Rifling through some old National Geographics (for picture of mammals suckling -
what else?) I came acrross the following item

National Geographic vol 181 no.5 May 1992
'Common wisdom holds that if a nursing mother drinks beer, her baby will nurse
better.Likewise garlic . . makes an infant colicky.
'At Monell Chemical Senses Center Julia Mennella and Gary Beauchamp tested this
lore.In one study they gave mothers orange juice with a small quantity of
alcohol one day, plain orange juice on another day. They found that alcohol gave
milk an intense odour  . . . babies consumed less. . . when their mother's drank
spiked juice.
'In a second study the researchers gave mother's garlic tablets one day and
placebos another. [though they knew the difference!] When babies sucked
garlic-laced milk , they nursed longer and consumed more than when they got
'pure' milk - none became colicky,

Comments anyone?

Veronika Tudhope, Kilmarnock, Scotland