Someone writes: >"Remember that milk let-down oxytocin is demonstrated to make the >uterus >contract, probably an evolutionary mechanism for decreasing >blood loss >after childbirth. Orgasm-released oxytocin has no >demonstrated function >but is thought by some to induce REVERSE >contractions in the uterus to >move the sperm upstream to the egg. >(Other researchers dispute this hypothesis.)" I'm not sure what is meant by "reverse contractions." I've never breastfed while pregnant (my kids are too far apart in age), but I've certainly had orgasms while pregnant. :o Orgasms while pregnant, in me (N=1) caused massive, amazing, contractions of the uterus. We used to joke that (1) we were giving the baby a hug, and therefore letting the baby 'share the love' and (2) that I had a bowling ball under my shirt. Rock hard uterus. Not a chance that anyone would ever confuse it with a Braxton-Hicks contraction. And it also didn't lead to premature labor. I was successful in inducing labor using orgasms with my youngest when he was two days past his due date. More than anyone wanted to know . . . My understanding was that the main function of oxytocin release from orgasms was the same as its main function in response to the baby nursing, which is to say -- it leads to the woman feeling waves of love, affection, and caring towards whoever is around. That it also causes the uterus to contract, and that this helps the uterus clamp down and reduces blood loss after childbirth is a secondary function of oxytocin release in respone to breastfeeding. Recent research out of UCLA shows that women under stress release oxytocin, and it leads them to form bonds of caring and friendship with those around them, in stark contrast to stress leading to a "fight or flight" response in men. Alan Dixson's exhaustive work "Primate Sexuality" says "In the human female, a negative pressure gradient develops between the vagina and uterus as a result of orgasm (Fox et al. 1970). Various workers have suggested that this might result in semen being transported rapidly into the cervical canal or the uterine cavity. Yes Masters and Johnson (1966) were unable to demonstrate such transfer of radio-opaque material across the cervix after (manually induced?) orgasms. To the best of my knowledge, such rapid transfer has never been demonstrated in the human female." Elsewhere, he discusses the fact that orgasms occur in a variety of nonhuman female primates, as well as humans. Kathy Dettwyler _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com *********************************************** 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