Interestingly the [Red Raspberry] berries are said to provide many of the medicinal factors of the leaves. We have been encouraged by midwives to eat freely of the berries, if possible, for the same good effect during pregnancy–a lovely medicine!
Since some people never get used to the taste of the tea a good way to use the leaves is to make a green drink. Our “pregnancy green drink”, to which we have grown so accustomed that we can hardly imagine pregnancy without it.
Directions for Making the Pregnancy Green Drink
It is made thus, to a cup or more of pineapple juice in a blender container, add a handful of Red Raspberry leaves, a handful of comfrey leaves and a few alfalfa leaves. Blend until the fibers of the leaves are broken down and drink immediately. You can add a couple of ice cubes or a little cold water if you want an icy or thinner drink.
Red Raspberry is a great agent for cleansing a canker condition of the mucous membranes in the alimentary tract, leaving the tissue toned.
In pregnancy the infusion, when taken regularly, will quiet premature pains, and will produce a safe, speedy and easy delivery. Raspberry leaves stimulate, tone and regulate (both the leaves and fruit are high in citrate of iron which is the active alterative, blood-making, astringent and contractive agent for the reproductive area) before and during childbearing, assisting contractions and checking hemorrhage during labor, relieving after-pains, then strengthening, cleansing, and enriching the milk of the mother in the post-delivery period.
Dr. Christopher recommended taking at least a daily cup of Red Raspberry tea throughout pregnancy.
He said that in addition to Red Raspberry’s good effects on the uterus it is also anti-nausea.
A woman who was expecting her ninth child often experienced nausea during pregnancy. When she suspected that she might be pregnant again she began taking the tea even before she began to feel morning sickness. She never experienced any discomfort so she wondered if it might just be an unusual or unhealthy pregnancy, so she discontinued the tea. Not long after she began to feel nausea! She quickly began to take the tea again and felt no discomfort since then.
Alfalfa: Many people consider Alfalfa an important herb to take throughout pregnancy.
If an expectant mother is suffering from morning sickness, she can eat Alfalfa sprouts in her diet, until the condition is under control.
Many people consider that a daily green drink consisting of Alfalfa, comfrey and fresh red-raspberry leaves is an excellent pregnancy drink; it is preferred to a tea made of the same substances.
After the birth, Alfalfa is sometimes taken to prevent hemorrhages. Some women have eaten Alfalfa after their births like candy in order to shorten the postpartum bleeding time.
Alfalfa is also thought to dramatically help bring the milk in for the nursing mother. It certainly enriches the quality of the milk and is much preferable to other hot beverages, such as regular tea, which can pollute the breast milk.
Alfalfa tea can be flavored with mint, orange peel, and
Kelp and Toxemia: Kelp, as might be expected, is also of use in the female organs. It will tone up a weak uterus and help produce a healthier baby, as the balanced minerals will be supplied fully with the use of Kelp. Some women who had lost babies in childbirth and others who had not been able to carry babies were helped by the use of Kelp by Dr. Powell’s prescription of Kelp to carry healthy baby’s full term. Especially when toxemia threatens during the last stages of the pregnancy, Kelp, being a carrier of important minerals and a toner and an antiseptic, can help clear up an otherwise dangerous condition.
Many women experience indigestion and heartburn, and sometimes gas, during pregnancy. This may be caused by the stomach having less room to do its work, nervous tension which inhibits good digestion, too many stomach acids, or a relaxed stomach, which allows foods to back up.
Be sure that you DO NOT TAKE antacids during pregnancy. They further inhibit digestion, and they may cross over the placenta into the baby.
The Digestive Tonic is an excellent remedy for all cases of Heartburn. Add one teaspoon to a glass of water and drink all at once. This is a simple but effective formula made up of Ginger Root, Peppermint Leaf, Fennel Seed and Peppermint Oil. The Digestive Tonic can be used freely.
To deal with symptoms of Heartburn, Dr. Christopher first emphasized that we must chew our food. Many of us just gulp it down, and the large particles cause gas, fermentation, and pain. Chew well; even juices should be swished in the mouth to mix them with saliva and begin digestion.
Avoid drinking with your meals; water or other liquids dilute the digestive fluids; you may, however, want to take broth or juices with the meal, but you should “chew” these, too.
Increase your B-vitamin foods, including whole grains, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, yogurt, perhaps acidophilus.
Don’t smoke or drink tea or coffee; these irritate the stomach and increase heartburn.
Eat small meals frequently; if you must be away from home, take juice, fruit and nuts with you to prevent your blood sugar going down and stomach acids overproducing.
Papaya can aid digestion–fresh, dried or in tablets.
Some women take tablets of activated charcoal to absorb gases in the system.
Slippery elm gruel will alleviate heartburn and absorb gases and toxins.
