Pregnancy can be a beautiful time for mums-to-be with plenty of weird cravings, maternity photoshoots and general preparation for their little bundle of joy. That excitement can be dampened by the looming pain of labour lurking in the back of people's minds, especially those hoping for a natural birth.
A variety of natural solutions and remedies can be found on the internet based on traditional birthing practices across the globe as well as newer methods, all with varying credibility and results. One woman claims she found a way to make her labour as pain-free and quick as possible through some preparation techniques and treats.
The TikTok user Nev, shared how she gave birth in just 30 minutes and only pushed once before her newborn popped out - with no pain medication needed. The mum from Miami said she used lots of natural remedies and exercised to "prepare/ soften your cervix" which other pregnant women were keen to try.
"Telling every pregnant girl I know who's planning on having a natural unmediated birth to eat pineapples, dates, drink red raspberry leaf tea and walk a lot," wrote the first time mum. "I did this and I was only in labour for 30 minutes, got my baby out in one push and didn't rip at all. I was walking an hour after giving birth."
Her caption read: "My first baby at that, I pushed her out so fast and said 'that wasn’t even that bad'." In another video the mum, who named her daughter Nevani, wrote: "I feel so damn powerful. I just had my first baby completely natural with no epidural or pain meds. In 30 minutes, it took one push and I didn't rip at all."
Her comments were full of women sharing their stories, particularly focusing on the red raspberry leaf tea. "I bought the tea, didn’t even drink it and my water broke the next day, it works that well," responded one user while another added: "First time mum here... only pushed for 13 minutes. Definitely recommend raspberry leaf tea daily and walking loads."
Other's were sceptical, with one mum writing: "Did all this, perineal stretches and still ended up labouring for 22 hours, pushing for 4 and having a fourth degree tear. Every woman is different." Another reminded women that these were not labour inducing techniques but "all helps prepare for birth".
Dr. Hana Patel, GP specialist in fertility and women's health and Mindset Coach told The Mirror: "There are some slivers of truth in that video, regarding the individual things that are referred to in the video - pineapple, dates and red raspberry leaf tea are eaten and drunk by women at different stages of conception, and through the pregnancy."
"Based on research evidence that is usually not found to be the most effective, so that is why doctors in the NHS do not recommend these things, but they tend to be food and drink that women have tried anecdotally and may have helped," she added.
Dr Patel said: "Pineapple is a safe, healthy choice during pregnancy. Someone might have told you to avoid this fruit because it may cause early miscarriage or bring on labour. However, this is just a myth. There's no scientific evidence to support that pineapple is dangerous during pregnancy.
"Dates fruits may soften the cervix and get the body ready for labour. date fruit also contains necessary and unnecessary fatty acids that can produce prostaglandins playing an important role in cervix ripening, acceleration of delivery progress, increase of uterine contractions, and inducing labour.
"Some complementary therapists also believe it helps to soften the cervix ready for labour, although there's no firm evidence for this. More research is needed to say for sure that raspberry leaf tea works."
She advised always speaking to your GP before adding anything to your diet just to make sure there's no harm to the baby. While the raspberry leaf tea may have helped this mother, there's no guarantee it will speed up your labour as every body is different.
