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I did it and ended up with 3rd degree tears, HOWEVER my LO's head was coming out more on the side, so I'm thinking that had something to do with it.

We didn't do any ahead of time, but my midwife did a lot of massage with oil during labor. I didn't have any tears.

Did it exactly ONCE with my first pregnancy and didn't tear. That midwife did massage during crowning though. No massage during pregnancy or labor with my second and I still didn't tear. No massage during this last pregnancy or labor either (midwife would have done massage but the olive oil was out of reach and she didn't have a chance to grab it) and I had a teeny, tiny superficial tear. But that could have been due to her 14 in. head and 14.5 in. chest.

I agree with @Navy_Mommy: about mother-led pushing. Not that there's anything wrong with massage, it can't hurt. And if it helps you learn where and what and how to relax, definitely go for it. I remember consciously relaxing my pelvic floor with my last birth and that's the only reason I didn't tear more- I'm not sure I would have had the knowledge and "experience" to do that with my first, or even second, birth.

@Navy_Mommy: Same experience. My midwife had told me I could try it but pretty much said don't bother. They did massage before she crowned, I think, and I didn't realize this isn't normal, but I only pushed when I felt like I *had* to, no one ever coached me to do it when I didn't feel the need.

I had a small tear but felt pretty much fine after only a couple of days. And they had to use the vacuum on the last push (concerns over her heart rate) so I think it's pretty good to only have a small tear even with that. No epidural, not sure if that had anything to do with it.