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September 2015 Moms
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DATES!! (& I don't mean couple time...)

bnwillia3bnwillia3 member
in September 2015 Moms
Hey ladies! So I asked my midwife about the red raspberry leaf tea and primrose oil after seeing tips on the board. She said that while both are fine & dandy to try, there is no scientific evidence to back up the claims. Some women swear by it, so she said that it wouldn't hurt to try. BUT! She said that there was scientific evidence (meaning empirical studies) supporting eating dates! I looked it up and yep!! Women who ate 6 dates a day starting at week 36 had higher rates of labor starting naturally (no induction), on time, and faster progression through the first stage of labor. I had some this morning - I had never tried then before - and was pleasantly surprised. They are kinda like brown sugar candies? Anywho, just wanted to share in case it might be helpful.

Here is one of the studies I found in case you want to read up: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21280989/
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Re: DATES!! (& I don't mean couple time...)

  • aprilmay92aprilmay92 member
    I'll be getting some of these tomorrow! Lol
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  • knowmeinadifferentlightknowmeinadifferentlight member
    I'm curious to read the studies, but methinks somehow bowel movements from eating that many dates will somehow play a role lol. :-?
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  • katythelady22katythelady22 member
    I've been eating 6 dates a day for the past month. :) my husband's aunt did the same and had a quick, natural childbirth, the day after her due date. She said her doctor told her the fastest natural childbirths she has been a part of are women who have eaten dates throughout their pregnancy. :) hoping it really works!!
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  • AmandaNacoraAmandaNacora member
    I love dates! So def giving this a try :) does it have to be straight dates though or can it be things with dates in them? Please say things with dates so I can make DH get me ma'amoul and baklava!!
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  • bnwillia3bnwillia3 member
    @knowmeinadifferentlight Haha! You might be right! But hey - loosening things up might help prevent hemorrhoida, so it's kinda win-win! ;)

    @AmandaNacora - my midwife said that many women end up mixing them into smoothies after a while (I suppose eating six plain dates a day can get super old) so I imagine mixing them into things would work just fine!
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  • beansideiraebeansideirae member
    I started eating dates this week :) I'm already bored of them, lol, but the benefits are worth a little boredom.
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  • mpache06mpache06 member
    I will also be getting some of these today! :)) thank you!
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  • MufflerloveMufflerlove member
    I had one date smoothie. Blech. I think I gave up on dates. I don't like them and they wouldn't blend smooth.
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  • callistosmilecallistosmile member
    Definitely starting this next week. Thanks for the tip!
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  • slp213psuslp213psu member
    I'm very tempted but I'm not a huge raisin or fig fan. Is this what they taste like? I've never tried.
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  • bnwillia3bnwillia3 member
    @slp213psu I hadn't had them before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Consistency wise - they are quite chewy, kind of like a caramel? Taste wise - they have almost a maple syrup/brown sugar kind of taste. I think they will go great minced over vanilla bean ice cream! Yum!!!
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  • bnwillia3bnwillia3 member
    @Mufflerlove I haven't tried the smoothie yet, but I do imagine they would be hard to blend due to their stickiness. If anyone has any great recipes, please share! :)
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  • JBelanger2015JBelanger2015 member
    What a wonderful idea! And dates are so delicious and full of energy sources. Thanks for this idea :)
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  • RosieStadjRosieStadj member
    I did the date thing with my 2nd pregnancy and I first noticed my contractions at 4min apart. My 8.5lb baby came out on the 1st push! Can't say for sure it was the dates but I bought more for this time around.
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  • sarahlindesarahlinde member
    I've seen conflicting suggestions on when to start eating them. Im 34.4. Too early?
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  • MufflerloveMufflerlove member
    sarahlinde said:

    I've seen conflicting suggestions on when to start eating them. Im 34.4. Too early?


    I mean it's a fruit so it probably is never too early. It won't make you go into labour. But the study was women who ate dates from 36 weeks on.
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  • sarahlindesarahlinde member
    @Mufflerlove thanks! Thats what I was thinking but ya never know!
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  • nursekatie47nursekatie47 member
    If you soak the dates, pit them and then blend them they will blend much easier.
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  • bnwillia3bnwillia3 member
    @sarahlinde - My midwife said specifically to start at 36 weeks, but didn't give a warning or anything like that to not start earlier. I think she was referring to the study - perhaps it is most effective to start at that time/not necessary to start earlier? If I come across anything that says not to start earlier for any reason, I'll be sure to pass it along! :) 
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  • daniklakedaniklake member
    So... This isn't healthy, but my favorite way to eat dates is stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon & baked. If this is an excuse to eat them like that, I'm all for it!

    You can also do blue or goats cheese, I just don't care for those.
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  • cjstats87cjstats87 member
    I'm not sure if this is good or bad news but I eat "larabar" brand fruit and nut bars...they are my all time favorite snack, 1-2 a day :-S and I've been having so many more bh than the last 2 kiddos...the main ingredient is dates!!
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  • barryfamilybarryfamily member
    I used to eat chocolate covered prunes. I am sure chocolate covered dates would be just as good!
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  • paine0925paine0925 member
    There are some Pinterest recipes for using pumpkin and dates and pumpkin pie spice in a blender for a smoothie -- pretty much sounds like a pumpkin pie smoothie! I think this might be the only way I can get the dates down!
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  • bnwillia3bnwillia3 member
    @cjstats87 I'm going with its a good thing!! Gotta think positive at this stage right? Haha ;)

    @Rhill30 YUM!! Thanks for the suggestion!!!
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  • tpally6212tpally6212 member
    daniklake said:

    So... This isn't healthy, but my favorite way to eat dates is stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon & baked. If this is an excuse to eat them like that, I'm all for it!

    You can also do blue or goats cheese, I just don't care for those.

    That's my favorite way too!! Yummy
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  • NatabearNatabear member
    cjstats87 said:

    I'm not sure if this is good or bad news but I eat "larabar" brand fruit and nut bars...they are my all time favorite snack, 1-2 a day :-S and I've been having so many more bh than the last 2 kiddos...the main ingredient is dates!!

    Holy crap, I think you totally might be on to something. I spent 3 days in the hospital having frequent braxton hicks about a week ago, and now that I think about it they started when I started eating larabars. I was waking up and eating one for breakfast and eating them in the hospital and stuff. :( I hope that isn't actually a thing, I'd feel pretty darn stupid to find out that I was actually causing it on my own by eating larabars.
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