stretching, cramps and achy feelings. Scary but normal. I still get achy and sore and I'm 11wks. I think as long as your not drinking the tea now you should be ok. Congrats!

 

[Powell130]

From what I remember when reading about the tea when I was pregnant with our son was that it helpes tone the uterus so im not sure what harm it would do?

 

[Cornfieldland]

Ya I was just reading that you can have one cup a day in first trimester, so you should be fine.

 

[ReadynWaiting]

A friend of mine is a doula and she says she promotes one cup a day to her clients

 

[DobbyForever]

I had a sore throat earlier this week and my gyn told me to drink tea. I was shocked as I read certain teas had negative effects (like passion fruit causing contractions) so I asked her. She said stick to non-caffeinated tea. That berry flavored or herbal teas are fine. Chamomile, lemon, ginger....

So I ended up getting organic lemon ginger and organic chamo. I'm only using them when I am sick though.

 

[Marumi]

It is in the unsafe list of most sites. Babycenter put together a strict list: https://www.babycenter.com/0_herbal-teas-during-pregnancy_3537.bc

From what I remember when reading about the tea when I was pregnant with our son was that it helpes tone the uterus so im not sure what harm it would do?

It is usually only recommended in the third trimester since it stimulates the uterus. Some sources say it can lead to miscarriage early on.

I had a sore throat earlier this week and my gyn told me to drink tea. I was shocked as I read certain teas had negative effects (like passion fruit causing contractions) so I asked her. She said stick to non-caffeinated tea. That berry flavored or herbal teas are fine. Chamomile, lemon, ginger....

So I ended up getting organic lemon ginger and organic chamo. I'm only using them when I am sick though.

Lemon grass and ginger are both not considered perfectly safe, or only in teeny amounts which sadly most teas exceed. Chamomille is another tea considered unsafe according to most sources and if recommended only in small amounts.

Also most berry teas contain hibiskus which is one of the unsafest choices out there. I was unable to find a berry tea without it.

I also found this site quite interesting but idk how well it translates: https://www.hebammenwissen.info/tee-in-der-schwangerschaft/
Every ingredient is analyzed though.

Teas are based on herbs and plants I have used herbs for healing and they are powerful. What may be good for your health normally might be a bad in pregnancy.

Until I saw an embryo I actually avoided all teas and stuck with juice. Then I began drinking fennel tea which is one of the safest teas and roiboos which is pretty much THE safest tea (get a high quality brand though, cheap redbush tea tastes horrible).
Now that I am closer to the second trimester I also drink peppermint tea and the occasional green tea (very rare).

I still avoid caffeine for the most part because of the recent criticism on the 200mg limit a day...which is very high and some studies show problems even with smaller amounts. Decaf tastes perfectly fine too for the occasional cup and one can wean off needing caffeine for fuel....so it is easy to cut it out.
One problem with decaf would be the chemicals that go into it while removing caffeine. Studies however showed no increased risk but I think it would be good to only drink it occasionally.

I alternate between teas and the occasional cup of decaf.

 

[DobbyForever]

Thanks for the info Marumi! I am with you, I remember hibiscus being something to avoid and based on the guidelines my gyn gave me I could have easily walked off with a box. Shrugs. I ended up only drinking tea for about a day and half, and things seem fine. It really cured my inflamed throat which allowed me to go back to eating and drinking. So shrugs. I don't research these things since I am not a big tea drinker. I just can't see why my gyn (not my primary care doctor) would direct me to drink a tea that would be unsafe for me.

As for the articles, one I cannot read (didn't translate) and the first from baby center. I'm having a difficult time seeing who wrote it, what their credentials are, when it was written, and who (specifically on their medical committee) reviewed it. It also states in itself that the research hasn't been done to prove whether the effects are safe or unsafe. Only that it may be in unsafe in large or medicinal doses. But it does not specify what those doses are. Basically seems like it is saying it may or may not be bad for you so if you are the type to worry then avoid them. But you could really say that about a lot of things.

In the last two years, we have gone from research says zero alcohol during pregnancy to research now shows you can drink a glass of wine each day and it may actually benefit your fetus. Or hey research says take DHA now. Studying a subject for the entirety of its life and making connections to prenatal exposure, let alone studying a pregnant woman, is a challenge. It's like studying the ocean. Research and things are always changing so I'm kind of taking on a "what will be will be" attitude this go round. Drove myself crazy last pregnancy with what to and not to eat, drink, do and I lost that bean anyway.

And if I am going to research something that has to do with the safety or non-safety, I prefer to reference legitimate medical journals directly using Google Scholar rather than a generic Google search. I'm personally not a big fan of it is true because the internet or my friend said so.

 

[Marumi]

Sadly, like you said, there has not been much research on teas. So we can only use what we find scattered on different sources. So it will be hard to reference medical journals and such. I read quite a few sources, some citing studies as well. Babycenter summarized what I gathered from most sites. And if any website is careful about recommending the wrong things, it is babycenter. Their articles are being reviewed before they are posted and they frequently work with and cite medical professionals. Does not mean every bit is the truth but with all the internet confusion out there I think it isn't a bad site.

Working with herbs myself I do think that being careful here is more important than with lunch meats or raw foods for example. I know how strong of an effect certain herbs can have, just have not studied them in relation to pregnancy. But herbs can have effects like drugs do. Which is certainly not the case for lunch meat, sushi, soft cheese.

Doctors are human and can make mistakes. Or they disagree on the safety. This would explain why your doctor would recommend tea that is not generally seen as perfectly safe.
Once I was hospitalized and doctors were about to give me medication that could have killed me given my condition because they did not do the right tests. I did not take it because I remembered it being problematic.

The key is not to make yourself crazy and to obsess over each possibly harmful thing, but to be able to make choices based on a variety of information. To take the advice you like and leave the advice you don't. We are all adults and no matter how many well meant recommendations we get, at the end of the day we still make our own decisions.

If someone on the forum asks for advice on safety, I will share the safest options possible because god knows I don't want to be responsible for a member experimenting with teas and experimenting a problem, because I felt sites with warnings were not peer reviewed or not enough studies tied to the warnings.

 

[DobbyForever]

Fair enough and appreciated.

My general point is nobody can definitively tell us if tea is safe or unsafe, so the choice is ours. Drink at your own risk/discretion/desire.

 

[Marumi]

Fair enough and appreciated.

My general point is nobody can definitively tell us if tea is safe or unsafe, so the choice is ours. Drink at your own risk/discretion/desire.

Yes that is also what I think I just wanted to share every tea that "may" be a concern so the OP can chose herself how safe she wants to be .