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If you are looking into ways to shorten your labor, read on! But first, I’m not a doctor, and am not giving you medical advice. Always talk to your doctor before trying something new!
Leading up to my daughters’ birth, I wanted labor to be as short and sweet as safely possible. Who wants to be in pain for more than a day? Uhh, not me!
I had heard about red raspberry leaf tea [RRL tea] and dates to shorten labor. I figured why not try it? It wouldn’t hurt anything.
I did a lot of looking around for other people’s experiences with RRL tea and dates, reading every one I could find. A lot of people had tried it on their second labor, making it hard to tell whether it had actually helped or was just the result of a second child, which seem to generally be faster. But, honestly, even with a first labor, there isn’t much proof that it would have been longer without RRL tea and dates. So, take all of that into consideration as you read this.
In short, I do plan to use RRL tea and dates with any future babies.
Studies on the Effects in Labor
Note: This website contains no medical advice. All information is for entertainment purposes only.
According to this article on Healthline, RRL tea contains a compound called fragarine that actually strengthens the uterus. In turn, this can make contractions during labor more productive. [1]
In this study, RRL tea was found to possibly reduce the need for interventions in child birth, such as forceps and c-section. [2]
This study was performed on 182 women. Half of the women in the study consumed dates near the end of her pregnancy. The women who consumed dates had shorter second and third stages of labor compared to the women who did not consume dates. The women who consumed dates also had lower instances of needing pitocin in labor. [3]
While many studies are still needed, significant evidence suggests that RRL tea and dates are both beneficial to the labor process. From faster labors and fewer interventions, it might be worth giving it a go.
My Labor Experience
After reading personal experiences and studies, I decided to try out RRL tea and dates while expecting my daughter. To start, I believe I began drinking RRL tea at 30 weeks. I started with just a cup a day and gradually increased until I was drinking 3 cups a day near my daughter’s due date. At 35 weeks along, I started eating 6 dates a day. I thought it would be hard to eat six each day, but it ended up being easier than I thought. Just spread it out throughout the day.
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Labor Begins
I felt my first contraction at 5 AM one morning. She was one day past her due date. At first, I had extremely light contractions all morning that weren’t painful at all. That afternoon, the intensity increased a bit. The contractions remained that way until that evening around 10 PM. Then, it started getting a bit more real. I started feeling the contractions strongly in my back. I went to the hospital at about 3:30 AM the next morning. On the way to the hospital, I was still not 100% convinced I was in labor. When I got there, I was already 7 cm dilated. It got really intense shortly after arriving at the hospital. I had my daughter at 8 AM.
All in all, the actual painful part of labor was pretty short (about 10 hours), especially as a first time mom. I absolutely think the RRL tea and dates were beneficial to my labor. I didn’t even end up needing an epidural. My daughter was delivered safe and sound. The perfect little gift from God.
If your doctor gives you the green light, I do recommend trying out RRL tea and dates if that interests you. I plan to use RRL and dates again on any future pregnancies. I don’t want to chance labor being longer. 🙂
I use and love Sunny Fruit Organic Dates and Anthony’s Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. I still have at least half of the bag of tea left.
Do you have an experience with red raspberry leaf tea or dates? Let me know in the comments below!
Sources
[1] “Red Raspberry Leaf Tea: Pregnancy, Benefits and Side Effects” on Healthline.com.
[2] Parsons M, Simpson M, Ponton T. Raspberry leaf and its effect on labour: safety and efficacy. Aust Coll Midwives Inc J. 1999 Sep;12(3):20-5. doi: 10.1016/s1031-170x(99)80008-7. PMID: 10754818.
[3] Kordi M, Meybodi FA, Tara F, Fakari FR, Nemati M, Shakeri M. Effect of Dates in Late Pregnancy on the Duration of Labor in Nulliparous Women. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2017 Sep-Oct;22(5):383-387. doi: 10.4103/ijnmr.IJNMR_213_15. PMID: 29033994; PMCID: PMC5637148.