NORA infusions are a great way to prepare and nourish your body for pregnancy, labor, birth, and after. An infusion is basically a very strong tea, left to steep for a much longer time than typical, often overnight or even a few days.
N - Nettle (iron)
O - Oatstraw (calcium, magnesium, iron)
R - Red Raspberry Leaf (uterine toner)
A - Alfalfa (vitamin K)
All of these herbs are extremely beneficial for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum and all of them can easily be found online (or possibly growing right in your yard)!
Vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting so it’s a great for moms to have a healthy supply in them to help with postpartum bleeding. Iron is necessary for blood production, energy, and keeping the body well oxygenated, all of which are important for pregnancy and after. Calcium and magnesium are essential nutrients, often depleted during pregnancy. Magnesium, especially, is important for muscle and nerve health, sleep, restless legs, blood pressure, anxiety, calming prodromal labor, and preventing pre-eclampsia.
Red raspberry leaf is a known and trusted uterine toner. Many women drink it throughout pregnancy. Some women are especially sensitive and experience contractions or cervical changes when taking it so listen to your body if you're not full term. The vast majority women have no issue.
Some people like to add a smaller amount of rosehips for flavor and to boost vitamin C but it's not as essential.
I make my own with bulk herbs usually from Frontier. They can be found directly from them or from Amazon. It's far much more cost effective and potent to buy in bulk rather than trying to get it via small tea bags or pouches.
There are a variety of recipes but the absolute simplest and the way I prefer?
Mix equal amounts of each herb.
That's it!
Keep the mixture in a jar or Ziploc bag until ready to use. You can use a half gallon jar and just mix two cups of each herb at once. I do like to increase the red raspberry leaf portion once full term but you can use any combination that you prefer.
Generally, I recommend starting NORA at around 32 weeks and drinking a quart of this tea daily if possible. However, there are no hard and fast rules. Do what you can, how you can.
My preferred method:
Scoop 1/4 cup tea into a French press.
Pour steaming water over in the evening before bed.
Let steep overnight on the counter.
Press in the morning.
Keep in fridge to drink throughout the day. You can also reheat if you prefer it hot.
You can add honey or another sweetener if you like. I prefer it cold especially in the summer!
Pregnancy and birth and overall health are not a matter of chance and fate. Sure, sometimes things happen that are outside of our control. But there are so many things you can do to be proactive about your health during pregnancy and postpartum. There are so many ways you can set yourself up for the most physiologically healthy birth possible. Each pregnancy and birth I've learned a little bit more and take more responsibility for my body, baby, and our outcomes. I’m a believer that our health is not the primary responsibility of a provider or medical system. It’s ours to learn about and care for and steward well. At the end of the pregnancy and birth (or any health issue really), it is *we* who live with the consequences and no provider is going to care about that and your baby as much as you do.