NORA Tea: A Quick and Easy Pregnancy Brew
NORA tea: the perfect nutritive tea with specific herbal actions that benefit pregnancy through labor and delivery! Growing a new life is both beautiful and challenging. It brings with it many changes and demands on the mother’s body. So why not utilize some beneficial herbs to make the process go more smoothly and the body adjust more easily?
Disclaimer!
Any and all information included in this post should not be taken as medical advice, and is for informational purposes only! Always consult with your doctor before utilizing herbs medicinally!
NORA tea is generally made with a combination of four herbs:
- Nettle leaf
- Oat straw
- Red raspberry leaf
- Alfalfa
Personally, I also like to add some peppermint to smooth out the flavor and help calm morning sickness.
This lovely tea, usually advised to be utilized after the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, can supplement important vitamins and minerals within the body as well as prepare the body for labor and delivery.
This 16 week caution only applies to the red raspberry leaf in the blend, as it works to tone uterine muscles and aid in contractions during labor.
Because of these effects, the concern for use in early pregnancy is the potential to cause miscarriage!
However, most midwives and herbalists agree that, after 16 weeks, it is safe to take for the duration of pregnancy. That said, always consult your healthcare provider before utilizing herbs!
Nettle, oat straw and alfalfa are generally regarded as safe for pregnancy, and can be utilized before 16 weeks, if desired, as a nutritive tonic on their own.
Nettle Leaf –
Nettle is an extremely useful nutritive herb, full of vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium and magnesium.
According to The Modern Herbal Dispensatory, it also contains anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic (or anti-histamine) properties.
It’s high concentration of nutrients makes it a wonderful tonic to help build blood, bones and aid other systems of the body!
Oat Straw –
Oat straw is a rich source of silica, as well as a host of other minerals that nourish the body and its various systems.
It is also known as a mild nervine, according to the Modern Herbal Dispensatory. In addition to this, it is also a wonderful herb for exhaustion and depression, giving the whole nervous system a needed boost, especially during stress.
Another benefit of oat straw is that it may help balance hormones and aid in varicose vein and hemorrhoid treatment.
Red Raspberry Leaf –
Red raspberry leaf is a wonderful source of manganese and acts as a toner for uterine muscles and mucus membranes.
This helps prepare the uterus for delivery of a child as well as the potential to decrease risk of excessive bleeding during childbirth. Postpartum, it can help with healing and milk production.
Alfalfa –
Alfalfa is a powerful nutritive herb, packed full of vitamins, minerals and trace minerals.
It has mild blood purification properties and can aid in pituitary function, as trace mineral deficiencies often affect this gland most notably.
It can help level out blood sugar, preventing those unfortunate hypoglycemia swings that are so common in pregnancy.
Tools for the job
A tea bag or strainer: I like to use unbleached tea bags or a small strainer that sits over the edge of the mug, but, really you don’t need to utilize them or a strainer if you don’t mind drinking the saturated herb bits with your tea!
A mug: Any size will do!
A spoon: If you want to add some form of sweetener, a spoon is helpful to mix it in with the tea until it is dissolved.
Ingredients for NORA Tea
1 cup nettle leaf
1 cup oat straw
1 cup red raspberry leaf
1 cup alfalfa leaf
1/2 cup peppermint (optional) (if using, discontinue use after delivery, as it can suppress lactation)
How to make NORA Tea
First, I prefer to mix up a big batch of the tea, so I can just grab and go without having to worry about measuring out each individual herb every time I want to make a cup of NORA tea!
Take the dry herbs and mix thoroughly in a very dry jar and seal with an airtight lid.
A canning flat and ring will work just fine!
Next, take 1-2 heaping teaspoons of the premixed herbs and place in a quart mason jar.
Alternatively, you could add 3-4 heaping teaspoons of the dry herbs and have two day’s worth of NORA tea ready to go!
Drinking one to two cups of the tea per day, five days a week is a great way to help boost your nutrient intake as well as help prepare your body for labor.
After this, bring 2-4 cups of water to a boil over medium heat on the stove (depending on how much you want to drink).
Once it is boiling, turn the heat off and pour the water into the mason jar, over the herbs.
As a side note:
It would be a good idea to rinse the mason jar out with warm/hot water several times to heat up the glass.
This will prevent the jar from breaking due to temperature shock.
Place a small plate or lid on the jar and let steep for about 15 minutes (whenever it cools off enough to drink it’s ready).
You want the top covered so none of the volatile oils evaporate off in the steam. We want all of the medicinal goodness to stay in the tea!
After it is done steeping, strain out the solids and serve warm or chilled!
If you enjoy a sweeter tea, you can add about a teaspoon of honey and mix it in at serving to mellow some of the bitterness of the astringent herbs.
Personally, I really like the taste of NORA tea without any added sweetness, but it’s all based on personal preference. 🙂
Other Applications for NORA tea:
Some women find that taking NORA tea leading up to conception is a good way to give their body (and baby) a leg up at the onset of pregnancy.
Nutrients received from the tea, pre-pregnancy, help the body be more prepared once there is a little one growing inside.
Because of the nutritive and toning properties of NORA tea, it also makes a lovely postpartum drink!
It can help balance out some of the common nutrient defficiencies after birth and during the onset of nursing.
If taking postpartum, 1-2 cups is good, especially if taken warm. You could also increase your intake to a quart and not see any issues. Plus, it’s a tasty way to stay hydrated!
Other Homestead Kitchen Recipes You Might Enjoy:
The Perfect Easy Peppermint Tea
Sweet and Simple Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce
How to Make Easy Einkorn Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread
The Best Overnight Southern Apple Pancakes
NORA Tea: A Quick and Easy Pregnancy Brew
NORA tea: the perfect nutritive tea with specific herbal actions that benefit pregnancy through labor and delivery!
Ingredients
- 1 cup nettle leaf
- 1 cup oat straw
- 1 cup red raspberry leaf
- 1 cup alfalfa leaf
- 1/2 cup peppermint
Instructions
1. Take the dry herbs and mix thoroughly in a very dry jar and seal with an airtight lid. A canning flat and ring will work just fine!
2. Take 1-2 heaping teaspoons of the premixed herbs and place in a quart mason jar.
3. Bring 2-4 cups of water to a boil over medium heat on the stove.
4. Once it is boiling, turn the heat off and pour the water into the mason jar, over the herbs.
5. Place a small plate or lid on the jar and let steep for about 15 minutes (whenever it cools off enough to drink it's ready).
6. After it is done steeping, strain out the solids and serve warm or chilled!
Notes
You can add honey or some other type of sweetner to taste, if you prefer a less bitter tea.
Oh, this is perfect! I will be utilizing this blend! Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad you found it helpful!
Thanks so much for this! Im 21 weeks with my 5th and really trying to focus on my nutrition more than ever since the draw from my body has been so great the older i get! Will be making this soon!!
I understand that! Even with my second, I’m feeling so much more drained than with my first. Having good nutrition really does make all the difference!
I always drink a blend of these when pregnant or postpartum. Thank you for posting a recipe!
So glad you found it helpful!
I love to drink some variation of this drink during and after pregnancy and it helps.
It really is lovely!
Sometimes I found myself getting tired of drinking tea, so I made it into an iced tea! I could easily gulp a glass down and get my vitamins and minerals in, no problem haha!