Can Red Raspberry Leaf Tea Help to Improve Fertility?

Red raspberry is a plant species that mainly grows in Europe and some parts of the Asian continent. The leaves of this plant are sweet in taste and known to have nutritional benefits. The leaves of the red raspberry plant are used in making herbal tea in several parts of the world. The raspberry plant belongs to the rose family. The taste of the raspberry leaf tea is dissimilar to the taste of raspberries, but it tastes like a cup of regular black tea.

What are Red Raspberry Leaves?

The leaves of this plant species are filled with vitamins like vitamin B and vitamin C, along with several other mineral nutrients like Zinc, Potassium, Magnesium etcetera. Other than the presence of these many vitamins and minerals, ellagic acid is also present in a small amount. This ellagic acid can neutralize carcinogens and protects the body from the deadliest cancer by destroying the cancer cells. In addition to that, polyphenols like flavonoids and tannins are also present in the red raspberry leaves. Both these polyphenols have antioxidant properties and thus protect the cells of the body from damage. 

Other than treating multiple health issues, the tea made from the leaves of the red raspberry plant is popular among the masses due to the labor pain-reducing ability among pregnant women.

How Raspberry Leaves Treat Fertility?

Raspberry leaves are used for the past few centuries due to the nutritional benefits that the leaves offer. It is considered that the tea made of the leaves of raspberry plants is more beneficial for women as compared to men. Among all the women, pregnant women took this raspberry leaf tea to reduce several complexities during pregnancy. As women use this herbal tea more, the raspberry leaves are undoubtedly considered as women's herbs.

• Women who are trying to become mothers, are pregnant for the first time, preparing for the second childbirth; no matter what your status is, any pregnancy-related issue can be treated with the raspberry leaf tea.
• Female hormones like estrogen, progesterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormones help in human reproduction. The raspberry leaf tea is often called the reproductive tonic as it helps in maintaining the correct levels of all these hormones inside the female body. If all these hormones are present in the right amount inside the human body, the female body will become ideal to conceive a child.
• Tea made by using raspberry leaves also increases the level of any of the reproductive hormones inside the female body if the hormone is not present in an adequate amount inside the body. Thus by inducing the hormone production, it prepares the body for the process known as ovulation. The raspberry leaves can help in the process of ovulation due to the presence of a high amount of vitamin B complex (Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12) in the raspberry leaves.
• Not only that, it is also considered as a uterine tonic. A compound named fragrine is present in the leaves of the red raspberry. This chemical compound has specific properties and is capable of relaxing the muscles in the uterus and pelvic region. Along with that, fragrine present in raspberry leaf tea also tones the pelvic and uterine muscles simultaneously. Women usually suffer from cramping during menstruation. By drinking tea made from raspberry tea leaves offer relief in case of menstrual cramping and also reduces the blood flow so the woman does not lose excessive amounts of blood while menstruating. In  this way it helps during menstruation.
• Premenstrual symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can be prevented by drinking the tea made from the leaves of red raspberry plants.
• The body of a woman changes during pregnancy. The child comes out of the uterus. So the uterus needs to be prepared for childbirth. Regular consumption of this red raspberry tea will prepare the uterine muscle for childbirth by regular uterine toning and also increases the ability of the uterine muscle to contract. Not only that due to the presence of several mineral nutrients and vitamins, the red raspberry tea also provides nourishment to both the mother and the child inside the womb. In some cases it is also seen that the consumption of red raspberry leaf tea also helps in shortening the labor time.

Red raspberry has astringent property which stops the swelling and post childbirth bleeding in women. So if a woman continues the intake of red raspberry leaf tea after the birth of the child in the postpartum period the bleeding and swelling of the uterus will go away and the natural tone of the uterine muscles will also be restored. 

When to Start Red Raspberry Leaves for Increasing Fertility?

Timing is important in every single case. So, it is also important to know the exact timing to start drinking the red raspberry leaf tea to increase the chances to become fertile. You should consume 2 to 3 cups of this herbal tea on a regular basis.The first phase of the menstrual cycle is the follicular phase and the second stage is known as the luteal phase. The ideal time to consume the tea is during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Drinking this tea from the very first day of the menstrual cycle will produce best results. One should stop drinking the red raspberry tea just after the 14th day of the menstrual cycle as we all know that on the 14th day of the menstrual cycle the ovulation occurs. Consuming the tea after that time period will show some adverse effects inside the human body.

