“So she (Mary) conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far place. And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date-palm, she said: “Would that I had died before this, and had been forgotten and out of sight!” Then a voice cried unto her from below her, saying: “Grieve not! Your Lord has provided a water stream under you; And shake the trunk of date-palm towards you, it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon you. So eat and drink and be glad...”
Modern-day scientists state that human beings can actually live for years on nothing more than dates and water. The date is also an excellent food for pregnant women and for those who have just given birth. This is a widely accepted scientific fact.
Mary (may Allaah be pleased with her) was inspired to understand this point, in order to make the pain of childbirth easier. The date has one of the highest sugar levels, 60-65%, of all fruits. Doctors recommend that pregnant women be given foods containing fruit sugar on the day they give birth. The aim behind this is to energize and revitalize the mother's weakened body and at the same time to stimulate the milk hormones and increase the levels of mother's milk, essential to the newborn baby.
In addition, loss of blood while giving birth leads to a fall in body sugar levels. Dates are important from the point of view of enabling sugar to enter the body and prevent blood pressure from dropping.
These facts reveal the wisdom in the way that Allaah recommended Mary to eat dates, designed to energize and invigorate her and ensure the emergence of milk, the only food for a baby.