Let’s Talk About Vaginas

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I was invited to an intimate ladies lunch. It sounded nice and lovely. In the city for a lunch all by myself, well with a baby so that was not that bad. However I was at the lunch to talk and to learn about the vagina. Or as some people might refer to as the front bottom, the vajayjay or their bits. I’m sure there is more slang to refer to this amazing body part.

The event was hosted by the charming and delightful Dr Ginni Mansberg and the great team from Vagisil, and also the darling Claire from Birds of Prey in Melbourne. The lunch was to learn about a topic that not many people discuss and to bring real world examples by having a frank discussion with other ladies over brilliantly yummy catered lunch.

I of course thought the lunch sounded fab, but I was rather hesitant in talking about the vagina. Why I thought? I am grown woman. I have now had three kids and of course as anyone can attest that during childbirth everyone seems to want to take a look at your vagina, and it is not something that you wince at like you once did before kids. I still don’t like all the doctors interest but you can understand it as the baby has to get out, and of course it is lovely vagina that gives it a helping hand – See an amazing body part!

My bubbles and lovely flowers at the lunch thanks to Vagisil.

My bubbles and lovely flowers at the lunch thanks to Vagisil.

I wondered how intimate this lunch would get? Would there be mirrors passed around so that I and others can look at our own vaginas? Would there be puppets of vaginas so that we can learn about where it all lives and how to care for this brilliant part of the body. I know that sounds very strange but I had no idea what the lunch would be and knew the topic was vaginas so it did get my brain racing.

Look how pretty the table was for our amazing lunch and great company. Thanks to Vagisil for the great event.

Look how pretty the table was for our amazing lunch and great company. Thanks to Vagisil for the great event.

As I mentioned I was hesitant to attend, I thought for a long time. Why am I so worried? The vagina is not a bad thing. It is a marvel.  Men and boys seem to be super proud of their penis so why shouldn’t girls and women be proud of their vaginas (Maybe there should be a proud vagina movement. If there is one already I had no idea). The more women talk to other women about what is normal and happening to them, the more they will understand it is okay.

In the end the lunch was nice. I met some lovely ladies, had amazing food in a fabulous location (It was at The Grounds in Alexandria, Sydney. If you have never been you will love the place. It was HUGE, a hidden little Mediterranean like farm in the middle of the city. They had farm animals for kids to look at and such an amazing amount of greenery.) All my concern over the topic of the lunch was not to be. It ended up with interesting conversation from Dr Ginni and then others joined in so we all learnt more. Very enjoyable!

Did you know?

“An astonishing 1.8 million Australian women suffer with vaginal dryness. That’s close to 1 in 4 of us.”

 

 

Take the quiz to learn more.  

I too had to answer these questions while at my lovely lunch. I also learnt that I knew more about the vagina than I thought. Amaze yourself and see how much you already know.

 

How well do you know the vagina?

Take this quick quiz to learn more about the vagina. Questions are the same ones that I had on my ladies lunch with the lovely Dr Ginni Mansberg and the fabulous team from Vagisil.

The vagina should be acidic?

Yes

No

It’s normal to have a discharge from the vagina?

Yes

No

A smelly vaginal discharge means a STI

Yes

No

Nasty bugs thrive in a moist vagina

Yes

No

Douching is the best way to combat a stinky vagina

Yes

No

The best treatment for a dry vagina is washing with soap

Yes

No

You shouldn’t use hand or body lotion to moisturise the vagina

True

False

Only older women suffer with vaginal dryness

Yes

No

Vaginal dryness can be caused by performance anxiety, stress, menopause, hormonal imbalances, exercise, using perfumed soaps and body wash, wearing certain underwear can cause vaginal dryness.

Yes

No

Have you ever had a dry vagina?

Yes or No – This is a personal question that depends on you.

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For those who said yes, what do you think was the cause? (performance anxiety, stress, menopause, hormonal imbalances including breastfeeding, exercise, using perfumed soaps and body wash, wearing certain underwear)

It could be anyone one or a combination of all of the above.

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Have you ever had bad vaginal discharge?

Yes or No – This is your own personal answer again.

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Australians are having as much sex as they would like.

Yes

No

Half of vaginal dryness sufferers don’t use any products to relieve their dryness

True

False

“A study found that of the 1.8 million women who suffer from dryness…

  • 31% experience it more than once a week

  • 17% experience it every 2 or 3 weeks

  • 51% don’t use any product to treat it”

If you are one of these women that do get vaginal dryness then Vagisil has a solution for you. They have created a new product called Vagisil ProHydrate Plus Internal Hydrating Gel, this new product mimics a woman’s natural moisture and offers relief for up to three days.  As you will see from the quiz, vaginal dryness does not have anything to do with age. It affects all ages. It could be as simple as stress, medicines that you are taking that throw off your internal pH levels, soaps, body washes, tight clothing, hormonal imbalances and menopause.

Vagisil have created some fabulous health videos which is a brilliant free resource. They feature Dr Adelaide Nardone who answers your questions about why pH matters, causes and also gives you helpful remedies.

This lunch really made me realise that I too was afraid of talking about the vagina. How do girls and women learn what is supposed to be normal if we never discuss it with our daughters, mums and friends. You can see from the statistics that there is a lot of women out there that are not talking about this issue.

A close up of the pretty flowers at the lunch.

A close up of the pretty flowers at the lunch.

Dr Ginni Mansberg, Kimba from Kimba Likes and of course me at the lunch.

Dr Ginni Mansberg, Kimba from Kimba Likes and of course me at the lunch.

Be kind to you.

 

Make sure you talk to your friends, your doctor about any changes that you notice.

 

Don’t suffer in silence.

 

Don’t be in pain.

 

Live life well and if you need help get it. 

 

Shelly Horton and Dr Ginni talk about all the things you are worried about. 
“Additionally, research shows that vaginal dryness is most likely to affect women during sexual activity. Among the women studied …

  • 76% experienced dryness during sexual activity
  • 69% found dryness most bothersome during intimacy”
The yummy desserts at the lunch. I had to have all 3.... Yes naughty I know.

The yummy desserts at the lunch. I had to have all 3…. Yes naughty I know.

Do you discuss things with mates? Or family? If not are you more comfortable talking with your local doctor?

Have you noticed that there is a generational change with this topic? Maybe your older relatives will avoid any topic that has vagina in it and the younger ones are not bothered?

Let us know what has happened to you.

Thanks so much to Claire and Vagisil for the invite to this great event. I had a great time and learnt a lot. I hope you have as well.

 

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