After becoming pregnant you can also continue to consume the red raspberry leaf tea. Several midwives across Europe suggest that the woman should not drink the red raspberry tea in the first trimester of the pregnancy as in this time the fetus just starts developing. One woman should start drinking the herbal tea made from red raspberry leaves from the middle of the second trimester that means around 4 months into the pregnancy. One pregnant woman should consume 1 cup on a regular basis. A lady in her last trimester of pregnancy may increase the consumption of red raspberry tea to 2 cup to make childbirth easy. You can gradually increase the amount of intake from 1 cup to even 3 cups.

You can consume the tea anytime you want just make sure that you are consuming the ideal amount of it. At any point of time if after consuming it, you feel uneasy then you should stop taking it and you also need to consult a medical professional.

How to Make Red Raspberry Leaf Tea?

Now after knowing all the benefits of raspberry leaf tea the question that might be coming to your mind is how you can make this herbal tea from raspberry leaves. In this part of the article there will be an elaborated discussion about the process of making the raspberry leaf tea.

At first the leaves need to be harvested from the field, but there is an ideal time to harvest the raspberry leaves from the plant. The taste of the tea fully depends on the time of harvesting. So, now coming straight to the point, the best time for the collection of raspberry leaves is before the plant flowers. While harvesting, choose only young leaves which are bright green in colour. One other thing to remember is to collect only the whole leaves.

After the collection of leaves you need to dry the leaves. To dry the leaves keep the leaves for 3 to 4 days in bright sunlight. After drying the leaves take all the leaves and put them in a jar and store it in a dry and cool place away from the sunlight. You can also buy the red raspberry leaves from the market. After this the rest of the process is almost similar to the normal black tea making process. The process is described below.

•     Take a tablespoon full of the dry raspberry leaves.
•     Then cut the raspberry leaves finely with a scissor.
•     Take a bowl and fill it with water.
•     Light the gas oven and put the bowl on the oven.
•     Wait for the water in the bowl to heat.
•     Once the water starts to boil add the finely chopped raspberry leaves into the bowl.
•     Cover the bowl with a lid. Let the raspberry leaves get steep inside the bowl so that the nutrients come out of the raspberry leaves. You need to keep the bowl covered for at least 5 minutes.
•     After 5 minutes remove the lid and smell the aroma. It will give you a hint about how the tea is going to taste.
•     Thereafter take a strainer and strain the tea into a cup or a mug.
•     Finally the red raspberry leaf tea is prepared to drink.

If you are buying the red raspberry tea leaves from the store which is available in tea bags, take a cup or a mug and pour hot water in it. After doing that, put a tea bag containing red raspberry leaves in it and let the flavour get mixed with the hot water. Once the tea bag becomes heavy take it out and your cup of red raspberry leaf tea is prepared to drink.

What Things Need to Consider Before Drinking Raspberry Tea?

The tea made of red raspberry leaves is proven to be safe to many women but there are some mild side effects of it. So there are few things that need to be considered before you start consuming the tea on a regular basis.

•     The herbal tea which is made by using the red raspberry leaves have laxative properties. This laxative property of the tea can cause loose motion in some of the consumers. So, if you are someone who has a really weak digestive system and prone to indigestion then you should not drink this red raspberry leaf tea.
•     The leaves of the red raspberry plant also have a mild diuretic effect and this effect can increase the urine formation inside the human body. People who have problems in their renal system should consult a medical professional before starting to consume it.
•     Overdose of the tea may leave you with uneasy feelings in your body.
•     In the postpartum period the over consumption of the red raspberry leaf tea may affect the production and supply of the breast milk in the mother. So always consume the tea within limits and if you are not sure about how much you should intake just consult a medical professional. Ideally it has been seen that 2.3 gm of red raspberry leaves should be taken to make a cup of this herbal tea and the total intake should not exceed the limit of 6 gm.

Now let’s consider the cases of women who are either pregnant or going to be a mother for the second time in their life.

