>When my sister midwifed, <snip>.  I can't recall what she
>said about women who craved laundry soap................ some kind of
>deficiency of some sort.  The body must know what it needs and starts to
>crave it.

I remember hearing and reading about women who craved laundry STARCH,
especially when it used to come in a box like detergent, and women would
make it up with hot water....

Could that be what your sister's patients ate?  Soap would give women the
"scours" or make them vomit....  (They don't already do ENOUGH of that when
they're pregnant?? Yikes!)

laurie (Mother Mastiff)