Homemade birthing bliss balls are a simple and nutritious snack that are packed full of goodness and help to increase cervical ripening. Preparing your body for birth. These bliss balls provide an uplifting kick of energy, plus good fats and nutrients. These are the perfect snack to grab from the fridge in pregnancy to curb a craving, and to munch on for energy in labour. Also brilliant postnatally too, and indeed for anyone who wants a delicious yet good for you snack.

They are super simple to make, you just need a food processor and you can make a batch for the week ahead (if you can make them last that long). They will keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge if you are storing them for labour.

The Science Behind Medjool Dates for Birth

While there are many theories surrounding ways to naturally induce/seduce labor, eating dates has some real scientific data supporting their consumption. Specifically, eating dates has been shown to increase cervical ripening. Studies have found that eating 3 Medjool dates per day from 36 weeks can lead to:

• 77% shorter first stage of labour
• 74% more dilated than non-date eaters at admission to birthplace
• 38% more likely to have intact membranes
• 21% more likely to spontaneously go into labor
• 28% less likely to use prostin/oxytocin to induce labor
• 50% higher Bishop scores at admission to birthplace
• 43% lower rates of cesarean section
• 51% lower rates of vacuum/forceps

Birthing Bliss Balls

Serving Size:

16 balls (roughly)

Time:

20 minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

Ingredients

• 2 cups of nuts (ideally activated) almonds, cashews, hazelnuts or other nut of your choice (a mix of nuts is also fine)
• 1 to 2 cups of Medjool dates (soak them for 5 mins in just boiled water, then drain)
• 1/2 cup of cacao nips
• 4 tbsp of raw cacao powder
• 3 tbsp of coconut oil
• Pinch of sea salt
• Options to add for extra flavour – teaspoon cinnamon, teaspoon vanilla extract, orange zest

Directions

1. Place the nuts in the food processor, blitz for a minute until coarsely chopped.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until fully combined into a ‘dough’ in a ball in the processor. If it doesn’t seems to come together a a tablespoon of water at a time until it does.
3. Roll into balls (about a large teaspoon at a time).
4. Put them in the fridge to firm up. Store in the fridge up to 2 weeks.
5. Options to roll them in: cocoa powder, desiccated coconut, sesame seeds, chia seeds, etc.