Epistemology and breastfeeding information

There is something about new parents in particular (perhaps because it is such a new and overwhelming situation in which every decision feels like life and death) which leaves them looking for "rules".
There seems to be a desire for answers to be very clear cut. Things are either good or bad, and parents don't seem comfortable with "well it depends" or "see how it goes".
So guidance to not allow babies to sleep on their tummies, becomes a "rule" that babies must never be put on their tummies even when awake. Then a few years later there is a campaign to encourage parents to allow babies on their tummies for a little while (20 mins) when they are awake, which some parents interpret as a rule that babies must spend 20mins on their tummy even if it distresses them.

I think something similar happens with food during pregnancy and breastfeeding. People make suggestions, only some of which are grounded in science, and the suggestions are taken as "rules" which nobody wants to break in case something awful happens. Individuals aren't able to differentiate the genuinely useful, scientific advice from the potentially useful, anecdotal advice.

There is a tendency for parenting books, medical professionals, health visitors etc. to distill advice into a list of simple instructions, the assumption being that simple instructions are the easiest way to ensure a message is communicated effectively. But the simple instructions sounds like rules, and are often followed as such, because the average parent in a sleep-deprived and anxious fug will follow the rules as if their baby's life and their own sanity depend on them.

Years ago a German woman told me that there's a particular kind of beer that they have there that's favoured by pregnant and breast-feeding women. More recently I met another woman from Germany, this one with a young baby, if she's drinking that magical beer, and she said "Oh, I would if I could get it here. It promotes lactation". So, women's wisdom or successful marketing?

Sage absolutely reduced my milk supply but I looked at the time and couldn't find any studies on it.

I'm a breastfeeding counsellor - last time I facilitated a class I spoke briefly about the way some babies seem to react to mothers consuming a particular food. I don't know if that means I'm not a breastfeeding advocate though.
We try to be evidence-based but the thing is there aren't going to be many trials on drugs etc for bf mothers because they don't tend to pass ethics criteria.
In my role, I wouldn't want to dismiss what a mother was saying about her own experience. I might offer new information or my own observation in a way that didn't belittle the link she might be making between foods and fussiness.
My reasoning for attributing fussiness to latch etc rather than foods would be the likelihood being greater.
It's entirely possible there would be an allergy, which could be worked out with an elimination diet, but if you go there first before looking at latch etc you miss out the most likely cause.
Does that make sense?

Even if a peer-reviewed paper didn't offer evidence of something...say the fact that strawberries can very occasionally cause allergies (so occasionally that the study would have to be huge to catch it), if a woman stopped eating strawberries and her baby stopped fussing, that would surely be an important link to make?

Some women get so worried about allergies/foods while bf that they deprive themselves of loads of foods. It's better to assume there won't be any allergies, and deal with them if they do come up, rather than the other way round, I think.

It's not that the folk wisdom comes from nowhere - it will probably come from anecdotal evidence of a particular woman finding something affected her baby, or from a few instances.

My short answer would be that mothers in different cultures have different sets of ideas. In some situations some of those cultures have to be wrong.

Indian mothers believe that consuming garlic makes breastfeeding easier. This has now been demonstratedby research.

I've never heard people say you shouldn't eat garlic, but if they do they are very likely to be wrong.

But there is always going to be a conflict between hcps and women, because hcps have made huge mistakes historically and are in a position of power.

I think it depends on the source of the information. Do we (possibly wrongly) think that onions cause wind in babies because that if or nation has been passed on, mother to mother, through the generations, or because a make doctor decreed it so at some point during the 20th century?

For me though, if there's no evidence that the mother's diet affects their milk and therefore heir baby in this way, ending the myth is another step towards removing mother's guilt and self doubt when things aren't going to plan.

Sorry, Hazchem, what do you mean by fussy? Do you mean doesn't want to latch on and is difficult to feed, or do you mean a baby that generally cries a lot and seems unhappy?