Why did doctors prescribe Guinness to pregnant women?

Back in the day when real men smoked and doctors wore white coats, prescribing beer to pregnant women was an acceptable thing to do. They don’t do that sort of thing anymore. But for many people, the question of the nutritional merits of Guinness remains unanswered. I mean, those doctors must have known something, right?

The usual reason you hear for Guinness being suggested in pregnancy is that it’s a great source of iron. Iron is needed for the production of red blood cells and during pregnancy a mother-to-be needs 50% more than iron…