In this connection, the young mother should be warned against what might be termed superstitions in diet, “old women’s tales.” While attending Better Babies Contests, I have often been shocked at the superstition and ignorance which interfere with the nourishment, comfort, and contentment of the nursing mother. One young mother said that she was drinking malt to make her milk more nourishing for the baby. And how she did hate that malt! It nauseated her every time she drank it. When the doctors told her that anything which nauseated her would affect the baby in the same way, she was actually relieved. Yet she had been forcing herself to drink the malt, because an elderly neighbor told her what wonders it had done for other women. Doctors, not neighbors, should be consulted on these problems. Another woman told me that she did not see why her baby could not retain her milk. It curdled on his stomach. And she assured me quite solemnly that she never ate anything acid. She did love pickles, salads and lemonade, but her nurse had told her she must not eat sour things while she nursed the baby. I heard the sensible doctor in charge of that contest tell her to go straight home and make herself a good fresh salad. Her digestion craved acid, and her child actually suffered because her system was denied it. Excessive indulgence in acids, as in anything else, would not be good for the mother or the baby; but, well balanced with other foods, sweet pickles, properly sweetened lemonade, and salad dressing prepared with plenty of good olive oil, would not hurt this mother. The same judgment must be shown in the matter of drinking. The woman of German parentage and customs should not give up the moderate use of beer to which she has been accustomed; but, on the other hand, the woman who is not accustomed to drinking beer, and does not care for it, will not improve the quality of milk for her child by forcing herself to drink beer. The Italian mother, habituated to the use of light wine with her meals, would miss it sorely if deprived of it while nursing her child; but the average American would find it stimulating only. The woman who drinks coffee and tea in moderation may increase the supply of milk by drinking to excess; but the milk will not gain in quality, and her nerves will suffer from overstimulation. Milk, cocoa, and chocolate in moderation increase the quantity of milk and improve the quality, except in the rare cases where the mother cannot digest them. The woman who can sip gruel, plain or with cream, will find the supply of breast milk gaining in both quantity and quality; but when the gruel is disliked, when it actually nauseates the mother, it does not have a good effect on the milk.