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Survey of Raspberry Leaf Tea in pregnancy
Soheil Farnaghi1, Kathleen Braniff1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Mackay Base Hospital, Mackay, Queensland, Australia.
Background:
Raspberry leaf tea (RLT) is a traditional herb purported to help with many pregnancy-related outcomes including reducing the duration of labour. No experimental data exist to support these claims.
Aims:
This study aims to determine how common use and knowledge of RLT are during pregnancy. It also aims to explore whether it would be possible to recruit women for a trial of raspberry leaf in the future.
Materials And Methods:
Postnatal women were asked to fill in a survey about their use of RLT during pregnancy, and their knowledge of its purported benefits. They were asked whether they would consider being part of a randomised controlled trial of raspberry leaf in the future.
Results:
One hundred and twenty-one women completed the survey. Of these, 88 (73%) were aware of herbal tea use in pregnancy and 46 (38%) reported using raspberry leaf during pregnancy. Of all women surveyed, 79% indicated they would be happy to participate in a trial of RLT in pregnancy if they were asked.
Conclusions:
Despite no scientific evidence of the efficacy of RLT in pregnancy, 38% of women surveyed used it during pregnancy. Further studies are required to determine whether the claims made about RLT are correct. Clinicians should base their advice on available evidence.
