If you’ve been pregnant a time or two, you’ve likely heard of Raspberry Leaf Tea and how beneficial it is for pregnant and lactating women. If you haven’t heard, then keep reading and I’ll inform you. Often when you buy pre-blended “pregnancy tea” or “third trimester tea”, you will see that Red Raspberry Leaf tea is not the only ingredient. In this blog post, I will teach you about NORA tea, the benefits of drinking it for a healthier pregnancy, postpartum, and breastfeeding experience; and a recipe for NORA Tea to show you how easy it is to make it yourself!
I am not a medical professional. Seek advice from your trusted doctor, midwife, or trained medical professional who knows your medical history before doing anything talked about on unlimitedmama.com.
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What Is NORA Tea?
“NORA” stands for Nettle Leaf, Oatstraw, Red Raspberry Leaf, and Alfalfa. NORA tea is a blend of herbs specially chosen for prenatal and postnatal health. This tea is also wonderful for lactation and nourishment for your body while breastfeeding.
What Are the Benefits Of NORA Tea?
There are many benefits of NORA tea. During pregnancy, NORA tea provides essential nutrients that are more easily absorbed compared to a synthetic prenatal vitamin.
The herbs in NORA tea help prevent anemia and high blood pressure, improves the health of the liver, conditions the uterus to contract properly during labor and birth, also to release the placenta properly and helps your blood clot easier, therefore preventing hemorrhage. Nora tea can also help shorten the healing time on your body postpartum.
For lactation, the benefits of NORA tea if continued to be drank while breastfeeding, are that your milk can come in quicker, and it supports the production of breast milk thereafter.
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When Should You Drink NORA Tea?
It is recommended (source) to drink NORA tea starting in your second and third trimesters and beyond. In the second trimester, start after the 16th week of pregnancy.
Ingredients In NORA Tea and What They Do
All of these vitamins and minerals are provided in an easily absorbable form due to being from a natural source.
Red Raspberry Leaf Vitamins and Minerals:
- B Vitamins
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Calcium
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Zinc
- Phosphorus
- Iron
Stinging Nettle Leaf Vitamins and Minerals:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin K
- Silicon
- Iron
Oatstraw Vitamins and Minerals:
- Vitamin B
- Silica
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Silicon
- Potassium
- Iron
Alfalfa Vitamins and Minerals:
- Vitamin A
- Beta-carotene
- Vitamin B-6
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin K
- Iron
- Chlorophyll
- Biotin
- Folic acid
- Pantothenic acid
- Fatty acids
- Copper
Extra Ingredient I use-
Rosehips Vitamins and Minerals:
Mostly known for its high concentration of Vitamin C, which helps with the optimal absorption of the vitamins from other herbs in this tea.
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B5
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
This Midwifery handout about Nora Tea has excellent descriptions of what each ingredient does for the body from pregnancy to breastfeeding. I highly recommend taking a look when you’re finished here, to learn all the benefits of each ingredient in Nora tea!
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Why It’s Better to Make Your Own Tea Blend from Scratch
- You can control what ingredients go in. Most pregnancy teas that are marketed for use during pregnancy AND postpartum include peppermint. Yet peppermint has been shown to decrease milk production. Making your own blend, you can omit any ingredients that are working against your goal.
- In small tea bags, you don’t get enough tea to make a difference in your health. (Source)
- It’s more cost-efficient to make it in bulk to use for multiple months. Pre-made pregnancy teas put a very small amount of herb mixture in each tea bag. It’s only enough for one 8oz cup of tea. The recommended amount of NORA tea according to midwives is 3-4 cups per day in the last weeks of pregnancy. Most premade pregnancy teas come in boxes of about 16 tea bags. You’d have to buy a lot of boxes to hold you through your second and third trimesters plus postpartum through to breastfeeding. It’s more cost-effective to buy in bulk and make your own, especially with how easy it is!
Where To Buy Organic NORA Tea Ingredients
When I need herbs for tea or need to stock up on vitamins or healthy snacks, I always check iHerb first. They often have better prices than anywhere else and offer discounts for signing up to their email. iHerb is where I found most of my NORA tea herbs. I will link all the herbal ingredients here:
Organic NORA Tea Recipe
For my NORA pregnancy and lactation tea, I use the majority of ingredients and measurements from Aviva Jill Romm’s recipe in her wonderful book “Naturally Healthy Babies and Children”.
Ingredients:
- 2 parts Red Raspberry Leaf (1 cup)
- 2 parts Nettle Leaf (1 cup)
- 2 parts Oatstraw (1 cup)
- 1 part Alfalfa (1/2 cup)
- ½ part Rose Hips (1/4 cup)
Instructions:
- Measure out all ingredients
- Add each ingredient into a medium mixing bowl.
- Using clean, dry hands or a fork, mix together all ingredients thoroughly.
- Transfer your tea into a Quart Mason Jar.
- Store your tea in a cool, dry, dark place such as a cabinet or pantry.
Grab the book “Naturally Healthy Babies and Children” for Aviva Jill Romm’s full recipe and many more helpful pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and baby natural remedies. You can find Aviva’s full recipe on page 93 of the book. She calls it “Nourishment Tea”. (I only omitted spearmint and red clover blossom).
How To Make Organic NORA Tea
- Add 2 heaping tablespoons of tea mixture to a tea infuser. (I use this tea infuser that holds the perfect amount of herb for this recipe). You can also just throw the tea in your glass jar and strain it when you’re ready to drink, but I find the tea infuser to be a much cleaner and easier process.
- Add 3 cups boiling water.
- Cover the jar with lid (to retain all nutrients).
- Steep for at least one hour for maximum benefit. (I like to steep overnight to make sure I get all the nutrients out of the herbs. When removing the tea infuser from the jar, I open the lid of the infuser and press down the herbs, extruding all the liquids from inside the infuser into the jar of tea. This makes sure no nutrients are left behind!).
- Drink 1 to 4 cups daily beginning in the second trimester.
