Five Serious Facts You Need to Know about Your Vagina
- There are over 1,200 terms for the vagina
Although some of these words are pretty fun, they also hide a worrying problem: people feel shy talking about vaginas – especially their own! A culture of using harmless euphemisms for gynecological issues can put women at risk of unreported illnesses, stigma and infertility.
- It needs bacteria to thrive
Just like your skin, your vagina needs to maintain the right pH level to stay healthy and avoid infection from bad bacteria. Good bacteria are key to this – especially one called lactobacillus. It secretes hydrogen peroxide which helps keep your good bacteria on top of things.
- Discharge is your vagina’s way of talking to you!
Colour, smell, amount, consistency – all of these things will change depending on the health of your vagina and where you are through your menstrual cycle. Discharge gets rid of dead cells and bacteria. If you’re trying to conceive, look out for egg white-esque secretions: these are common when your oestrogen is high, signaling high fertility.
- You won’t stretch forever after giving birth
A common myth is that your vagina gets bigger after giving birth. Although things will feel different, there should be no difference in size pre- and post-birth.
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- But you can expand… a lot!
When aroused, your vagina can almost double in size. This is called ‘vaginal tenting’. When unaroused vaginas are usually 3-4 inches long, but this increases as your muscles draw your uterus (womb) deeper into your body, giving your vagina more room.
There’s just so much to learn! You can help care for your vagina with FreZyDerm’s intimate care range.
