One of my favorite pleasures when pregnant with my first was to curl up with a nice cup of red raspberry tea. I had ordered bulk tea direct from Catherine Young, who founded The Compleat Mother magazine back in the day. She died on September 11th, 2001 of breast cancer. Every year on a day of much remembrance, I always think of her and the great loss to the natural birth community on that day. Anyway, the huge package of bulk tea leaves that arrived filled our apartment with their aroma and I cannot smell that kind of tea without being transported back to a sunny fall day drinking tea on the rooftop garden of our little apartment, doing the best I could to have a healthy and joyful pregnancy. So there is a little bit of bittersweetness in that tea as well, as with hindsight I look back and see that unbeknownst to me I was counting down the days towards a scar on my belly and my heart. But there is joy too, as I can look back on a decade of serving women through my work with ICAN. And many more cups of tea, shared with women in joy and in sadness.
And here is a place to get giddy with the joys of ordering bulk tea!
A nice cuppa to you!
Red raspberry leaf has been used in several traditional cultures for pregnant women. It is believed to be a uterine tonic and can aid the muscles in their work of birthing your baby. It is considered safe for pregnant women to drink, but you may want to discuss it with those on your birth team as some conditions may preclude it’s use.
Mixing up your own batch of pregnancy tea can be fun and makes a nice gift for a friend (check to see if they have any allergies first, as some kinds of tea can trigger allergies, such as chamomile, which is related to the ragweed family) and you want the tea to be a nourishing treat not a run to the ER!
Here is a nice “do it yourself” link that talks you through making a delicious batch of tea ready to pop in a steeper and take you away on thoughts of birthing bliss:And here is a place to get giddy with the joys of ordering bulk tea!
A nice cuppa to you!
