In Surah Maryam (19:25-26), Allah advises Mary during the pains of childbirth: "And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. So eat and drink and be contented." This advice, revealed more than 1,400 years ago, was long regarded as a mere traditional recommendation. Modern medicine has now begun to demonstrate its scientific relevance.
Clinical studies
In 2011, a pioneering study at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (Al-Kuran et al.) followed 69 pregnant women: those who consumed 6 dates per day during the last 4 weeks of pregnancy showed significantly higher cervical dilation upon admission (3.52 cm vs 2.02 cm), a markedly higher rate of spontaneous labor (96% vs 79%), and a shorter latent phase of labor.
A meta-analysis published in 2020 in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth confirmed that date consumption significantly reduces the duration of the active phase of labor and improves the Bishop score (an index of cervical ripeness). An updated 2023 systematic review (Springer, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth) showed that consuming dates in late pregnancy shortens the length of gestation and labor, reduces the need for induction, accelerates spontaneous delivery and increases the rate of vaginal births.
Biological mechanisms
Dates are rich in saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (oleic and linoleic acids) that stimulate the production of prostaglandins, hormones essential for uterine contractions. They also contain folic acid, vitamin K, iron, potassium and magnesium, which strengthen the uterine muscles and prevent postpartum hemorrhage. Their high content of natural sugars provides the energy needed for the effort of childbirth.
A remarkable concordance
What the Quran advised Mary fourteen centuries ago — to consume fresh dates at the time of childbirth — turns out to be a nutritional recommendation perfectly suited to the physiological needs of the woman in labor, as randomized clinical studies now confirm.