Induced Labor by means of Relaxation, Breathing, Orgasm ...

The Lamaze Technique is a natural childbirth technique developed in the 1940s by French obstetrician Dr. Ferdinand Lamaze as an alternative to the use of general anesthesia during labor. Dr. Lamaze was influenced by Soviet childbirth practices, which involved breathing and relaxation techniques under the supervision of a "monitrice" or midwife. The Lamaze method gained popularity in the United States after Marjorie Karmel wrote about her experiences in her 1959 book Thank You, Dr. Lamaze.

Modern Lamaze childbirth classes teach expectant mothers breathing techniques and often other ways to work with the labor process to reduce the pain often associated with childbirth, such as hot and cold packs, changing positions, the use of a "birthing ball" to remain in a supposedly more natural upright position, and even orgasm to induce or hasten labor. When you see laboring women on TV or in movies huffing and puffing through clenched teeth, they're practicing the Lamaze technique of childbirth.

Myths about Lamaze

Myth #1: Lamaze is all about breathing.

Reality: The goal of Lamaze classes is to increase women's confidence in their ability to give birth. Lamaze classes help women discover the inner wisdom they already have for giving birth. Women learn simple coping strategies for labor, including focused breathing. But breathing techniques are just one of many things that help women in labor. Movement and positioning, labor support, massage, relaxation, hydrotherapy, and the use of heat and cold are some others.

Myth #2: Lamaze promises painless childbirth.

Reality: Many women are afraid of the pain that is a normal part of childbirth. The pain of labor and birth, like other pain, protects us. Responding to the pain of contractions - by changing positions and moving, by massaging, by moaning - actually strengthens the contractions, helps the baby settle into the pelvis and move through the birth canal, and reduces pain perception. Some women find that experiencing and coping with the pain of labor and birth is similar to the hard work demanded by dancers and athletes. Lamaze classes help women understand the value of pain and learn how to respond to pain in ways that both facilitate labor and increase comfort.

Myth #3: Lamaze childbirth means you can't have an epidural.

Reality: Lamaze classes provide information about natural pain relief options as well as epidural anesthesia. Eliminating pain completely makes it difficult to respond to contractions in ways that facilitate labor and birth. Women who have epidural anesthesia are required to have IV fluids and continuous electronic fetal monitoring. They may be encouraged to stay in bed and may need medications to increase the strength of her contractions. The ability to use many of the comfort techniques learned in Lamaze classes, such as changing positions, walking, and hydrotherapy may be limited. Lamaze education will assist women in making personal decisions that are right for them.

Myth #4: Lamaze doesn't work.

Reality: Lamaze that "works" has nothing to do with feeling pain, taking or avoiding medication, or developing complications that necessitate medical interventions. Lamaze teaches women that nature has designed birth simply and close to perfectly and that women already know how to give birth. Lamaze is working if women trust the natural process of birth, have confidence in their ability to give birth, have the freedom to work with their bodies as labor progresses, and are supported by health care providers, family and friends who wait patiently for nature to do its incredible work. Lamaze "works" if birth is allowed to work.

Myth #5: Lamaze is not for everyone.

Reality: Women have always prepared for the birth of their babies. Until recent times, women learned about birth from their own mothers and sisters. Birth took place at home with family rituals and traditions to help them feel confident in their ability to give birth. Women were surrounded by family and wise women who provided comfort and encouragement through labor and in the days and weeks after birth. Today, Lamaze childbirth classes provide the knowledge, skills, and support that help women give birth with confidence and joy as they have done for centuries. Lamaze preparation is for everyone!

Lamaze Philosophy of Birth

1) Birth is normal, natural, and healthy.

2) The experience of birth profoundly affects women and their families.

3) Women's inner wisdom guides them through birth.

4) Women's confidence and ability to give birth is either enhanced or diminished by the care provider and place of birth.

5) Women have the right to give birth free from routine medical interventions.

6) Birth can safely take place in birth centers and homes.

7) Childbirth education empowers women to make informed choices in health care, to assume responsibility for their health and to trust their inner wisdom.

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Pregnancy Where Orgasm Is Not Safe.

Orgasms cause the uterus to contract, sometimes with great intensity, lasting for one-half to one hour after intercourse. Contractions are more frequent as the due date approaches, but may be present in the early second trimester. In general, these contractions do not result in a change in the cervical dilatation or effacement.

If contractions persist for more than an hour after intercourse, or if there is an increase in pelvic pressure or heavy vaginal bleeding, you should contact your caregiver immediately.

For most women, intercourse results in no problems. However, in certain high risk pregnancies (premature labor, incompetent cervix, multiple gestations, placenta previa), "pelvic rest" is advocated to decrease the possibility of premature labor or bleeding. There currently is great debate over the relationship of intercourse to premature labor.

Chemicals present in seminal fluid, called prostaglandins, also cause increased uterine activity. For some women near term, unprotected intercourse can result in more contractions that may cause cervical dilatation or effacement. However, it is impossible to predict who would benefit from having intercourse to stimulate the onset of labor.

Quite often, the mother's pregnant abdomen can cause intercourse to be awkward, and some couples worry that intercourse may, in some way, harm the fetus. In an uncomplicated pregnancy, intercourse is completely safe for both mother and child.

