She mentions, too, that the People believed that if they drank the tea in the earlier stages of pregnancy, the child would be very dark. The Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin C during pregnancy and breastfeeding is 80-100 mg. This daily dietary requirement is necessary for the formation of strong cell walls and blood vessels, and it is therefore essential to the growth of the fetus and the placenta. Mohawk people would prepare a tea high in vitamin C for pregnant mothers which included white pine, cranberry and sumac branch bark. During pregnancy or oral contraceptive use, a woman faces increased susceptibility to urinary tract infection because of rising blood levels of a reproductive hormone called progesterone.
Progesterone causes smooth muscle tissues, such as the bladder, to relax.
It also causes the ureters, the ducts leading from the kidneys to the bladder to dilate. This action, in addition to the pressure of the growing uterus during pregnancy on the ureters and urinary bladder, may cause the bladder to become distended. The resulting increased volume of urine makes the urinary tract more hospitable to bacteria. It is important to drink lots of liquid to dilute the urine to keep the urinary system flushed out. Cranberry juice, best taken without sugar, contains hipuric acid which inhibits the growth of bacteria.