Women Claim South Boston Restaurant's Spicy Food Helped Induce Labor
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's becoming a South Boston legend with mothers-to-be, a restaurant with spicy food that some people say gets labor started.
Some will call it just an old wives' tale, but so far, seven women say the spicy food helped.
That is according to Mike Shaw, the co-owner of Loco Taqueria on West Broadway in Southie, where it's all happening.
"We're actively participating in the next generation of South Boston babies," said Shaw.
The restaurant's chef, Matt Drummond added, "It's hilarious, and quite an honor."
Drummond is also the creator of the magic, a secret recipe for the spices he puts on their chips and that's not all.
"Pretty much 80, 85% of our menu gets seasoned with that same seasoning so you'll find it almost everywhere," he said.
Last November, a very pregnant Erica Gregorio came here looking for that spice.
"I said to my husband, let's go to taco Tuesday, get some spicy food and make something happen, and I guess it worked," she recalled.
That taco Tuesday turned into water break Wednesday. Max was born that night.
"Maybe it did the job," Gregorio said.
"I've never been pregnant, but I would imagine that you're looking for any help you can get at nine months down the line," said Shaw. "If that's what we're known for, it's a cool thing to be known for."
Drummond said, "I truly think it's the spice content. I think that it might be something that people aren't used to on a typical basis, and then when they do have it, it could be a reaction in their body that could be helping the process along."
Dr. Mallika Marshall said even though eating spicy food to help induce labor is a popular theory, she can find no science-based evidence that it works.
Gregorio saw no harm in the theory, even if it was not proven.
"Hey why not, right? And if we got this guy as early as we could, that's the best thing we could get," she said.
