Thoughts on perineal massage. (Your Letters).

Publication: Mothering

Publication Date: 01-SEP-01

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2001 Mothering Magazine

A few points in response to the January-February 2001 article "Saying No to Episiotomy" and its accompanying sidebar "How to Prevent Tearing:"

First, I'd like to offer a currently unpopular view regarding perineal massage. For some women, this attempt to stretch the skin is uncomfortable and may actually hurt, resulting in a body that reflexively tenses up and ceases to function in an optimal way. Another factor is that many women feel uncomfortable and inhibited on some level when a person with whom they aren't normally sexually intimate is manipulating this very private, sensitive area. There will again be discomfort, though now emotional; the effect, again, is...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.