hey ginger, you're onto something apparently us breastfeeding mothers should eat it!
"Cumin gives curries their zing. It is a well known galactagogue. Like all umbel seeds, adding cumin to a meal will make it easier to digest. This can be helpful if your baby has colic or digestive stress. One mother from Africa spoke of the women in her community eating small green lentils with plenty of cumin and tomatoes to increase their milk production.
Umbel seeds, including cumin, share the following properties: they are estrogenic and relaxing (sedative); they support digestion, relieve flatulence (may ease a baby's colic through the mother's milk), and they aid in treating bronchitis and bronchial asthma (are anti-spasmodic).
Pregnancy: Ayurvedic medicine from India warns against taking large amounts of warming herbs, including cumin, during pregnancy.
Allergy: Rare.
Caution: Mothers of lethargic babies should avoid taking large amounts of herbs that have sedative effects-such as hops and umbel seeds-as these could possibly make their baby sleepier. Lethargic babies should see their pediatrician as soon as possible.
Caution: Traditional Chinese Medicine warns that warming herbs, such as umbel seeds, should not be taken in large amounts by mothers who tend to develop breast infections.
Sources: Health-food stores; whole foods stores; herbal pharmacies; Asian stores; online stores.
Dosage and Preparation: see Umbel Seeds"