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As I went through infertility and miscarriage, I was determined to figure out whether the old wives’ tales relating to fertility were exactly that: old wives’ tales, or legitimate ways to boost fertility? I did a whole section on this blog of TTC tips: Fact or Fiction?
Now that I’m pregnant, I’m once again encountering a lot of well-intentioned advice and comments from family and friends: Eat dates to help with labor! A high heart rate means a girl! Start drinking red raspberry leaf tea! And again, I’m left wondering…are these things myths or truth?
So let’s find out what the research says about dates:
Does eating dates really help with labor?
–If you just want the basics: This 2019 review of all of the clinical trials found that eating dates significantly: shortens gestation duration, increases cervical dilation, and shortens the 1st and 2nd stages of labor (active labor and pushing phase). If you want more details for specific trials I looked into, read on.
—A study in 2007/2008 compared two groups of women: one who ate 6 dates per day in the last four weeks of pregnancy, and one group who ate none. They found that more women in the date-eating group spontaneously went into labor (96%) vs. the other group (79%). They also found that the use of prostin/oxytocin to induce labor was much lower in the date-eating group (28%) vs. the other group (47%).
—This study from 2013 compared 91 pregnant women who ate dates during the last three weeks of pregnancy (the 37th week on) and 91 pregnant women who did not. The women who ate dates ate 70-76 grams per day. The study found that the women who ate dates had a significantly shorter labor — in every phase. And again: the need to use oxytocin for induction was much lower in the group of women who ate dates (5% vs. 48%!).
–In another study of 89 women (in 2018), the group of women who ate dates were found to have shorter first and third stages of labor, and newborns’ APGAR scores were significantly better at 5 minutes in the group of women who ate dates.
–Overall, I could not find one study that didn’t find some positive outcome in eating dates. Now, if you’re like me, you’re wondering how many dates to eat per day and also why dates?
How many dates should you eat? (And when do you start?)
The studies all seemed to look at women beginning to eat dates during the 36th or 37th week of pregnancy. Women typically ate 6-7 dates, but keep in mind that depended on the variety of date. (Some dates are larger than others. The studies usually had women eating between 70 and 75 grams of dates per day.) I plan to eat 6 of these deglet noor dates (the easiest to find in the U.S.). The other variety — medjool dates — are bigger, so you’d probably only need to eat 3 or so.
Why dates?
To me, dates seem like a very random food to test. (Not to mention, I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten a date…although I plan to start in my 36th week after reading the research!)
The truth is, when looking at the studies, not much thought seems to have gone into why dates specifically. Dates do have a lot of carbohydrates — specifically naturally-occurring simple sugars like fructose, glucose, and sucrose. Glucose is thought to be the most important source of energy during labor — you need 10 grams per hour. Dates are believed to be helpful in storing that energy you need during labor and strengthening uterine muscles (read more here).In addition, dates are high in calories, which may help you combat fatigue and hunger during labor.
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