Raspberry leaf tea is something I hadn't come across until I was pregnant with my first son. My due date came and went. Why it is all us pregnant ladies have a date to look to but less than five percent of us actually have our baby on that day. For my first son I wasn't one of those lucky five percent. After nine months of carry your little one all you want is to see them and have that first special cuddle. I was willing to try anything to get my little man out. Well of course anything that wouldn't harm him. I was told by a friend of mine who was having her third baby (so she must be an expert by now shouldn't she) to try raspberry leaf tea. I really didn't want to be induced as my sister in law said it hurt more so even though I believed it would be an old wives tale I gave it a go.

Raspberry flavored tea is not the same as raspberry leaf tea for anyone who isn't too sure. You can find it in most health related shops. I bought my from the Holland and Barratt shop in my local town. I found a box of twenty tea bags for £1.40 by Health and Heather. They just look like an ordinary rectangle tea bag. The smell of them isn't too pleasant and even when water is added to them the smell doesn't seem to get any more pleasant.

Now it is said that raspberry leaf tea aids in getting pre labor going. The ingredients it has in it is meant to soften the uterus. It contains lots of vitamins and minerals so it must be good for you. I have also read later on that if you are breastfeeding it may also be beneficial for you and your baby to continue to drink it. I'm not sure if there are any actual based facts on this or not as I have also read somewhere you shouldn't drink it. Typical of health experts leaving you guessing.

Raspberry leaf contains the following ingredients: Raspberry leaf 48%, Hibiscuc, Blackberry leaves, Natural Raspberry flavor 6%, Tartaric acid, Rosehips, Raspberries 1% and apple pomace 1%.

The box has the usage details on the back. I was very happy to find you could get raspberry leaf tea in the form of tea bags as I not a huge fan of messing around loose leaves I think I must just be lazy! To make up a cup you place one tea bag in a cup and pour boiling water over it. It says to leave it three to five minutes for best results. It also recommends not having it with milk. As I am not a huge fan of herbal teas I knew this was going to be a difficult one for me. But if it works better without I was going to give it a go.

Now the taste, well as not a herbal tea fan it didn't have a great start with me. It only contains a small amount of raspberry flavor and this is apparent in the taste. It has very little raspberry taste to it. It reminds me slightly of wet straw and hasn't the most pleasant taste to it. My other half is a huge fan of herbal teas and any other type of teas so he gave it ago to see why I made such a fuss about it. He actually likes the taste of it! He did say it doesn't have the nicest smell to it but if you're a herbal tea drinker anyway you shouldn't find this one a problem.

For me it was a different story I had to hold my nose every time I tried to drink it. I have to admit after drinking many cups of it I did get used to it but as soon as my little man arrived I didn't touch the stuff again. That was until number two was on his way!

The big question is does it work? Well I'm sorry I don't really have the answer to this question. With my first son I didn't start drinking it till I was 40 weeks so I guess I didn't give it a very good go. That said I wasn't induced and my son arrived six days after I started drinking it.

On the packaging it does warn not to be used in early stages of pregnancy. So this said, it must do something to your uterus! I have heard it is ok to start using it at 32 weeks and onwards but please don't take that as set I am not a medical expert! I started using it at 35 weeks with my second son and did start to bare it more. He was born two weeks early. Now I can't put it down to the tea it could have been a number of reason, for one I was a lot more active all the way through my labor but I like to think it helped after having to put up with it!

My mum always said things that are good for you don't always taste nice. Well I believe this is one of those things. Packed with goodness but very little taste!