The reference eludes me, but somewhere I remember reading about research
somewhere in West Africa (The Gambia, or Senegal maybe) that attempted to
study the composition and volume of the breastmilk of mothers who were
considered to be receiving borderline nutrition.  It was found that
supplementing the maternal diet did nothing to enhance either the volume or
the nutritional content of their milk, but the researchers were a little
disconcerted to discover that feeding the mothers had an unexpected side
effect; the birth interval decreased - ie the women became more fertile as
their calorie consumption improved.

I seem to remember too that prolactin levels were found to be higher in
women who were marginally malnourished, inhibiting ovulation.

Pamela Morrison IBCLC, Zimbabwe (who usually discovers these fascinating
gems of info when trying to look up something *else*, and then doesn't make
a note of them!)
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