Is That Safe? Eating Dates During Pregnancy & The 5 Benefits
Welcome back to our Is That Safe series! Where we break down all of the dos and don’ts of pregnancy. Today’s topic: is it safe to eat dates during pregnancy? Let’s get into it.
Is it safe to eat dates during pregnancy?
Yes! It’s safe to eat dates during pregnancy and there’s no evidence to suggest that dates have a negative effect on any trimester of pregnancy. In fact, they’re a great pregnancy snack as they have lots of nutritional value and can help ease symptoms of fatigue and constipation.
What are the benefits of eating dates during pregnancy?
#1: Dates are a natural way to satisfy your sweet tooth
The natural sweetness of dates is a good way to satisfy your sweet tooth and any pregnancy cravings you have for sugar. Plus, the fructose in dates can give you some much-needed energy to help fight pregnancy fatigue!
#2: Dates can help ease constipation
Pregnancy and postpartum constipation are real and it’s something a lot of women struggle with. Dates have a good amount of fiber in them, which helps keep everything running smoothly and your bowels moving regularly.
#3: Dates are a good source of folate, an essential pregnancy vitamin
During pregnancy, and especially during the first trimester, it’s essential that you get enough folic acid – known as folate in its natural form - in your diet. Folic acid helps to prevent something called neural tube defects (or NTDs) such as spina bifida, which impact around 3,000 pregnancies in the US every year, or around 8 in every 1,000 births.
It’s recommended that women take a folic acid supplement when they are TTC or as soon as they know they’re pregnant, and in fact, some studies show that if every woman took a folic acid supplement every day before getting pregnant and during early pregnancy, up to 70% of NTDs could be prevented.
Dates are a good source of natural folate to start including in your diet, alongside your prenanatal supplements.
Find out more about the importance of folic acid here, and be sure to speak to your healthcare provider about which supplements are right for you.
#4: Dates are also a source of Iron, Vitamin K, and potassium
Incorporating more iron into your pregnancy diet can help boost your energy levels, whilst vitamin K supports your baby with growing strong bones. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, you need more potassium than usual - around 2,900mg per day - and potassium helps maintain the balance of fluid and electrolytes in your body’s cells.
#5: Eating dates could help naturally induce labor
Whilst research into eating dates as a way to induce labor is limited, one study showed that eating dates in the final weeks of pregnancy could reduce the need for labor to be induced with medical intervention. On top of that, the study actually showed that dates may reduce overall labor time…
More research is needed until these findings are conclusive, but it might be worth giving it a try! Here are 5 more ways to naturally induce labor.
Will you be eating dates during pregnancy? Did they help induce labor? Let us know in the comments!
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