ABSTRACT
There is a growing recognition of the importance of cultural differences, as well as commonalities, in the use of alcohol for medicinal purposes.1,2 Of particular interest is its use by women during lactation since alcohol was, and continues to be, believed by many to possess galactogenic (milk-producing) properties.3,4 Although some physicians during the 19th century counseled lactating women to abstain from alcohol because it was believed that the most frequent source of acquired alcoholism was exposure to alcohol in mother’s milk, others argued that drinking spirits could enhance a woman’s appetite and stimulate milk production which, in turn, would strengthen the breastfed infant.5,6 This latter folklore was so well ingrained in American tradition that, back in 1895, a major
U.S. brewery produced a low-alcoholic beer known as Malt-Nutrine™ that was sold exclusively in drugstores and prescribed by physicians as a tonic for pregnant and lactating women as well as a nutritional beverage for children.7 Its production was halted during the Prohibition because it contained more than 0.5% alcohol.
