Red Raspberry Leaf

Contemporary herbalists recommend red raspberry leaf for diarrhea and to treat nausea and vomiting, especially the morning sickness of pregnancy.  One herbalist goes so far as to call raspberry a "panacea during pregnancy...allaying morning sickness, preventing miscarriage, and erasing labor pains."

Red raspberry leaf won't "erase labor pains," and its no "panacea during pregnancy," but science has shown it to be of some value for pregnant women.

In 1941, red raspberry leaf emerged from blackberry's shadow when an animal study published in the British medical journal Lancet showed it contains a "uterine relaxant principle."  Over the next 30 years, several other studies confirmed this finding, and today physicians in England and Europe prescribe a number of red raspberry leaf preparations for morning sickness, uterine irritability, and threatened miscarriage.  The herb is also included in many herbal pregnancy blends sold in the United States.

One animal study shows red raspberry leaf helps reduce blood sugar (glucose), suggesting possible value in diabetes management.


Standard medical advice warns pregnant women against any drugs during pregnancy because of the possibility of harming the fetus.  Red raspberry leaf used medicinally is an exception to this rule, although it should only be used with the consent and supervision of an obstetrician.  Red raspberry leaf has been widely recommended for decades as a uterine relaxant, and there are no reports in the medical literature of any problems with it.  Women with a history of miscarriage may find it especially valuable.