Olive oil in vagina? (Vaginal dilatation 'illogical' cause of pelvic floor damage)

OLIVE OIL IN VAGINA?

(AFTER ALL...VAGINAL WALL STRETCHING IS AN "ILLOGICAL" CAUSE OF PELVIC FLOOR
DAMAGE See the postscript.)


PEMBERTON ET AL. SAY:

"Pelvic floor disorders lead to much misery and discomfort...their
prevention...is important in all societies...The views of our readers will
be received with much interest."
--John H. Pemberton, MD et al. (eds.)^^^ The Pelvic Floor. London: WB
Saunders 2002:xiii.

^^^John H. Pemberton, MD, Michael Swash, MD, Michael M. Henry, MB

OPEN LETTER

John H. Pemberton, MD
Professor of Surgery
Mayo Graduate School of Medicine
Mayo Clinic
Gonda 9-S
200 First Street SW
Rochester, MN 55905, USA


John,

One of your authors, John OL Delancey, MD illustrates birth with the pelvic
outlet closed up to 30%. See p. 25.

John asks on p. 26: "How could episiotomy prevent damage?"

He answers:

"[Episiotomy] opens the diameter of the pelvic outlet..."

In future editions, please inform women that MDs are closing birth canals
and that it is easy for them to allow their birth canals to open the "extra"
up to 30%.

For my Open Letter to John...

See More Episiotomy Craziness...
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...t/message/2563

Thanks.

Sincerely,

Todd

Dr. Gastaldo


PS OLIVE OIL IN VAGINIA?

John OL Delancey, MD writes:

"The commonly held idea that vaginal wall stretching [dilatation - TG] is
one of the primary sources of damage is illogical." (p. 25)

If I'm reading John correctly, he suspects instead that failure of
dilatation of the vagina forces the mother to push her baby's head against
her pelvic floor thereby stretching her vagina **and associated tissues** -
LONGITUDINALLY - thereby stretching/damaging nerves necessary for pelvic
floor function. ("This would be expected to increase the length of both the
nerves to the levator ani muscle as well as the pudendal nerve." p. 26)

Maybe olive oil in the introitus would allow for easier dilatation of the
vagina and prevent damaging nerve stretching longitudinally?

I'm pretty sure I remember one of my obstetrics instructors at chiropractic
college - the late Neil Ettinghausen, DC - teaching the use of olive oil at
delivery - to prevent episiotomies.

Maybe he was preventing pelvic floor damage?

I searched various relevant terms on PubMed. I finally found this by
searching "preventing tears oil"...
Galant S, Sterrenberg M, Kay P, Farris-Folkerts D, Sollman R, Lennox S.
PubMed abstract

What new or old techniques have proven useful to you in preventing tears
during childbirth?

Midwifery Today Int Midwife. 2003 Spring;(65):8. No abstract available.



FINAL NOTE TO PEMBERTON ET AL...

Regardless whether olive oil might prevent episiotomies or pelvic floor
damage, hopefully - as promised in your preface - you will receive with
"much interest" my info above about your text illustrating birth with the
pelvic outlet closed up to 30%.

Hopefully you will help stop OBs and CNMwives from closing birth canals. To
a baby suffering severe shoulder dystocia, the birth canal is indeed
closed...

See Shoulder Dystocia: OBs *keep* birth canal closed up to 30%!
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...t/message/2561

Thanks for reading,

Sincerely,

Todd

Dr. Gastaldo