As I am nearing the end of my pregnancy and am hoping that I do not have my baby actually on Christmas Day I have been reading up on old wives tales to try and make the baby appear on its own quickly. One of these so called natural induction methods is the drinking of raspberry leaf tea. I call it an old wives tale because according to a website I read, unfortunately its a misconception that raspberry leaf tea induce labour. However, it is said to have many other benefits in the birthing process and has been used as a labour aid for hundreds of years so I thought it was worth giving it a try.

I bought my raspberry lead tea from Holland and Barrett but I believe you can get it from other health food stores and also on the internet. A box of 20 tea bags cost me £0.99 which I thought was quite good. Raspberry leaf tea is said to contain lots of nutrients and many of the vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy pregnancy, including vitamin A, C, E and B, magnesium, calcium and iron so even if it's not going to help induce labour at least it includes lots of good things for you anyway. I must stress that it is probably wise to talk to your doctor or midwife if you are pregnant before you start a course of this tea as it is not recommend before 32 weeks of pregnancy I believe. I have read in places not to start it before 37 weeks so do proceed with caution if you wish to drink this tea.

Also raspberry leaf tea is meant to have a positive effect on your uterus as well. It is said to contain an alkaloid called fragine which helps the uterus to contract more efficiently during labour. According to an article I read, "Research has found that taking raspberry leafduring the weeks prior to delivery helps to shorten the second stage of labour by making contractions more effective. Some studies have also found that it reduces the need for an assisted delivery (i.e. an emergency cesarean or use of forceps or ventouse)". The article goes on to say that, "Sipping raspberry leaf tea during and after the birth is also said to help the uterus contract back down to size, reduce after birth bleeding and help initiate the let down of breastmilk."

So what does it actually taste like? Well, if you like herbal tea then you will probably like this too. The instructions on the box say to pour hot water over the tea bag and let it seep for at least 5 minutes to get the full benefit of the leaves. The water turns a deep raspberry colour. The tea is not overly fruity tasting and not really like a regular raspberry flavoured tea, it is a lot more subtle than that. They recommend that you get up to drinking at least four cups a day and i have to say by that point I am a bit sick of it but I will stick with it and am looking forward to the benefits it is said to give me.