Dear Ali, THe betel leaf is commonly eaten together with other condiments, sometimes with tobacco ( yuck) as a mouth freshener. It has a mild stimulating action. No known toxicity. It should be pretty safe for the mom but I would not recommend it for any infant or toddler. As kids, we used to be treated to an occasional 'paan' after festival meals which mostly consisted of a betel leaf, some anise seeds, dry coconut, and 'gulkand' (rose petal preserves). If it is done right, it turns your mouth bright red! http://www.essential-oil- encyclopedia.com/essentialoil/encyclopedia/essential-oils-a/Betel-Leaf/ Vaishali *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html