Can I Eat Dates During the First Trimester Of Pregnancy?

Yes, you can eat dates during the first trimester of pregnancy. Dates have no adverse effects on your pregnancy, no matter the stage.

This dry fruit carries a lot of health benefits ideal for pregnant women. Sometimes you might crave sweet things and wonder what to eat.

While there are many options like sweet snacks and candies, dates are much healthier and satisfy your sweet tooth, just like candies and ice creams.

This article covers the benefits of eating dates during pregnancy. Read on to find out why it’s advisable to eat dates in the first trimester of your pregnancy.

When Should I Eat Dates During Pregnancy?

Dates are good at all stages of your pregnancy. But it comes at a time when you might need to reduce your sugar intake to avoid prenatal diabetes.

You might need to talk to your healthcare provider before adding dates to your diet.

Eating Dates During The First Trimester of Pregnancy

In the first trimester, dates are good, especially if you’re constipating. This dry fruit acts as a laxative and aids digestion, all thanks to its high fiber content. 

Eating Dates During The Second Trimester of Pregnancy

At this stage, you want to reduce your sugar intake because you might risk getting gestational diabetes. You might need to consult your doctor before adding dates to your diet.

Eating Dates During The Third Trimester Of Pregnancy

Many people have claimed that dates help induce labor. Dates help shorten labor and help reduce the chances of induction. 

However, eating dates doesn’t guarantee that you’ll kick start labor. In the third trimester, you should start eating dates four weeks before your due date.

Benefits Of Dates During First Trimester of Pregnancy

1. Promotes Regular Bowel Movement 

Constipation can get the better part of you, especially during the first trimester. Thankfully, dates contain high dietary fiber that aids in bowel movements. 

2. High Source Of Antioxidants

Dates are also a high source of antioxidants. Antioxidants play a vital role in cell protection in the body.

During pregnancy, you need to eat foods rich in antioxidants, and dates are among the superfoods that prevent your body from several infections. 

3. Carries Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Inflammation refers to how your body reacts after infection, trauma, or a disease. Another more straightforward definition is your body’s reaction after the invasion of any irritants. Irritants, in this case, are germs. 

Dates carry anti-inflammatory properties, and thus they reduce inflammatory effects. These dry fruits carry potent antioxidants that help the body fight against infections and diseases. 

4. Enhances Healthy Brain Functioning

Dates play a good role in improving brain functioning. Having a few dates regularly keeps you miles away from dementia and related brain diseases. 

A study carried out in 2016 shows that dates prevent free radicals and prevent many forms of dementia. 

5. Promotes Natural Labor

For decades, dates have been known to facilitate labor. Although they don’t kickstart the process, they play a significant role in cervical dilation. 

This study by Pubmed shows a significant change in women who have consumed dates four weeks to their due date and those who didn’t eat dates. 

6. Promotes Bone Health

Dates contain magnesium, copper, and selenium, essential nutrients that boost your bone health. 

A handful of dates keeps no complications away; thus, they are even more important for your unborn child. 

Dates are also rich in vitamin K, which aids blood coagulation and facilitates bone metabolism.

Tips On How To Eat Dates During Pregnancy

There are many ways of consuming this sweet, dry fruit. You can eat dates just the way they are or add them to your daily diet. 

If you want to limit your sugar intake, yet you’re craving dates, you can start by replacing sugar with dates.

You can also drop a few dates on your oatmeal or blend them with your favorite fresh fruit to get an excellent taste. 

I love blending dates with milk or yogurt. Although the final product might be too sugary, it does heal my sweet tooth pretty fast. 

If you love salads, you might also want to use dates as your salad dressing. 

Eating Other Dried Fruits During Pregnancy

While dates are great during pregnancy, you might want to moderate your intake of other fruits because they carry more calories. 

Unlike fresh undried fruits, dried fruits go through a process to make them dry and tend to have higher sugar content. 

Summary Table

Dates Contents	Benefits
Dietary fiber	Improves bowel movement and relieves constipation
Folate	Prevention of birth defects
Potassium	Helps maintain body fluid balance
Iron	Helps prevent anemia

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When should I start eating dates during pregnancy?

You can start eating dates at any stage of your pregnancy because they offer a lot of nutritional value. However, if you haven’t started yet and want to make your labor and delivery easier, you can start eating dates 5 weeks or 4 weeks to your due date. 

2. How many dates should a pregnant woman eat in a day?

During the first and second trimesters, you have to restrict yourself and eat fewer dates because they are high in sugar and may cause blood sugar problems. 

However, as you approach the due date, you can take up to 6 dates in a day to ease labor and facilitate cervical dilation. 

3. Can dates cause early labor?

Yes. Dates have been used since ancient times to improve labor. Eating a handful of them close to your due date eases your labor.

4. Do dates help with constipation?

Yes. Dates contain dietary fiber that enhances bowel movement, so they help with constipation. 

5. Are there any side effects of eating too many dates?

Yes. Dates contain high sugars, which can bring about blood sugar problems. You also need to be wary of the calories you add by consuming too many dates because they are also high in calories.  

Some people are also allergic and can have allergic reactions from eating many dates.