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