<I think that if we met a new bride who said "I find the idea of sex distasteful" we wouldn't suggest to her that she find "alternate methods" for her husband and plan to conceive through artificial insemination. We would help her find the psychological roots of her problem (not personally, but perhaps through therapy) because we feel that having a sexual relationship with her husband would enhance both of their lives.> Great analogy, Teresa. I have been relating to this thread as it unfolds. While I didn't have this attitude toward sex, (at least by 16 when I was hoping for romance and my first kiss!) I was, as someone said, brought up in the days when bottles were propped and holding, etc. was discouraged for fear of spoiling the child, so skin contact wasn't abundant in my developing years. I think this may have been one reason why I found "hands-on" nursing care so rewarding when I entered training, for as we know from Ashley Montague, touch changes brain chemistry. My breastfeeding experiences with my first three children ended at 5 days when I couldn't hack the nipple pain and damage, despite my intellectual certainty that it was the best route for the babies. With my 4th child and a lot of help from a personal friend who was a LLL counselor, I finally got over the hump and off to a very rewarding experience. But it felt "odd" at times during those first days and weeks to overcome this feeling and build new feelings that removed it all from the intellectual realm. I too, credit the hormonal rewards. I then began to feel I had been gypped out of something with my other children, because the whole process changed me profoundly as a person. It changed my relationships with my children and my husband, and my ability to relate to other people in general. Jean ********* K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC Dayton, OH USA *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html