Does the Starbucks Labor Drink Really Work?
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As anyone who’s had a baby knows, you’ll do almost anything to try to induce labor. Now moms on TikTok are swearing by this Starbucks Labor Drink.
“Drank the ‘pregnancy drink’ from Starbucks and eight hours later gave birth at 39 weeks and four days,” said one new mom over a video of herself sipping from one of those coveted huge water jugs in a hospital bed.
The trend has been spreading like wildfire because, well, the third trimester is rough and many moms-to-be want it to end as soon as possible (and to meet their new babies, of course). The app is filled with videos from people filming themselves ordering and drinking the tea, usually with commentary along the lines of, “Please let this work.”
One such mom, Coty Kenneth, filmed her video trying the Starbucks Labor Drink when she was 38 weeks pregnant with her second child.
“Supposedly you drink one and it puts you into labor,” she said. “I don’t believe it…but I’ll try anything.”
The recipe for the tea varies slightly, but it starts with coffee purveyor’s Passion Tango tea and lemonade. Most people add a pineapple base and four pumps of pure cane sugar syrup; some add four pumps of raspberry syrup instead.
As is the case with many wellness trends on TikTok, the Starbucks Labor Tea is mostly a repackaging of common natural tricks. For instance, red raspberry leaf tea has long been considered—anecdotally, that is—to be helpful in preparing the body for labor.
But as family physician Jamie McManus, MD, chair of medical affairs at the wellness company Shaklee, tells Glamour, even if that benefit were clinically proven, you’re unlikely to get much from the TikTok version.
“This ‘labor tea’ is based upon using raspberry leaf tea during the last trimester of pregnancy to help women have a shorter labor with less needed medical interventions, including C-sections,” she says. “But, as with essentially all herbs, there are limited clinical studies, and lots of conflicting studies, evaluating their safety or efficacy in pregnancy or breastfeeding. And the kicker is, there isn’t actually any raspberry leaf in this drink, but rather four pumps of raspberry syrup—which means 80 calories of sugar.”
As for the pineapple addition to the drink, eating the fruit is another common, nonmedical trick that people suggest for getting labor started (some people also swear by it when trying to conceive). Starbucks’ Passion Tango tea blend also contains hibiscus, which Rachael Jones, a nurse practitioner and VP of clinical client strategy at family-building company Win, says has been touted as a way to “stimulate uterine activity.” She similarly cautions, though, that these claims are anecdotal.
“There’s no scientific evidence proving that any food or drink, including this tea, can bring on labor,” she tells Glamour.
As for Kenneth, she did not immediately go into labor upon drinking the tea. She tells Glamour, though, that it’s possible making that Starbucks stop helped her in other ways.
“After I made the video, many viewers commented saying that it helps tone your uterus for labor just like red raspberry tea is supposed to do,” she says. “I may never truly know if it helped by itself, because I did partake in other forms of labor prep, but in the end, I progressed from a 4 centimeters to a 10 in two hours and only had to push for 10 minutes.”
Much like many other tricks people swear by to induce labor, it’s hard to say whether this particular Starbucks tea does much at all. But it’s unlikely to hurt you. McManus did caution that pregnant people should avoid hibiscus in early pregnancy, but says the small amounts in the drink won’t do harm to you in later trimesters. (If you are worried, check with your doctor.)
“Most herbal teas, including this Iced Passion Tango Tea, should be safe to consume in reasonable amounts during pregnancy and breastfeeding—meaning one or two servings per day,” she says.
The most important thing may be that ordering this viral tea—along with eating dates, walking a lot, getting a pedicure, or having sex—is something you can do while in the end of your pregnancy to feel as if you have any hand in when labor starts at all, which can help mentally, if anything.
Also, it gives you an activity to do besides just sitting around waiting to pop. Sometimes, that’s worth the price of a Grande, or even a Venti.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
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