•     If the previous labour pain of yours during the first child birth lasted three hours or less than three hours then you should not consume this tea as there is no need of reducing the labour period.
•     Due to various medical reasons and complications in pregnancy sometimes doctors plan to deliver the baby via cesarean section. In this case you should not consume the tea as no labour pain will be there.
•     In the following two cases 1) if you already have a child via cesarean section and also 2) if you have experienced premature labour pain before. In both the cases the consumption of the red raspberry leaf tea will lead to danger during the child birth.
•     If you have complications in your pregnancy or have any other health issues like high blood pressure, high level of blood sugar and few others.
•     In the second and third trimester of your pregnancy if you experience bleeding from your uterine wall then you should not take the tea and if you are consuming it then you should stop it.
•     If any of the family members of yours have a history of either breast cancer or ovarian cancer. Then this tea is not for you.
•     Finally if you are expecting to have twins then also you should not consume it.

What Prevents pregnancy When Trying to Conceive?

Most of the women in this world have the desire to become a mother once in a lifetime. But when you are thinking about starting a family, due to some issues both mental and physical you might fail to become pregnant. This thing might be frustrating and demotivating but you need to know the reasons that prevent pregnancy when you try to conceive a child for the first time in your life. Don’t take too much stress about this thing and let’s try to find the reasons behind the inability to conceive.

First of all let’s look at the internal factors along with the external factors that prevent pregnancy. The most common medical conditions are -

•     Obstruction in the fallopian tube - when the sperms enter the female reproductive system, sperms go through the fallopian tubes. Any kind of blockage in the fallopian tubes or the abnormal structure of the fallopian tube did not allow the sperms to reach the egg present inside the female body. Infection in the pelvic area or any sexually transmitted diseases (STD) increases the chance of blockage inside the fallopian tube. This type of blockage may be there since birth. The blockage can be removed surgically and in some cases it can also be removed with the help of medication.
•     Irregularity in the shape of the uterus - irregular shape of the uterus leads to less amount of space in the uterine cavity. In this case, after fertilization the fertilized egg becomes unable to attach itself in the walls of the uterine cavity. This thing can happen due to uterine fibroids which is nothing but a non cancerous growth in the uterine cavity. Any surgery in the uterus may also cause irregular uterine shape. As the fertilized egg will be unable to attach with the walls of the uterine cavity the woman can not become pregnant. Consulting a gynaecologist is the best option in this case.
•     Irregular ovulation - it has also been seen in some women, that they do not ovulate on a regular basis. This thing happens when the women encounter polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Other than this obesity and the opposite of it the low body weight, hormonal and chemical imbalance inside the human body and extreme exercise on a regular basis also cause irregular ovulation in women. Obesity or low body weight in women leads to several health problems that either increases or decreases the hormonal level inside the body. On the other hand, over exercising increases the blood flow inside the body and generates more heat that changes the chemical levels in the body to such an extent that the female reproductive system becomes unable to produce an egg. Mental health can also affect the ovulation process.
•     Stress - the stress can be developed due to immense workload or due to financial problems. No matter what is the cause behind the stress in your mind it can affect the ovulation process. Medical researchers have proven that women reach menopause earlier than expected just due to the excessive stress on their mind. When a woman is in stress the hormonal level in the women’s body also gets affected by the stress and pressure on the mind. This change in the hormonal level is also responsible for the prevention of pregnancy as discussed earlier in this article. Also during stress the sexual urge in a woman's body reduces, that ultimately leads to the lack of sexual intercourse with the partner.
•     Age - nowadays the term biological clock has become very common and is an integral part of any discussion related to infertility. You might have heard the phrase that ‘the biological clock is ticking’. There is an ideal time to conceive a child. For men they can produce sperms for the rest of their life after puberty, but for women this is not the case, a woman starts producing the secondary oocytes responsible for the reproduction in the female body once she starts menstruating. Soon after a woman reaches menopause, that is the stopping of the menstrual cycle, she becomes unable to conceive a child due to the absence of the secondary oocyte inside the female body. Usually women in their mid 40s or early 50s encounter menopause. Basically the quality of the ovum and the number of the eggs produced inside the female reproductive system decreases with age.

Conclusion

The tea produced from the raspberry leaves is very delicious in taste and the main ingredient which is directly derived from nature is completely free of sugar and calories. This tea will not only help you to increase the fertility chances but will also offer you a lot of other health benefits. Modern science has also accepted some of the benefits offered by the raspberry leaf tea. So, if you want to get pregnant then you should start consuming the raspberry leaf tea on a regular basis. Hope this article is helpful and now as you know all the health benefits related to the raspberry leaf tea, make the most out of it and achieve the happiness related to motherhood.