Everyone has an opinion on what to eat during pregnancy. Leafy greens, yes. Soft cheese, no. Deli meat, complicated. But somewhere in the pile of advice your midwife, your mum, and three strangers on the internet have given you, dates keep coming up.
There's a reason for that. And it's more specific than "they're good for you."
What the research actually says about eating dates in pregnancy
The most widely cited study on this topic was published in 2011 in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology by Al-Kuran et al. The researchers followed 69 women who ate six dates a day for the last four weeks of pregnancy, compared to 45 who ate none. The results were specific: the date-eating group had significantly higher cervical dilation on arrival at hospital, spontaneous labour occurred in 96% of them compared to 79% in the control group, and they needed significantly less medical help to get labour started.
A 2014 study by Kordi et al. found that late-pregnancy date consumption had a meaningful role in spontaneous labour onset in first-time mothers. A follow-up paper by the same researcher in 2017 confirmed that consuming dates in the final weeks reduced labour duration and the need for oxytocin augmentation.
In 2017, Razali et al. at the University of Malaya reviewed the existing evidence and concluded that date consumption at term was associated with shorter gestation length, reduced induction rates, and more favourable cervical ripening outcomes.
The most comprehensive review to date — a 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis published in PubMed covering 48 studies — found that date consumption in late pregnancy significantly shortened labour length, reduced the need for induction, accelerated spontaneous delivery, and raised cervical dilation on admission. The evidence base has grown substantially since the original 2011 study and the findings have held up.
The working biological mechanism is that dates contain compounds with oxytocin-like activity — meaning they may help the uterus respond more effectively to the hormones that trigger and progress labour. They also contain tannins, which play a role in uterine muscle contraction, and natural prostaglandin precursors that support cervical ripening.
What makes dates a good pregnancy snack beyond the research
Beyond the late-pregnancy labour studies, dates have a solid general nutritional profile that makes them useful throughout pregnancy.
Fibre. Constipation during pregnancy is common and genuinely miserable. Dates are high in both soluble and insoluble fibre, which helps digestive function in a way most sweet snacks don't.
Potassium. Important for fluid balance, muscle function, and blood pressure regulation — all relevant when your body is working significantly harder than usual.
Natural sugars with a lower glycaemic response. Dates provide steady energy without the spike and crash of processed sugar. This matters in the third trimester when fatigue is already working against you.
Iron. Dates contain non-haeme iron, which supports the increased blood volume demands of pregnancy. Not a substitute for prescribed iron supplements, but a useful dietary contribution alongside them.
Magnesium. Supports bone development, muscle function, and sleep — three things that become harder to come by in the later months.
Folate. Important throughout pregnancy for foetal neural tube development, especially in the first trimester.
Getting tired of dates during pregnancy
Here's where the advice falls apart in practice.
Six dates a day sounds manageable until you've actually tried to eat six plain dates a day for four weeks. They're sweet and chewy, and by week two they start tasting like obligation. By week three, the word "date" may trigger a mild aversion response.
Most pregnancy snack advice has this problem. The nutritionally correct answer and the thing a pregnant person actually wants to eat at 11pm with heartburn and sore hips are rarely the same thing.
There's also the craving reality of late pregnancy. Many women report strong cravings for sweet, tangy, sour, lolly-like flavours — exactly the kind of hit that plain dates don't provide. Which creates a real gap between what's good for you and what your body is asking for.
The solution isn't to ignore the cravings or force the plain dates. It's to find a version that bridges both.
A small detour
This is the problem we built Bougie around. Whole dates, naturally flavoured to taste like lollies. Six a day stops feeling like homework.
See the four flavours →Pregnancy snacks: what to look for
If you're thinking about snacking during pregnancy more broadly, a few principles are worth keeping in mind.
Whole foods over processed. The more a snack resembles something that grew out of the ground, the better — not because processed food is categorically bad, but because whole foods tend to come with fibre, micronutrients, and a more stable energy response.
Steady energy over sugar spikes. Blood glucose spikes followed by crashes amplify fatigue and mood swings, both of which pregnancy already delivers in abundance. Snacks with natural sugars, protein, or fibre give you a more sustained release.
Satiating enough to last. A snack that leaves you hungry 20 minutes later isn't serving you in the way your body needs. Fibre and some protein are your friends here.
Something you'll actually eat. This matters more than any of the above. A nutritionally perfect snack you don't enjoy isn't a snack you'll eat consistently. Palatability is part of nutrition.
So: dates that taste like lollies
This is where we'll be transparent about who's writing this.
Bougie makes flavoured date snacks — Sour Cola, Fizzy Lemonade, Strawberries and Cream, and Tangy Blackcurrant. They're whole dates, naturally flavoured, with nothing artificial and no added sweeteners.
The product exists because the same problem kept coming up: dates are genuinely good for you, especially in late pregnancy, but eating plain dates every day is a joyless experience that most people don't sustain. These taste like lollies. The kind you'd actually want to eat, regardless of whether a study told you to.
We also make a baby shower gift box — 30 individually wrapped date snacks across four flavours — designed for exactly the scenario described above. A gift for the mum-to-be that she'll actually finish.
The bottom line on dates and pregnancy
The research is specific enough to take seriously. Multiple studies across different populations have found consistent associations between eating dates in the final four weeks of pregnancy and better labour onset outcomes — more spontaneous labour, less medical intervention, shorter active labour in some studies.
The general nutritional case for dates as a pregnancy snack is also solid: good fibre, steady energy, useful micronutrients, low in anything harmful.
The practical barrier is palatability. Six plain dates a day for four weeks is a commitment most people don't sustain. Find a version you'll actually eat. That's the real advice.
Made for this
The Due Dates 8-Pack
8 packs of snack dates across all four flavours. The kind of snack that gets finished, not stashed in the cupboard.
Shop the Due Dates PackBougie Snack Dates are crafted in Melbourne and shipped Australia-wide. This post is informational only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your midwife or GP about dietary choices during pregnancy.
References
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Al-Kuran O, Al-Mehaisen L, Bawadi H, Beitawi S, Amarin Z. The effect of late pregnancy consumption of date fruit on labour and delivery. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2011;31(1):29–31. DOI: 10.3109/01443615.2010.522267
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Kordi M, Meybodi FA, Tara F, Fakari FR, Nemati M, Shakeri M. Effect of dates in late pregnancy on the duration of labor in nulliparous women. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research. 2017;22(5):383–387. PMC: PMC5637148
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Razali N, Mohd Nahwari SH, Sulaiman S, Hassan J. Date fruit consumption at term: Effect on length of gestation, labour and delivery. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2017;37(5):595–600. DOI: 10.1080/01443615.2017.1283304
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Mehraban M et al. Is oral consumption of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L. fruit) in the peripartum period effective and safe integrative care to facilitate childbirth and improve perinatal outcomes: a comprehensive revised systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. PubMed. 2024. PMID: 38166785
