In a message dated 11/28/2004 9:59:46 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

Surgical  scars in a clean area heal much faster than a
jagged tear on the perineum  that goes through your vagina and your rectum.



Dear Friends:
    Locklin and Janssen, in their fabulous 1999 article  in JOGNN, identified
operative delivery as a risk factor for breastfeeding as  the mother may have
pain while learning to breastfeed. Pain starts the wrong  hormones flowing
(the catecholamines) which dampens the milk flowing  hormones.
    As for healing, a natural tear heals more quickly  than a cut; a cut has
been identified as a cause for greater tearing. While it  is possible to have
a 3rd or 4th degree tear spontaneously, the chances are much  greater to have
a terrible tear like this if the perineum has been cut. It's the  same process
as nicking the edge of some material to make tearing easier.
    Women have been told for generations that 'a cut  heals easier' but that
is another myth to justify unnecessary surgery.The  perineum is similar mucous
membrane to our mouths, and is made for  traffic.
    warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct  Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human  Lactation
Support the WHO Code and the Mother-Friendly Childbirth  Initiative

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