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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I drink at least a quart of raw milk daily, yet my delivery of my 3rd baby was still very painful. Perhaps a *little* bit less painful as the first two, before I started drinking raw milk and became a “Traditional Foodist”. I am sure there are other factors.
^^^ and all three of my babies have been within ounces of each other, so that wasn’t a factor. I wouldn’t call it pain free. It really sucked for a few hard contractions, but it was definitely an improvement over the previous two.
She was lucky.. Child birth pain dates back to biblical days!!!! Back in the day there was grass fed cows, raw milk & butter and women still suffered!. Lucky I say lucky!!
This was true for me too. With my first two pregnancies I was a vegetarian. My last I had been drinking raw milk and eating an NT/GAPS diet for 2 1/2 years. My labor was SO different. My second came out quickly, but I a long painful transition. This time I went into labor called my midwife in the morning- baked some bread, hung out. Then around 11:30 it got serious, I called my midwife and doula friend. They showed up took my vitals; we talked on the couch while my husband slept in bed with the older two kids. I got in the bath and seriously had her within 10 minutes and 2 pushes. It all happened so fast we forgot to wake up my husband! He came in when he heard me grunt and the babies head was out! The main difference this time was the pain in transition was so much less.
Maybe raw goat’s milk but not cow’s milk.
Maybe raw goat’s milk but not cow’s milk.
I wish I could get my pregnant daughter to drink raw milk.
I’ve been guzzling raw, grass-fed goat’s milk over the last 2 months…no idea it could positively effect my labor. How encouraging. Im doing a home birth this time and LO could show up at any minute…
Had I done a homebirth with my first child he would have DIED and every day when I see his face I am GRATEFUL for my c-section and the doctor that saved my baby’s life. My labor when from fine to life-threatening in a matter of minutes and had the c-section not been perfromed RIGHT when it was (as in, if I’d had to get to the hospital from home) my son would never have taken a breath. I am also eternally grateful to the amazing NICU staff that, first of all…got my baby to breath, and then cared for him until he was well enough to come home. Money making business for hospitals? Maybe…but every penny I gave them was WORTH IT. Since then I have had 3 successful VBAC deliveries and have had a wonderful experience in he hospital each time. Homebirths are wonderful, and I would love to have that experience, but I am more grateful to have my son alive.
That is wonderful! However, I did not have the same benefit. I drank tons of raw milk and was on the GAPS diet while I was pregnant with my second child and his labor was almost more painful than my daughter’s birth with back labor, which was before I discovered traditional diets and raw milk. I do not regret it however. I know that I had many other nutritional benefits that will aid him throughout his life.