Jay,
I'm not Hispanic either, but also work in a community where the
population is roughly 60% Hispanic, the rest other. I don't know of all
of the "traditional" teas; did you ask her to name it? I did recently
post an inquiry on one that was given to a baby; it was called "yerba
buena" (the good weed), and was given to calm and put to sleep a fussy
baby. The leaf is a mint that grows wild in our area, and I am sure that
each area has its own indigenous plants that women have put to similar
use. My partial answer for you is based on my opinion only, and not fact:
while babies need nothing other than breastmilk, if the giving of a few
sips of tea is for a purpose that isn't masking a problem, and the tea
has been proven effective in the their community and has brought no
complaints from the medical community, then I do not object to its
judicious use.

To explain a little: the couple who introduced me to yerba buena had
given the tea to baby at grandma's suggestion. Baby had been very fussy,
crying, never settling down, and this was grandma's remedy that indeed
worked: baby slept for 3 hours. The problem? This baby was fussing
because he was very hungry and having breastfeeding problems, he wasn't
just colicky!  I would recommend that you make sure a similar problem
that is more appropriately handled differently isn't going on first, and
I think that the moms will be grateful for your screening, too. Even if
colickyness (sp? I'm suddenly drawing a blank!) is due to allergies, I
have often recommended a little chamomile tea while doing the elimination
process to help mom and baby cope. (yes, I do remember the recent
warnings about chamomile and ragweed.... thank you to whoever posted that!)

Looking forward to hearing more on this topic!

-Lisa


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Lisa Marasco, BA, LLLL, IBCLC
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