With this series (Eating Dates), Gina and I both believe that a “natural” induction, is still an induction in a way. You are still using interventions to start labor before you may be ready.
There are risks and benefits to everything we do in life, and for one person it may be worth taking the risk for the benefit while another person it’s not worth it.
We always recommend discussing options with your provider and doing your own research before using any of the induction methods we discuss in this series.
Read our Week 1 Blog: Castor Oil here
Read our Week 2 Blog: Evening Primrose Oil (EPO) here
Read our Week 3 Blog: Acupuncture/Acupressure here
Read our Week 4 Blog: Sex and Orgasm here
Read our Week 5 Blog: Membrane Stripping here
Read our Week 6 Blog: Nipple Stimulation here
What is it?
Dates are the fruit that come from the plant Date Palm, aka Phoenix dactylifera. It is found naturally in Northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Dates are very high in sugar, and commonly eaten as a dessert.
They are made up of around 21% water, 65% sugar, 10% fibers, 2% protein, and some fat. They contain nutrients such as Vitamin B6, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Which are helpful during pregnancy!
They are symbolic in Muslim, Jewish, and Christian religion. Dates are mentioned many times in both the Bible and Quran. In the Quran, dates are given to Mary to eat during labor to help with labor pain. As instructed by Allah.
Will it induce labor based on research?
Based on research, yes!
There are multiple studies that are of high quality that support that eating dates during pregnancy can help induce or at least ripen the cervix!
It can also be consumed during labor and may help decrease pain associated with labor, or shorter the duration of the first stage of labor, but more research needs to be done in this area.
It is important to note, that none of the research was done involving people who had gestational diabetes!
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How does it work?
It is believed that it helps support pregnancy and labor because of the nutritional composition of the fruit. It can provide the needed nutrients to support pregnancy but also to fuel our body during labor!
Researchers believe that the date fruit also makes our body more sensitive to oxytocin, which is a major hormone involved with labor initiation and sustainment.
How do I do it?
Eating 4-6 dates a day is the general rule but it depends on the size of the date. Medjool Dates only need 3-4 because they are larger in size! If you eat a smaller date you may need to eat 6-10 of them to get the same dosage.
No research says eating them all at once or throughout the day is better than the either.
Starting this protocol around 36/37 weeks is what research suggests. Studies support that the earlier you start eating the dates the better, the results were higher in the people who started eating them around 36/37 weeks.
You can eat the date plain or mixed in with something. Some common recipes are bacon wrapped dates, peanut butter filled dates, or goat cheese filled dates. My personal favorite was putting them into my morning smoothie with my Needed prenatal. Use code MAMASTEFIT for 20% off your first order.
Dates & Gestational Diabetes
I am not a dietician or nutritionist, so this not my recommendation or advice.
Since they are made up of a large amount of sugar, one would think the glycemic index would be on the higher end! In actuality the glycemic index for dates ranges from 31-55 out of the highest possible score of 100!
Glycemic Index is a number from 0 to 100 that is assigned to a food based on the the relative rise in the blood glucose level two hours after consuming that food.
Therefore, If you have Diabetes (Gestational and Pre-existing) Dates may not be bad for your blood sugars, monitoring how your body reacts if you want to try it and working with your provider and/or dietician is highly recommended! Eating small amounts of dates throughout the date so it does not affect your blood sugar as much may be helpful. The Medjool dates are way higher in sugar compared to smaller dates like the jujube dates. So trying the jujube dates versus the medjool might be better!
Some had reported it did not affect their blood sugar as long as they ate it with some sort of protein, but did have to adjust their carbs for the day!
Risks & Benefits
Benefits
- Shorter pregnancy duration
- Shorter length of labor and pushing
- Decreased risk of Postpartum hemorrhage
- Decreased risk of induction
- Decreased risk of operative assisted delivery
- Decreased risk of PROM
- Increased Bishop score
Risks
- Increased blood sugar if GDMA
Our Professional Opinion
Roxanne: Labor & Delivery Nurse
I personally don’t like the taste of plain dates, so I did not try this method myself very strictly. I did eat them mixed into my morning smoothies occasionally!
It’s hard to not recommend it though based on just the research! I usually say if you like the taste of dates then go for it, but don’t feel pressured to eat the recommended amount if you don’t enjoy the taste. There are other ways to induce labor other than eating dates.
During labor, dates could be a really great easy snack to eat. I would think the sweetness could be too much for some. I also didn’t enjoy chewing things so maybe making a dates syrup would be a better option!
Mamastefit Survey Results
The Results of our Mini Survey we did on 10/12/2022 on Instagram. We asked out followers about Eating Dates and their experience.
Did you use eat date to induce labor/ripen cervix? We had 2511 people answer
- 73% said Yes
- 27% said No
When did you start eating them? We had 1834 people answer:
- 83% said 36/37
- 15% said 38/39
- 2% said 40/41
How many did you eat a day Most Common Answers we got were:
- 4-6 or 70 grams
- 4 medjool
- 3-6
- 2-3
- 8
Favorite Recipe to eat them? Most common answers
- Many of you said plain
- Smoothie
- Goat cheese & bacon
- Nut butter – peanut, cashew, almond
- cream cheese
- dipped in dark chocolate
- mixed in oatmeal
- brownies
- banana date pancakes
- luna/rx bar
- on Toast/bagel
- Energy Balls/Snack Balls
- Date Banana Bread
Did you eat them straight or mixed in something? We had 1760 people respond
- 69% said ate them straight up
- 31% said Mixed in something
Did you go into labor spontaneously or induced? We had 1944 people respond
- 69% said spontaneous labor
- 31% said induction
If you went into labor spontaneously, when did you start eating dates? Top 3 Answers
- 36/37 weeks
- 34
- 39
If induced, did you need cervical ripening? We had 739 people respond
- 53% said Yes
- 47% said No
Did you eat dates with Gestational Diabetes? We had 458 people respond
- 18% said Yes
- 82% said No
If you had Gestational Diabetes and ate dates straight up, Did it affect your blood sugar? We had 246 people respond
- 20% said Yes
- 80% said No
If you had Gestational Diabetes and ate dates mixed in a recipe, Did it affect your blood sugar? We had 99 people respond
- 23% said yes
- 77% said no
References:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S096522991930456X
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6695006/
https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-020-02915-x
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/23333936211042616
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01443615.2017.1283304