We are quickly approaching the end of this pregnancy. Talk about time speeding by as we count down these final few weeks!
As I’ve mentioned before, we are planning to use the Hypnobirthing approach for our birth. The belief behind this approach is that a woman’s body knows how and when to birth a baby, without additional medical interventions. Under special circumstances, or when the need arises, there may be a need for a medical intervention, but in most cases, there isn’t any need at all. Throughout the book and class we took, we discussed different ways to naturally induce labor, before deciding to induce in a hospital setting with Pitocin, releasing membranes, or any other forced intervention. Things such as walking, pitted dates, acupuncture, essential oils, pineapple, raspberry leaf tea, and eating spicy foods were a few of the options. With this in mind, I decided to do a little research and came across this yummy smoothie that can help induce labor.
It is suggested that you drink this smoothie during the last month of pregnancy, and I started drinking it daily at 36.5 weeks. I originally planned on starting it right at 36 weeks, but I was afraid my body might be really on top of it and I would naturally induce myself too soon! With it being busy harvest season for our family, this babe needed to stay inside for as long as possible (without going too far overdue)… I don’t ask for much ;).
I bought most of my ingredients in bulk to last me 2-3 weeks. Our nearest grocery store is 15 miles away, and I really do not have time for weekly runs during harvest.
LABOR INDUCING SMOOTHIE
Ingredients
- 6-8 oz coconut milk
- 2 spoonfuls shredded coconut
- 4 dashes of cinnamon
- 9 pitted dates
- Fresh pineapple (however much you like, I used about 1/2 cup. Make sure you include the core, it has the really good stuff in it!)
- Greek yogurt (this is for smoothie consistency, so it’s to your liking. I used about 1/3 cup)
- Handful of ice
Directions
Throw all ingredients into blender (we love our Ninja!), blend, and enjoy!
Quick tip: I bought a bunch of pineapple and cut it ahead of time. I put it in little Ziploc bags and froze it so it was all ready to go. You also do not need as much ice this way, because your frozen pineapple will thicken the consistency.
P.S. Not all dates come “pitted”. My first smoothie went down the toilet after I nearly broke our Ninja blender attempting to blend the dates with the pits still inside. Do yourself a favor and make sure your dates come pitted. It will save you a bunch of time and a new blade for your blender.
THE RESEARCH
I wouldn’t recommend something to you unless I had something to support the reasoning behind it. I like to know the why and how of things, and I’m sure you do too!
The “labor inducing” formula of this smoothie comes mainly from the pitted dates and pineapple. Jordan University of Science conducted a study from 2007-2008 studying 69 pregnant women who ate 6 dates per day, 4 weeks prior to their due date, and 45 pregnant women who did not eat any dates at all. Spontaneous labor occurred for 96% of the women who consumed the dates, and only 79% of the women who didn’t eat dates. Also, the first stage of labor averaged 6.5 hours shorter in the women who ate the pitted dates, compared to those who did not. Those odds were enough for me to stop thinking of dates as disgusting cockroaches and suck it up and eat them!
As for the pineapple. Pineapple contains bromelain (acts like a prostaglandin), which can soften or ripen the cervix. When pineapple is canned, the bromelain is removed or void in a way, so it has to be fresh pineapple. The real tricky thing about using pineapple to induce labor is that you need a LOT of it. Some studies (which aren’t even 100% proven) state that you need almost 7 whole pineapples for it to make a difference. Either way, it is known to tone both the uterus and cervix, making labor a little less difficult. It’s worth adding in for that reason alone, and it adds good flavor too!
