Can I eat Dates?

Dates are safe during pregnancy and may have specific benefits in the third trimester. Studies suggest that eating 6 dates per day starting at 36 weeks may promote cervical dilation, reduce the need for induction, and shorten early labor. Dates are also high in fiber, potassium, and iron.

A "Generally Safe" rating means this food doesn’t carry a pregnancy-specific safety concern beyond ordinary food-handling practices — the same basic hygiene and storage habits that apply to anyone. These ratings are based on general guidance from the FDA, ACOG, CDC, and USDA rather than a claim that every possible preparation of the food is automatically fine; how something is prepared, stored, and served still matters. If a "generally safe" food has any handling caveats (like a preparation method or freshness window), they’re noted separately in the sections below rather than changing the overall rating.

Eat plain as a snack, stuff with nut butter or cream cheese, or add to smoothies. Most beneficial when eaten daily starting at 36 weeks.

Thoroughly washing produce under running water is the main safety step for fruits and vegetables in pregnancy, since soil and unwashed skins can carry Listeria, Toxoplasma, or E. coli. Pre-washed bagged salads are processed to reduce bacteria but still benefit from an extra rinse if you're being cautious. Raw sprouts (alfalfa, mung bean, clover) are a special case — bacteria can get inside the seed itself during growing, so washing doesn't fully remove the risk, and cooking them thoroughly is the safer choice. Unpasteurized fruit juice or cider carries similar bacterial risks to unpasteurized dairy, so pasteurized versions are preferred. Fruits and vegetables are otherwise one of the safest, most encouraged food groups in pregnancy, providing fiber, folate, and vitamins with very few restrictions beyond basic washing.

This food doesn’t carry any pregnancy-specific restriction, so it can generally be eaten throughout all three trimesters as part of a normal, varied diet. As always, total nutrition — not any single food — is what matters most, so pair it with a range of other safe foods rather than relying on it heavily on its own. If you have a personal medical condition such as gestational diabetes, a food allergy, or a provider-specific dietary restriction, that guidance takes priority over general pregnancy safety information like this.

Beyond food-specific guidance, a few baseline food-handling habits reduce risk across everything you eat during pregnancy. These come from general FDA and USDA food-safety guidance rather than being specific to any one food, and they apply the same way in every trimester: