Dear All, Don't have any studies to quote but how can we forget the huge maternal and fetal mortality before the advent of c-sections and modern medicine. Just because something is 'natural', doesn't make it necessarily safe. A lot of illnesses are 'natural'. Birth is a natural process that can sometimes cause a lot of damage. It is easy for one to let their personal experience colour their professional judgement. I have myself had 3 NSVDs but I consider my self very lucky. I see women whose perineums have been torn up because the doctor or midwife insisted on a 'natural' birth and it just boils my blood! Surgical scars in a clean area heal much faster than a jagged tear on the perineum that goes through your vagina and your rectum. We as lactation consultants cannot be so dogmatic if we truly want to help women breastfeed. Every woman's situation is different. Nancy, sorry about the OT post. No excuse for it. Hope I don't get banned from the forum for it. Vaishali Kute, MD FAAP Pediatrician in Atlanta *********************************************** 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