Hi, Annie -- Don't know if you'll remember me as the LLL Leader who showed
up at San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition meetings from summer 2002 to
summer 2003 -- we're now near Dallas.  Anyway, I have some basic comments as
someone with a record of 4 births (3 at home) with perineum intact except
for the tiniest, fastest-healing tears.  And no incontinence problems.  I
remember my first birth and how easy it was (though I had no meds) to pay
more attention to what the monitor, doctor, and nurse were telling me than
what my uterus and other pelvic parts were telling me.  Anyway, I've read a
few of the posts so far and Rahima Baldwin Dancy's name hasn't come up
yet -- a prominent proponent of listening to your body in the second stage
of labor.  Reading her book, "Special Delivery" was pretty instrumental in
my letting my body tell me what position to deliver in and letting it do its
own pushing, with no conscious control of my diaphragm.  BTW, I think good
nutrition and a lot of perineal massage in late pregnancy may have
contributed to my comfort with what my pelvic musculature was or wasn't
trying to do.

I've read a few of the posts so far and I'd say just knowing someone had a
c-section or a vaginal birth or medication won't tell you whether their
situation had them "going against the flow" of natural labor.

I'd wonder if the correlation between extended breastfeeding and
incontinence would have anything to do with maternal age and/or parity --
aren't older moms in this culture more likely to breastfeed longer, and
aren't "last babies" more likely to be breastfed longer?

Ruth Piatak
LLL Leader
Plano, TX

             ***********************************************

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(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html