NATURALLY SHORTEN LABOR BY EATING DATES
This was once an old wives tales. Now both anecdotal and scientific evidence support it.
Two groups of women took part in the research. One group eat 6 dates per day in the last four weeks of pregnant. The other group did not. The results are remarkable. Women who ate dates had an average 8,5 hours of first stage labor. Those who didn't have an average 15,1 hours. That's over 7 hours more!
Women who consumed dates were dilated an average of 3,5 cm upon admission compared to 2 cm in those who didn't eat dates. About 96% went into spontaneous labor with only 4% being induced. While those who didn't eat dates, 79% went into spontaneous labor with 21% needed to be induced. That's 5 times more!
A more recent study of 154 women compared 77 who ate dates late in their pregnancy and 77 who didn’t. Researchers found that the date eaters had significantly less need for medical intervention to induce or expedite labor compared to those who didn’t eat any dates.
And if research conclusions are accurate, eating dates while pregnant just might improve your chances for a spontaneous, natural induction.
Sneak 4-6 dates per day into your meals starting at about 35 weeks and see for yourself.
Source :
1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21280989/
2. https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/dates-during-pregnancy#Food-Fix:-What-to-Eat-When-Pregnant
