Raspberry leaf tea
Would you drink two cups of tea a day if you
thought it could shorten your labour? Dr Melanie Woodfield
investigates raspberry-leaf tea to try to find out whether it lives
up to the hype.
Both prior to and during pregnancy, many women use dietary
supplements to enhance their health and wellbeing, and that of
their unborn child. In an Australian study by Maats and Crowther,
over 200 women were interviewed about their use of vitamins,
minerals, and herbal supplements during pregnancy. The majority
(62%) used some form of supplementation. Folate (70%), iron (38%)
and multivitamins (27%) were the vitamin and mineral supplements
most frequently taken by pregnant women. Ginger (20%) and raspberry
leaf (9%) were the most frequently used herbal preparations.
Raspberry-leaf products have often
been touted as being able to make labour shorter and easier, and
many women take these supplements "just in case" they work. Is this
simply a result of the placebo effect (thinking that something
works ends up making it work), or is there a scientific
basis?
Rather than asking friends and family whether raspberry
leaf worked for them, it's often more fruitful to look at
scientific studies published in reputable journals to determine the
effectiveness of a product. Unfortunately, there have been only a
handful of studies published since 1941 on the effect of
raspberry-leaf extract on labour. This isn't necessarily because it
doesn't work - political and funding issues can mean that studies
of natural remedies aren't published as readily as other
studies.
In 1941, two studies were carried
out in laboratories (one on cats, and one on women!). These
studies, by Burn and Withell and their 
colleague Whitehouse
respectively, suggested that raspberry-leaf extract could relax the
muscles of the uterus and generally produce more coordinated
contractions during labour. The research activity then appears to
have gone quiet until in 1999, when Myra parsons (a midwife in
Australia) and her colleagues set out to look at the safety and
effectiveness of raspberry-leaf products by looking
back at a group of 108 mothers who had given birth at a particular
hospital in 1998. They compared those women who had chosen to take
raspberry-leaf products (57 women) with those who hadn't (51
women) and asked them to complete a questionnaire about their
labour experiences.
The study made some encouraging claims -
that raspberry-leaf products could shorten labour with no
identified side-effects for mums or babies. The authors also
suggested that raspberry-leaf products might lessen the chance of
premature or overdue births, and reduce the likelihood of the need
for artificial membrane rupture (breaking the waters), caesarean,
forceps, or otherwise assisted births.
Big claims! On the face of results
like these, it might be tempting to start slurping the tea by the
bucketful. However, there is a need for caution when interpreting
these results. The authors themselves point out that because the
study was retrospective (looking back), they were not able to
regulate or control lots of factors that could have influenced the
results, such as timing and amount of the raspberry-leaf products
taken. It may have been that those women who chose to take
raspberry-leaf products were also doing other things, or taking
other supplements that may have produced the effect. Also, mums
self-reporting labour experiences using a questionnaire is not as
scientifically rigorous as an independent researcher making
observations - labour can seem much longer to the person
experiencing it!
Taking these issues into account, Parsons
got together with a few other colleagues in 2001 and carried out
another study into the safety and effectiveness of raspberry-leaf
products. This time, they randomly assigned 192 women to one of two
groups without letting the women or the experimenters know which
group was which.
One group was given a tablet containing active
raspberry-leaf ingredients from 32 weeks gestation, and the other
was given an identical tablet which was a placebo, containing no
active ingredients at all. The researchers then collected data from
the hospital database on such factors as age, length of labour,
baby gestation at birth, blood loss, anaesthetic use, and maternal
blood pressure. The two groups were then compared to determine
whether the raspberry-leaf tablets had any effect.
The authors concluded that the
raspberry-leaf tablets caused no adverse effects for mother or
baby. But, contrary to popular belief, the tablets did not shorten
the first stage of labour. The only statistically significant
findings were that the raspberry-leaf tablets seemed to shorten the
second stage of labour (the pushing part), by about 10
minutes, on average, and there was a lower rate of forceps
deliveries in the group of mums who received the raspberry-leaf
tablets (19.3% in that group, versus 30.4% in the other group). The
authors note that the dosage used in the study (2.4g of extract per
day) was "conservative" and wondered whether even better results
may have been achieved with a higher dose.
This study appears to be one of the only
scientifically rigorous examinations of the safety and
effectiveness of raspberry leaf products during pregnancy. Concerns
have been expressed that raspberry-leaf products can lead to
miscarriage or premature labour, and side effects can include
diarrhoea, low blood sugar, and possibly stronger Braxton Hicks
contractions.
Until more research has been carried out
to substantiate the work of the Australian researchers, the jury is
still out on how safe and effective raspberry-leaf products
actually are during pregnancy. As always, it's best to exercise
caution and use products in moderation. If concerned, stop taking
the products and consult with your LMC or doctor.
Dr Melanie Woodfield is a child and adolescent
clinical psychologist in Auckland. Despite popular sentiment,
Melanie found raspberry leaf tea to be quite palatable enjoyed with
honey, but is not convinced that it helped with the birth of her
own son.
References
• Burn, JH and Withell, ER. "A
principle in raspberry leaves which relaxes
uterine muscle." Lancet 5 (1941): 1-3.
• Maats FH and Crowther CA. "Patterns of vitamin, mineral
and herbal supplement use prior to and during pregnancy."
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology 42.5 (nov 2002): 494-6.
• Parsons, M, Simpson, M, and Ponton, T. "Raspberry leaf and
its effect
on labour : Safety and efficacy. " Australian College of Midwives
Incorporated Journal 12.3 (1999): 20-5.
• Simpson, M, Parsons, M, Greenwood, J, and Wade, K.
"Raspberry leaf in pregnancy: Its safety and efficacy in labor."
Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health 46.2 (2001): 51-9.
• Whitehouse, B. "Fragarine: an inhibitor of uterine action."
British Medical Journal 13 (1941): 370-71.
As seen in OHbaby!
magazine Issue 4: 2009
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