The most nutritive and beneficial tea for pregnancy has to be the organic and herbal NORA Tea blend. It's the number one herbal remedy we recommend for our own homebirth clients, and so incredibly simple to make and enjoy this organic recipe from your own home!
NORA stands for Nettles, Oatstraw, Red
Raspberry Leaf and Alfalfa. Combined, these loose leaf herbs create a prenatal tonic that offers plant-based micronutrients and minerals that nourish the pregnant woman and her growing baby. From filling in essential nutrition gaps to preventing complications and maternal disease, these specific pregnancy tea ingredients have purpose and benefits beyond birth- for both fertility and into postpartum too!
This post will share the NORA pregnancy blend benefits, the homemade tea recipe and how to make your own NORA pregnancy tea (with link to the best-sourced organic ingredients) to nourish and prepare your body for a natural pregnancy and birth. Stay to the end where we have a bonus list of natural pregnancy essentials you are sure to want to add to your arsenal of holistic resources.
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NORA Pregnancy Tea Ingredients + Benefits
You know the things in life that you learn and can't un-know until you incorporate it into your life? (I'm thinking of the summer I threw away all our plastic food containers, or first started putting butter in my morning coffee.) That's what NORA tea was like for me too. I wasn't even pregnant and just simply loved all the benefits that I started drinking it, pronto.
Nettles
I'm glad this one is first in the acronym line-up, because it's probably one of my favorite nutritive herbs EVER. If you have no other loose leaf love in your life, make it this one! Here are the reasons every woman can benefit from the herb nettle:
Full of iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium and copper. These helps balance electrolytes, support fetal growth, ease leg cramps, assist with better sleep, keep anemia at bay, prevent postpartum hemorrhage, and aid in the absorption assimilation of other micronutrients.
It also boasts a heft amount of vitamin A, C, K + B which nourish the blood and growing baby, improve blood vessel strength and elasticity, support energy metabolism and immune health.
Lastly, Chlorophyll and beta carotene that are essential for blood volume expansion, getting optimal oxygenated blood to your developing baby, balance blood sugar and support normal lactation.
Oatstraw
Contributing a rich and nutty flavor to the tea, the herb oatstraw is basically adding golden drops of morning dewy sunshine to your mug of NORA tea. Besides the fact that no pregnant mama can deny she doesn't want a cup full of sunshine every morning, oatstraw does boast some true medicinal benefits as well:
It is loaded with important minerals and vitamins like iron, magnesium + calcium that double up some of the same benefits of nettles while especially nourishing the nervous system
Impressive levels of vitamin D + E nourish the thyroid, pancreas and liver, aid in hormone balance and prevent circulation discomforts like hemorrhoids and varicose veins (pile on that oatsraw, lady! I can feeeeel the relief of this one!)
Red Raspberry Leaf
This may be the most familiar herb on the NORA Tea ingredient list. Red Raspberry Leaf is touted traditionally by herbalists and midwives to have many uterine benefits for pregnant and soon-to-be postpartum moms. Check them out:
Rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, raspberry strengthens the uterus to make contractions more effective and prevent hemorrhage, and is both anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. A toned uterus is more able to create a coordinated labor pattern and circulate blood flow.
Alfalfa
You know you are a hopeless 90s kid if reading Alfalfa makes you think of the movie Little Rascals- but trust and believe it's a powerful herbal grass with plenty of properties to boost your health during pregnancy (and there's no rules against saying "aw shucks" and smoothing down your hair in the back when you drink it). You won't want to miss these great alfalfa benefits:
Contains may trace minerals that balance blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol.
It packs in beta carotene + chlorophyl which help with joint health and internal pH balancing, plus gentle cleansing and safe detoxing.
Vitamins D, E + K promote healthy blood building, support digestion and help establish a healthy milk supply.
NORA Tea Recipe + How to Make and Enjoy it From Home
If the above benefits do not WOW your little lady socks off we would be shocked! Some of the most common issues with pregnancy (circulation, blood pressure, anemia, gestational diabetes, etc) are preventable with the right kind and amount of nourishment to the pregnant body. We know you are all about this tea for your own pregnancy (or beyond) so we"ll quickly share our favorite recipe for making NORA pregnancy tea.
NORA Pregnancy Tea Recipe
The simplicity here is going to shock you, and a huge part of what makes us so eager to share. Practical tools with boundless benefits that is also EASY?! Yes, yes please!
