I’ve yet to meet someone who wants to go past their due date. Everyone is looking for hacks to naturally induce their pregnancy, or give birth sooner or faster. “Get this baby out of me!” is something I hear a lot.

What if I told you the secret to an easier, and faster birth might lie in the most random of foods? Dates appear to be linked to all sorts of benefits for birth. That’s right, dates (the ones you eat, not the ones you used to go on) those sweet dried fruits could be the key to being able to breeze through your labour and birth!

* Big disclaimer here* This is not medical advice and of course check with your Dr if you want to alter your eating habits based off a blog post. If you have or suspect you may have gestational diabetes, please don’t read further. Dates are full of sugar and may cause serious issues depending on your diagnosis. However, dates are very nutritious. They contain a high percentage of carbohydrates, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. (Dekker, 2020) 

In a variety of studies, dates have been shown to have the following benefits:

• shorter length of the early phase of labour

• higher cervical dilation upon arrival at the hospital

• greater incidence of labour beginning on its own

• fewer postpartum hemorrhages

Unless you absolutely hate the taste of dates, or must limit your sugar (though dates contain natural fructose which is not necessarily bad for you), there is no risk to eating dates. Why not try something harmless that might have great benefits for you and your labour?

Suggested serving of dates during pregnancy to help with labour and birth is said to be between 3 or 4 large dates or 6 smaller dates. My preferred recipes include: baked into date squares with oats, blended into a smoothie with almond milk and bananas, or simply on their own with some other fruits and nuts as a snack.

While there is definitely more research to be done about the benefits of eating dates during pregnancy, the studies so far have been pretty convincing! It always surprises and excites me when natural methods for induction prove to be even the slightest bit successful. We spend so much of our time and energy on uncomfortable or time-consuming methods of induction or looking for ways to make our births faster or easier. Sitting around snacking is the best case scenario if you ask me!