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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Hm, this is interesting. I just had my first baby 4 months ago. I had a natural, drug-free, intervention-free labor. I drank raw milk almost every day during my pregnancy. My labor & delivery was certainly not pain-free. I did have a pretty fast labor (10 hrs from start to delivery) and only had intense labor for about an hour once I reached 8 cm. But from about 8 cm until delivery it was pretty painful. How much raw milk were you drinking during your 3rd pregnancy? Maybe I need to drink more next time. It might also be worth mentioning that I was unfortunately on IV antibiotics the whole time I was in labor because I went into pre-term labor (5 1/2 weeks early) and the doc said this is usually due to a subclinical infection. So they put the patient on prophylactic antibiotics in these cases. I wouldn’t think that would contribute to the level of pain though…?
I’ll be trying this out this pregnancy!
I used Raspberry Leaf Tea during my first pregnancy and walked almost daily. I had a little back pain, but other than that it was comfortable. The tea was known for Uterine health back in the 70’s. I don’t know if they still make the same claims. I didn’t use it with my second pregancy 10 years later and had a lot of pain.
When I discovered the benefits of raw milk and traditionally fermented foods for my morning sickness with my last pregnancy (the first time I’d ever had it), I was sold!
I too had a comfortable fourth labor – I used hypnobabies as well as eating a traditional diet, and when I arrived at the hospital, I was joking with my husband while the admitting nurse was looking at me and even said, “so, you think you’re in labor…what makes you think that?”. When she checked I was at 10 cm. 🙂
Sarah, this is so timely for me (I hope)! I’m 34 weeks today and have been drinking raw milk throughout my 2nd and 3rd trimesters. I drink about a cup/day. Should I be drinking more? I still get occasional calf cramps at night, which makes me wonder if it’s not enough. Thank you for sharing this great information!
The link that Sarah posted for the Weston A. Price Pregnancy Diet recommendations says that pregnant women should drink a quart of milk per day. Hope that answers your question! (Personally, my suggestion is to listen to your body, and drink the amount you feel you should drink…in some cases that would be less, in others that could be more.)
🙂
Thanks, Shannon. I couldn’t get that link to open, so that is very helpful. I’m definitely not drinking that much now, so I will start increasing and see how I feel. Maybe it will help me sleep better too!
You’re welcome, Megan!
Raw Milk truly is amazing! I love it! There are so many great benefits from drinking it!!! I hope increasing your intake helps you sleep better! 🙂
We live in europe and we have very good sheep milk that is certified organic raw and is grass fed on alpien grass. I see it when I come to farm that they are grass fed.
Ho Sarah I would like to ask you two question do you suggest skate liver oil together with FCLO butter oil blend? If yes How much?I wonder if it is not too much omega 3 also main purpose for cod liver oil is ADEK2.
I have great raw grassfed organic sheep milk so drink it daily as homemade kefir, can I drink it like 32 OZ so about 3-4 cups of it? It is very creamy like yogurt cause sheep milk is very fatty:-)
Where do you get your sheep milk? We live in Phoenix AZ and used to drink raw cow milk but it was not grass fed. They eat alfalfa and oats and enzymes that someone supplies them with. Then I became lactose intolerant and one of my daughters became highly allergic. (Along with a whole bunch pf other allergies including beef and eggs. But we both can eat sheep milk yogurt from whole foods. (Can do ostrich and emu eggs too) We tried goats milk but she reacted to that as well. The feed had soy in it. I really think it depends on what the animals are eating. And sheep are entirely grass fed plus different makeup. I really would prefer to give her something natural instead of watery rice milk.
Please check your suppliers that the animals are truly grass fed!
Sarah please would you answer mycomment please?
Thanks a lot
Lisa Olson raw milk reducing the pain of childbirth will NEVER be studied. It would not make anyone any money and who wants mothers to have painfree births? How many hospital personnel would be put out of business and how much revenue lost in reduced C-sections and epidurals? Waiting for the “science” on this is not a wise choice .. if a traditional food can help you NOW, why not go with it? We don’t need a double blind study on this anyway. It is a FOOD and it is nutritious and good for baby and Mom, so why not go with it and see if it helps you TODAY? Some decisions need no science to back them up .. they are just common sense and this is one of them.
Well I’m not planning on having any more kids, but I’m hoping that the stuff I learn is something that will help MY kids one day as they become parents!!
So far I have been unable to source raw milk… I’ve never even tasted it!! BUT just yesterday I heard of a new “buying club” from a farm in my state (all organic, free range, grass fed etc. etc. etc.) and put in an expression of interest (as they’ll probably be delivering to my town sometime this year) AND today I was looking on their facebook page and it said they produce “raw bath milk”. I was soooo unbelievably excited!!!! (Yes, the only way you can legally purchase raw milk in this country is as “bath milk” lol… how stupid…). I’m not sure whether they will deliver raw milk or not, but whatever, they’re a bit over an hour from where I live, but I’ll drive there to get some straight from the farm if I have to!!! (I believe it’s okay to freeze?? I definitely couldn’t afford to do this weekly :D).
Fortunately, my kids already know raw milk is best (as I’ve raved on and on about it… I was considering getting a goat when I move into a house with a bigger yard, just to get some raw milk even if it’s not from a cow).
what about reducing the amount of the monthly bleeding with traditionnal food? I don’t know for sure about the pain, but I can say it for sure about periods.