Teas For Motherhood
Becoming a mum is impossible to truly prepare for. That was my experience anyway! I thought I knew what to expect, and then it quickly became obvious that I didn’t have a clue. One thing that I did know, was tea. I’d been a tea buyer and blender for over 11 years when I had my first baby. And it was quickly obvious that tea could help me with some of the issues I faced. Sleep deprivation and breastfeeding being my major hurdles.
It’s what inspired me to set up HotTea Mama with my good friend Kate, after she had 2 babies in the space of a year, and I was pregnant with my second. We wanted to make blends that could support mums on the journey that we’d been
through – and are still going through!
For breastfeeding mums, our Milk’s Up tea offers a way to naturally support milk supply. Blending herbs that are known as ‘galactagogues’ to increase production of prolactin in your body, and therefore stimulate milk production.
Fenugreek is a key ingredient, and research has shown this tiny herb can not only increase women’s milk supply, but also the fat content in their milk. Fennel, anise and nettle have also been used for millennia, for the same reason, and we blend them all together with lemon verbena for a touch of sweetness. It makes a delicious way to hydrate and keep your milk supply going.
We originally called this blend of relaxing herbs, the ‘3am Blend’ as we drank it so often after the 3am feed during it’s development! It is made up of natural anti-inflammatory ingredients, that relax your muscles. Whole chamomile flowers, lavender, valerian root, lime flowers, and rooibos, really help you to get a deeper sleep than without them.
Valerian root in particular is an amazing herb. It’s been shown to be more effective gram to gram than a pharmaceutical sedative in research! It’s also why we only have a small amount in there – it’s in safe levels for both pregnancy and breastfeeding! We thoroughly recommend having a cup an hour before your last feed of the day too, so that some of it’s sleepy benefits can transfer into your breast milk and through to your baby. It’s not guaranteed, but it’s got to be worth a try!
Newborn Wonder
I basically live on this tea. It’s an incredible blend of white peony tea and whole rose buds. White tea is actually higher in caffeine than black tea, but it also has a much higher level of theanine in it. This is a relaxing chemical, that gives the caffeine a slow release effect. As caffeine gets less and less effective, the more of it you drink, it’s important not to hit it up too many times in a day. I transfer onto Newborn Wonder after a morning coffee, and it helps me get through till lunch, even after a bad night with the kids.
If you’re breastfeeding, we recommend treating it as a replacement to coffee, as you should be sticking to 200mg of caffeine a day. This tea is around 90mg, while a coffee can be 120g. So technically you can have both, but if you are also eating chocolate and having a fizzy drink, it’s important just to keep an eye on your total caffeine intake.
But we really hope you find these teas as useful as we do. And that you can take a moment for yourself in a busy day of caring for others, to enjoy a cup. It’s good for you body, but good for your soul too.
Bethan
Co-founder and Tea Nerd
HotTea Mama
