*Spoiler* It's not a diet post.
We're going on a little fruity adventure through pregnancy and birth.
Your body is not a lemon.
I love this quote from midwife Ina May Gaskin. It's a gem for birth and general body positivity because we're designed to be functional, years of development have made humans this way. What a cool thing it is that we walk, talk, see, sense, love, move, feel. Sometimes a reminder simple aspects of existence are helpful when we're surrounded by SO MUCH INFORMATION.
Go for a date.
"According to the results of this study, consuming dates in late pregnancy was effective in decreasing length of labor processes and reduced the need of oxytocin for labor acceleration. Thus, it is recommended to consume dates in women without contraindications."
A recent study has found that women who ate around 70g of dates a day from their 37th week of pregnancy had statistically shorter active labours and went into labour spontaneously more often than the control group. Perhaps if you pair eating your dates with regular date-time with your partner in those last weeks of pregnancy you could be absolutely in the zone for oxytocin.
How do you like them apples?
"We must accept that some babies will need a much longer time than others before they are ready to be born. If you have some apple trees in your garden, you will listen to common sense and choose and individualised and selective approach: You will not pick all the apples on the same day."
- Dr Michel Odent
Again, a reminder to connect with the natural world to see how things develop. We even describe the cervix as 'ripening' in preparation for birth. Each woman and each pregnancy is different. There are many factors at play that decide when baby is ready to be born - some research suggests it may be the baby that initiates labour once it's lungs are ready to breathe. There's other evidence that says the length of your labour may be genetic; carried down the maternal line (which certainly stands in my family, we all carry over 41 weeks - see Sara Wickham's work for more information and resources).
Feeling fruity?
I know there are more fruits connected with pregnancy through good diet or tasty quotes - what have I missed?