Pregnancy Diet Tip: Eat Dates to Decrease Bleeding

From Babymoon Inn Midwife Maribeth Diver:

Please take a trip to a natural foods store and get some dates to snack on. The date fruit is the product of the date palm, a tree native to Northern Africa and the Middle East. There are many kinds of dates, including Medjool and Deglet Noor. Each variety is unique in size, sweetness, flavor, and texture.

Dates are a nutritional powerhouse – they’re packed with vitamins, minerals and protein. They’re especially rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc, 23 types of amino acids, 14 types of fatty acids (omega oils) and fiber. Not only are they good for you, they can help you have a better birth! Well-done research studies have demonstrated significant benefits to pregnant women. For example, compared to women who did not eat dates, women who ate six date fruits per day for 4 weeks prior to their due date:

• Were more dilated upon labor admission
• Were much more likely to have their water bags not break before labor
• Were much less likely to need to be induced or have labor augmented with medication
• Were much less likely to have a long, slow, tiring “pre labor”

Eating dates during labor has also been shown to reduce vomiting, increase energy, and shorten the length of pushing. Another large study also showed that eating dates significantly reduced the amount of bleeding after birth. In fact, immediately after delivery, eating a few dates worked better than an injection of pitocin to prevent or control hemorrhage. These studies show again the priceless legacy of ancient wisdom. Since the beginning of time, women have been using food, teas, oils, poultices and herbs to ease the pains of labor, heal during postpartum and support breastfeeding…..Remember that as nutritional powerhouses dates contain a good amount of calories and quality carbs. It’s not wise to just add them to your intake, you’ll rather need to substitute them for other snacks/foods.