  The effective field theory of NN interactions in nuclear matter is
considered. Due to the Pauli principle the effective NN amplitude is not
affected by the shallow bound states. We show that the next-to-leading order
terms in the chiral expansion of the effective NN potential can be interpreted
as corrections so the expansion is systematic. The value of potential energy
per particle is calculated and some issues concerning the chiral effective
theory of nuclear matter are outlined.
