Effect of Consuming Date Palm Fruits on Uterine Involution and Breastfeeding among Postpartum Mothers

Weak or absent uterine contractions after delivery cause many problems among postpartummothers. Date palm fruits include an oxytocin-like hormone that enhances uterine contractions andpromotes efficient involution. Moreover, dates have high nutritional value, which increases prolactinlevels and helps increase milk production. The research aimed to investigate the effect of consumingdate palm fruit on uterine involution and breastfeeding among postpartum mothers. Methods: A quasiexperimental design was employed at the postpartum unit and outpatient clinic of a university maternityhospital in Menoufia Governorate, Egypt, involving a purposive sample of 120 postpartum women whowere assigned to the control and intervention groups (60 for each) and were followed up at home. Datawere collected using three tools: a self-reported questionnaire on sociodemographic traits and obstetricprofile, a uterine involution scale, and the breastfeeding sheet. The results revealed that the mean fundalheight was significantly lower in the intervention group (2.27±2.1) compared to the control group(7.08±3.17). In addition, the breastfeeding frequency was increased ≥ 8 times by 100% in theintervention group compared to 88.4% in the control group, with highly statistically significantdifferences between both groups at p≤0.001. Conclusion: The postpartum mothers in the interventiongroup had faster uterine involution and more milk production after receiving the date palm fruitscompared to the control group. Recommendation: Healthcare professionals should be aware of thebenefits of date palm fruit and recommend it for postpartum women to effectively enhance uterineinvolution, prevent postpartum hemorrhage, and improve breast milk quality and quantity.