According to the Jarticle about Nora Ephron, by Julia Moskin in the Diner's Journal, the New York Times Blog on Dining Out, 'Rachel Samstat, the heroine of 'Heartburn' said she could identify a certain kind of spoiled man in three words: 'Where's the butter?'. Rachel Samstat ( Meryl Streep) is a food writer and columnist. Moskin explains, 'In its recommendations, the government does not distinguish between heavy drinking and the occasional beer: all alcohol poses an unacceptable risk, it says.' In a 2006 New York Times piece titled 'The Weighty Responsibility of Drinking for Two,' Julia Moskin reports that the first widely publicized scientific warnings about fetal alcohol syndrome were published in 1973 and the first Surgeon General's warnings against the dangers of alcohol during pregnancy came out in 1981.

Although the damaging effects of alcohol on fetal development were not well known for much of human history, by the time this film was made and set (the mid-1980s) they were common knowledge in the United States.

One element of this movie that seems unthinkably taboo today (and which was quickly becoming unacceptable even during the filming time-frame) is the fact that the character of Rachel consistently participates in social drinking throughout her pregnancies in fact, upon hearing about Rachel's first pregnancy, Mark's friends Julie and Arthur open a bottle of champagne with the intent of sharing it with Rachel to celebrate the announcement.

Thelma rice nora ephron