Can grassfed raw milk reduce childbirth pain? While conventional practitioners would poo-poo the idea, the fact is that it is possible with more and more women drinking it regularly and opting for a natural birth in the face of over-medicalization of the birth process.
It is already known that pregnancy diet can play a crucial role in how much childbirth pain a pregnant woman experiences during delivery and whether or not she is successful in withstanding the tremendous physical effort and stamina required to have a natural birth.
So why not raw milk specifically?
The picture above was taken while I was transitioning at 9cm dilation. I was literally minutes from pushing my baby out. Most women in a similar situation are begging for drugs at that point or are already on an epidural IV and completely numb from the waist down.
As for me, I was totally comfortable other than feeling the amazing intensity of the pain free contractions. Here’s my story.
I was fortunate to experience three natural births. Â The difference between them in the level of discomfort experienced was profound, however, and I can attest that my diet during each of the pregnancies played a key role in the amount of pain I experienced during labor.
During my first pregnancy, I ate completely organic and hormone/steroid free. Â I ate what would be termed a stellar diet in almost every way. Â I had a complication-free, natural, and fairly fast delivery although it was a pretty painful experience.
During most of my second pregnancy, I improved my whole organic diet by several notches by adopting a fully Traditional Diet. Â I took high vitamin cod liver oil and consumed plenty of grassfed meats. Â I prepared my grain based foods properly by sprouting, soaking and/or sour leavening. Â My second birth experience was way faster than the first (as is fairly typical for most women), but it wasn’t really that much less painful.
During my third pregnancy, however, I had a Traditional Food available to me in unlimited quantity that I did not have as an option in the previous two pregnancies.
That food was raw, grassfed milk.
I drank raw grassfed milk with abandon with my third pregnancy. Â It kept my morning sickness at bay during the first trimester due to my propensity for low B6. Â B6 deficiency can cause morning sickness and raw milk is loaded with this nutrient in highly bioavailable form. Â B6 supplements did not produce the same excellent results.
Sipping raw milk all day long kept my tummy very happy during those early weeks. Â Incidentally, pasteurization destroys B6.
What ended up being the most surprising, however, was how completely pain free my third delivery was. Â The birth of my third child was slower than the second birth, so speed was not a factor.
The picture above is me at 9 cm dilation, completely comfortable and without any discomfort. Â I told my husband to snap a picture as I couldn’t believe it at the time! Â I even chatted with my Mom on the phone while I was in transition (she was in the car on her way to the birth center).
Calcium Status Greatly Affects Childbirth Pain
What was the difference? Â Science will tell you that a women’s calcium status greatly affects the pain she experiences with the uterine contractions during labor.
However, it is much more than just calcium intake as I was consuming plenty of calcium during my first 2 pregnancies and both labors were quite painful as is the norm today. Â I should note that the calcium was from natural sources too as it was typical for me to drink 1-2 cups of nettle tea during all my pregnancies and nettle is high in calcium and a known uterine tonic. Â A pain free delivery is not just a matter of popping calcium pills, eating foods that are factory fortified with calcium, or even consuming natural foods high in calcium like nettle.
Why was the delivery of my third child so comfortable and even (gasp!) an enjoyable experience by comparison then?
The bioavailability of the calcium in the diet is an all important consideration that some in the scientific community have not fully grasped yet but a growing number of researchers are emphasizing and certainly something the effects of which I experienced firsthand.
You see, raw grassfed milk is loaded with calcium but it also has something special that pasteurized dairy, calcium supplements, and calcium fortified foods do not.
That something is the enzyme to absorb the calcium!
Voila!
What good is consuming calcium if your body simply does not know what to do with it or can’t do anything with it?
In other words, to experience a comfortable and even pain free labor and delivery requires not just getting enough calcium but getting it in a form that the body can absorb!
To make a long story short, if you think you are getting enough calcium in your diet and you are pregnant, think again. Â Not all calcium is created equal!
Examine your pregnancy diet and make sure it is loaded with plenty of raw grassfed dairy so that you are getting the bioavailable form of this important nutrient in copious amounts!
Worried about consuming raw dairy while pregnant?  Don’t be. Raw grassfed milk is one of the safest foods you can consume and CDC data proves this as shown by the research of Dr. Ted Beals MD.
Interested in following a completely Traditional Diet during your pregnancy and potentially experiencing significantly reduced childbirth pain as a bonus? Â Here’s an article which outlines the ideal pregnancy diet as recommended by the Weston A. Price Foundation. Â This is the diet I followed during my second and especially my third pregnancy with the addition of raw grassfed milk.
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Sorry, but I just don’t buy it. Regardless of diet, there is always some discomfort in childbirth even if it is minimal. I drank more than half a gallon a day of raw milk from grassfed cows every day during my first pregnancy. It was 36 hours and very painful. Each pregnancy after that was was better, with the fourth being the easiest. There is no such thing as a completely painless labour.
Very interesting case, but hardly conclusive. We should eat the best available diet because of the health benefits to mom and baby. To eat a specific food hoping it will somehow give us a pain-free birth is a great way to be set up for failure.
I’m a natural birth, natural parenting junkie, but I know that every birth is different, even for the same woman. My third was also my smoothest, most pain-free (and not fastest) birth. I have a very similar picture of myself although at 7-8 cms. I had virtually no pain until transition and even then it was a weariness/restlessness more than it was pain. No raw milk in sight. My fourth was a different story altogether, although still natural.
Anyway, I’m glad you had a great birth, and I agree that raw milk can be an amazing source of nutrients, but lets leave it at that and not try to attach claims that may or may not come true to it.
I drink raw goat’s milk as I’m sensitive to cow dairy. Does goat’s milk have the same high amount of B6 vitamins and calcium?
Yes, if my memory serves, these nutrients are quite similar. However, goat milk is lower in B12 and folate than cow milk.
Not sensitive, full blown allergic, not talking about lactose intolerance either. People can be allergic to the healthiest organic foods. Dairy is one of the top eight allergens
Too bad i am very allergic to milk and dairy
Love this article.
I would love to know if it makes a difference between goats or cow’s milk. I can’t get that much cow’s milk right now, but I can get more goats milk if needed, but they do dry up in the winter. This is a concern for me.
Thank you!
Goat’s milk ROCKS! Same benefits as cow milk if that is what you need to use.
My first baby was born frank breech naturally, no drugs and after only 45 minutes of pushing. I did have to have an episiotomy though…that hurt a little. My third baby was born in the van on the way to the hospital….sheesh I’d hate to see how quickly and pain free things would be if I had unlimited access to raw milk. Sarah, I really love the wide variety of topics you address in your blog. Keep up the good work girl!
Is there anywhere in Ohio where raw milk is available? I’m currently expecting, though early on, and would welcome anything to reduce the pain I had with my daughter (I was induced, and it was absolute hell!) But also have a milk allergy that mysteriously gets better the less processes the dairy… and do NOT want my toddler drinking the normal store milk, which she honestly doesn’t have hardly an interest in (thankfully). Thank you!
Great info, Sarah. I’m a student traditional midwife and homebirth mama, and this advice is spot on. To add to previous connects, i want to advise that you should have equal amounts magnesium to calcium… Magnesium intake (including absorption) is so, so crucial to muscles, nerves and enzyme regulation. It’s actually a much more important nutrient than conventionally understood.