1 part organic loose leaf Nettle herb
1 part organic loose leaf Oatstraw herb
1 part organic loose leaf Red Raspberry herb
1 part organic loose leaf Alfalfa herb
Therapeutic dosing for this tea needs to be loose leaf (versus commercially prepared tea bags) so that you do not go crazy or broke trying to get four half boxes of tea bags brewed each day.
You'll go through a good amount of volume during one pregnancy, so don't be shy with getting larger quantities as you prepare the mixture above. Start out with 8-16 ounces per herb, and measure in full cups as you portion out each part. The blend can be stored in any sealed and airtight container. Our favorite storage containers are these glass jars HERE.
Where to Buy Organic Sources of NORA Pregnancy Tea
Organic herb sources are important so that you do not overload your body with toxic pesticides or other harmful farming chemicals when trying to enjoy all the natural benefits of this pregnancy tea. Click on the links below to enjoy our favorite clean, reputable, organic and bulk sources of the NORA Tea herbs. An added bonus is most of them ship free and quickly!
Instructions for How to Make NORA Pregnancy Tea
Add 1/4 cup of NORA Tea blend into a quart-sized mason jar
Boil 4 cups of water and pour into the jar with the pregnancy tea
Cover and steep for 8+ hours or overnight (we love these rust/plastic free lids)
Strain and reheat to enjoy warm or pour over ice to enjoy cool the same day
To get flavor variation, add citrus, honey or mint to your NORA tea blend
And, voila! It's really is THAT simple!! Enjoy this easy practice with incredible benefits to the health of your pregnancy and baby- that's a win-win my friends.
How to Drink NORA Tea for Fertility
NORA Tea is not just for pregnancy! You can enjoy all the nutritive and nourishing benefits of this herbal teal for many months leading up to trying to conceive. What a gift it would be to the health of your baby and overall pregnancy to go into early motherhood with mineral and vitamin stores at an all time high! Once you get a positive pregnancy test, wait to continue enjoying your NORA Tea until after you are 16 weeks, or omit the Red Raspberry Leaf for the first 15 weeks and enjoy Nettles, Oatstraw and Alfalfa tea during the first trimester. When you make it yourself, you can control all the ingredients!
How + When to Drink NORA Tea During Pregnancy
After 16 weeks of pregnancy you can drink a quart of NORA pregnancy tea 5 or more times a week. It is quite a sweet little rhythm and ritual to get into, and you may enjoy it every single day of your second and third trimester. To enjoy the benefits of nutritive herbs in the first trimester (before 16 weeks) omit the Red Raspberry and brew Nettles, Oatstraw and Alfalfa together.
How to Drink NORA Tea During Postpartum
It's touted as a pregnancy tea for sure, but this heavy hitter can benefit women in all stages of motherhood- especially the notoriously depleted stage of postpartum and birth recovery. If you are struggling with fatigue, nutrient density, blood loss, mood swings, blood pressure or blood sugar imbalances- this tea can only help! Enjoy all 4 of the ingredients and as often as you can brew it. Aim for at least 1 cup per day, but an entire quart each day would do wonders for your recovery and milk supply.
Additional Natural Pregnancy Essentials
If you're here, you are the kinda lady who wants to optimize pregnancy health and nutrition the best she can for pregnancy and beyond. You are our kind of people! We'll leave with a few other resources to enjoy as you are sippin' on your NORA tea.
Real Food for Pregnancy book by Lily Nichols: a resource we love so much that we give it as a gift to each of our homebirth clients. It is packed to the brim with great food advice and practical wisdom for pregnancy. It will forever change the way you think about food- in a good way!
Iron Building Protocol: our very own step-by-step guide for anemia in pregnancy and postpartum to prevent, treat and recover from low iron levels to avoid unwanted complications. Learn what supplements and food bring your iron levels up the fastest and keep them there.
Three Foundations to a Natural Birth Plan: a free worksheet packet to help you harness your decision-making power as you plan your natural birth, to make it the most individual and satisfying experience possible. Learn best practices for working with your labor, instead of against it, and how to assemble and communicate your desires to your entire birth team. A resource no pregnant mama should have to go without!
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Although we are licensed midwives by profession, we are not YOUR midwives. All content and information on this website is for informational and educational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice. Although we strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not a substitute for any kind of professional advice. For more information, click here.