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Impotence Drug, Viagra, Increases Feelings Of Love

Impotence drugs such as Viagra may do more than help men physically have sex - they may also boost levels of a hormone linked with feelings of love, US researchers said today.

Viagra, known generically as sildenafil, raised levels of the hormone oxytocin in rats, the team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said in a report published in the Journal of Physiology.

This hormone is involved in nursing and childbirth but also in orgasm and feelings of sexual pleasure.

And it seems Viagra and related drugs act on the part of the brain that controls release of oxytocin, said Wisconsin physiology professor Meyer Jackson.

"This is one piece in a puzzle in which many pieces are still not available," Prof Jackson said.

"But it raises the possibility that erectile dysfunction drugs could be doing more than just affecting erectile dysfunction."

Viagra, made by Pfizer, is an inhibitor of an enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 5.

Related drugs such as Eli Lilly's Cialis, known generically as tadalafil, and Levitra or vardenafil, sold by GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer and Schering-Plough, are also PDE-5 inhibitors.

They block this enzyme, which in turn breaks down other compounds. This increases blood flow in the muscles but it also affects a brain structure known as the posterior pituitary.

This, in turn, boosts oxytocin, at least in the rats. It probably does the same thing in people, Prof Jackson said.

"It does the same thing it does in smooth muscle - instead of (levels) coming down in a minute or two, they stay up a little longer," Prof Jackson said.

Oxytocin was known for years to be involved in labour and it is the hormone that causes the "let-down" of milk in breastfeeding babies. Only in recent decades has it been found to have a function in men - in sexual arousal and function.

This could suggest other uses for Viagra and related drugs, Prof Jackson said - perhaps promoting social bonding.

"What I hope is that people read our paper who can test these ideas in animals and humans," Prof Jackson said.

"I hope that this doesn't cause some wild orgy of inappropriate recreational use."

Some groups have complained that people use the impotence drugs for fun, instead of using them as prescribed for sexual dysfunction caused by low blood flow to the genitals.

The drugs can cause fatal side-effects if used with certain other drugs, and some studies also suggest they may affect the eyes in some patients, so doctors stress they are not for casual use.

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Female orgasms are potentially a deadly shocker for men

Dr. Kunio Kitamura
Head of the Japan Family Planning Association

"If I'm ever reincarnated, I want to be a woman next time around," my 56-year-old (male) friend from my high school days blurted out to me one day after we'd met up for the first time in a while.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because when the sex is good, it's so much better than it is for guys," he said, then added: "Tell me why."

I was a bit perplexed. "I've never been a woman, so how would I know. Some women have faked orgasm, so it's a bit intrusive for a guy to stand there and talk about what a woman's orgasms should be like."

He shot back. "I'm not asking you to speak from personal experience. Tell me from the point of view of somebody who's been studying Japanese sexuality for 30 years."

I couldn't drag the fight on any longer and looked at the issue from the point of view of a columnist. I'm sure you've heard of the phrase "sex is all in the mind." It's true, because sex is not just something that happens between the legs, but instead involves all the senses -- sight, sound, smell, touch and taste -- stimulating the brain (and specifically, the frontal lobe). Just as heroes are said to love sex, the more developed a person's frontal lobe is, the more active their sex life is going to be.

When it comes to the difference between male and female sexuality, it's impossible to rule out some sort of connection between the sex nerves in the hypothalamus, where sexual dimorphism (or distinction between the sexes) makes men twice as large as women. It is perhaps this difference in the brains that sees men seek direct stimulation while women need more touching. Even though men can reach climax with incredible speed, they also cool down rapidly, occasionally making it very irritating for them to be touched after ejaculation. This is a major difference from women, who take a long time to get back to normal following orgasm.

So, how do I answer my old classmate's question about why good sex for women feels so much better than good sex does for men? There's a hint hidden in the brainwaves. And I'll turn to another friend, in this case Ryuichi Kaneko, who joined me as one of the co-authors of "Sex no Subete ga Wakaru Hon (Everything You Need to Know About Sex)."

When an orgasm has been achieved through sex, you can measure theta waves. These are also said to cause the "running high" feeling of euphoria experienced sometimes by marathon runners. If theta waves are taken as a criterion, the entire brain emits theta waves when women reach an orgasm that are close on 10 times stronger than when men climax. So, if theta waves are an indication of an orgasm's strength, then women experience an orgasm that is physically impossible for men to go through. Putting it a little crudely, if the intensity of a woman's orgasm was played through a man's brain, there's a danger that the shock to his system would kill him. That risk makes it impossible to experiment on a man at the moment. And men can never become women. But my co-author, Kaneko, used the experience of people who have undergone a sex change (either a woman born with a man's brain or vice versa) to explain the pleasure women feel.

There is a very strong correlation between nerve transmitters called dopamine and pleasure. Arousal causes the pulse to rise, turns the face red and makes the eyes misty because of the effects of dopamine. There also appears to be a link between this and a woman's tendency to become prettier when she falls in love. If it becomes possible to measure dopamine, it may also become possible to measure a woman's pleasure.

Whatever way the body may be working, what we do know for sure is that precisely because it is impossible to measure how a partner is feeling it is all the more important to communicate and work out ways that you can both feel good. (By Dr. Kunio Kitamura, special to the Mainichi)

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