I do not have any evidence-based material because like so many of the herbal remedies, scientists do not spend money on checking whether they are effective or not because the drug companies are not going to make big bucks out of these discoveries.

Since camomile tea is popularly recommended in small quantities to babies with chronic gas pains, I have not heard of allergic reactions.  However that is not to say that a large-scale study would not reveal sensitivity in some babies.

As for rasberry leaf tea:  I learned about this when teaching a group of ultra-orthodox Jewish women in a village near Haifa.
Since rasberry bushes are abundant in that area, their local clinic nurse used to pick the leaves, clean them and crush them and make ice cubes out of the tea and then distribute them if the women were overdue.
I looked at some of the literature on herb remedies and saw that rasberry leaf tea was recommended from mid-pregnancy to strengthen the uterus.  However, I did hear of cases where drinking two glasses a day stimulated early contractions, so  I mention in my classes that if taken from 37 weeks and not before, it would not cause early labour but could help to prevent post-date labour with all its resultant interventions.
This is purely anecdotal but I understand that rasberry leaf tea actually helps the blood circulation, which in itself   oxygenates the uterus. Therefore from case notes I have found that not only does it help to get the labour going but when drunk during labour also reduces pain. Of course these are subjective reports and I would love to see a control study done by midwives who are in a good position to moniter its effects during labour and whether in fact it did help to induce and speed up the process.
If anyone out there knows of any study, please let us know.

Wendy Blumfield
NCT Childbirth Educator/BFC
Israel Childbirth Education Center

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