Why do some women suffer so intensely from the hormonal shifts during menopause?
To answer this question we will need to look at more than the physical system. It is important to understand the entire process taking place during this “change of life” period. The cessation of the monthly cycle is only the outward sign of the huge rewiring of the brain occurring on the inside. The hormonal curtain has been lifted providing a clear view into the inner workings of you. It is time to make friends with yourself.
During the teenage years the young woman develops the need to nurture a family. The hormones regulating her monthly cycle also create her yearning for a home and children. The hormonal curtain lowers between her and her inner self causing her attention to be focused outward on home and family. This hormonally driven need to create a home and nurture children continues until at menopause the cycle stops, bringing an end to the desire for and ability to have children.
During the preceding ten years also known as perimenopause there is a complete rewiring of the brain. The hormonal curtain is being lifted for greater and greater periods of time until at menopause it rises never to fall again.
Herbal Suggestions for Female Complaints
How will the lifting and eventual removal of this hormonal curtain affect the woman?
The lifting of this hormonal curtain allows the woman to connect with her inner self again. We have all heard stories of the wise older woman. Menopause is a passage from one era of life to another. The woman is now free to access her creative side, free to focus inward on her own needs. This is her time to become and do. All the wisdom collected from her life experiences can now be freely accessed.
The down side to all this connecting with one’s self is the stash of emotional bills often found behind the hormonal curtain. Issues put off and out of mind will no longer be put aside. The time has come to deal with your life. Everything you had swept behind the curtain to deal with at a later time is now staring you straight in the face. Later is here, the curtain is gone, you can no longer hide from yourself.
The more unfinished emotional business lurking behind the curtain the harder and more symptomatic menopause will be. Life is giving you an opportunity to finally get it right. Do the hard work on you and become the woman you always knew you were. The flip side is not a pretty picture. That’s why antidepressants were invented. Refusing to deal with yourself is refusing to live the life you have been given. If you opt to check out on life they have developed plenty of chemical supports to smooth the way.
Herbal Supports
There are very effective herbal supports to catch those hormonal swings, easing the passage through menopause. The first and balancing herbal support is the Female Formula. This formula will support in stopping the hot flashes, night sweats, and emotional free fall which can be a part of menopause. At some point in the process the Female Formula may not be enough. The Changease Formula added to the Female Formula routine will provide the increased hormonal support needed.
Many women report heart palpitation which can be supported herbally as follows:
NF Formula
General Nervine
Cayenne extract
Hawthorne extract
HEAL Member Testimony
My Peri-menopause journey has included what I have termed “panic attacks”. I will wake up feeling dizzy and light-headed and my heart will be racing like a freight train. It is a frightening thing to go through on a regular and consistent basis. However, the good news is I have them mostly under control now. How, you ask? I found some herbal supports that have been a wonder to me and I don’t know what I would do without them.
Every night I make a cup of hot tea which I call my “hot totty”:
3 droppersful of Cayenne (most people have to work up to that gradually)
6 droppersful of Hawthorne
Difficulty Sleeping
I find 2 droppersful each of the General Nervine and NF formulas help with my difficulty in sleeping and staying asleep at night. These combinations work for me almost all the time.
The only exception is when I have overdone the caffeine or sugar or a combination of both.
When I wake up with palpitations I do a Cayenne/Hawthorne mixture until it stops. Usually I only have to do that once and it quits, but if I have been particularly bad that day, it may mean I have to repeat the mixture a time or two more. I do this every five minutes until relieved. –G.H. Rutherfordton NC
Interestingly the [Red Raspberry] berries are said to provide many of the medicinal factors of the leaves. We have been encouraged by midwives to eat freely of the berries, if possible, for the same good effect during pregnancy–a lovely medicine!
Red Raspberry is a great agent for cleansing a canker condition of the mucous membranes in the alimentary tract, leaving the tissue toned.
If an expectant mother is suffering from morning sickness, she can eat Alfalfa sprouts in her diet, until the condition is under control. 
Kelp and Toxemia: Kelp, as might be expected, is also of use in the female organs. It will tone up a weak uterus and help produce a healthier baby, as the balanced minerals will be supplied fully with the use of Kelp. Some women who had lost babies in childbirth and others who had not been able to carry babies were helped by the use of Kelp by Dr. Powell’s prescription of Kelp to carry healthy baby’s full term. Especially when toxemia threatens during the last stages of the pregnancy, Kelp, being a carrier of important minerals and a toner and an antiseptic, can help clear up an otherwise dangerous condition.
Many women experience indigestion and heartburn, and sometimes gas, during pregnancy. This may be caused by the stomach having less room to do its work, nervous tension which inhibits good digestion, too many stomach acids, or a relaxed stomach, which allows foods to back up.
