Some interesting facts about the vagina...

[ResistanceIsNecessary]

Inspired by this thread on twitter which had some good vagina info. It's amazing how many people know so little about the female anatomy so here are some more interesting facts!

• The walls are very elastic to allow it to stretch and then shrink back again after vaginal childbirth delivery. It does not require manual dilation to keep it open or maintain its shape, unless as a result of side effects from other medical procedures (such as some female-occurring cancer treatments).

• It is self-cleaning and has a naturally acidic environment until the time around ovulation, when the PH changes to make it more accommodating for sperm, to promote fertilisation. It does not require daily artificial cleaning products or lubricant to keep it healthy.

• The walls of the vagina (the vaginal vault) are made up of two layers of muscle tissue, which allow for expansion and contraction - which can often be felt as 'ridges', which lessen with age or post- vaginal delivery childbirth. The walls contain no glands.

Feel free to add your own facts

I loved giving birth too - genuinely primaeval and empowering

It is a secret that I know women can't share widely. I don't know why.

Some of us enjoy the process of giving birth. There was pain. It was a pain with a purpose.

When my female form reached the stage where the muscle movement was both transverse and downward, I was euphoric.

It is primeaval. It is the female body doing it's thing.

My second birth was probably one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. Hard, intense work, I felt in control apart from the small stage before beginning to push, and then when she was born I had an incredibly powerful surge of euphoria which lasted well into the early hours of the morning. All the other births were bloody awful, but I would love to have another go if I could guarantee a labour and birth like number two.

Such a lovely thread

The act of giving birth was one of the factors which made me want a 3rd child. It was like there was a part of my brain that just couldn't comprehend not doing it again - I genuinely felt like I had to, which was a little awkward given DH only wanted 2...! It got to the point where I was regularly distraught about it & he agreed to TTC.

After labour #3 I have no interest whatsoever in ever doing it again! Nothing overly dramatic but I had a niggling feeling that my others had been fairly smooth & so this one would be difficult & couldn't get the mental image of my friend's description of how they dealt with her DC's shoulder dystocia out of my head. The fear got me & that made it such a different experience to my previous labours where I'd felt completely in control until about 15 minutes before the baby arrived.

I have every intention of being very vocal with close relatives & friends about the female body's abilities & the importance of dealing with fears before labour starts. I'm even considering training as a doula once my DC are older. For the most part, are bodies are pretty incredible & that needs to be recognised & trusted more!

We grow an organ, the placenta during pregnancy, then after it has done it's amazing job and we no longer require it our bodies expel it. It has always fascinated me that we do this. Grow a temporary organ to nurture and protect another human being.

Thank you for saying that about the fear BiologyNotBigotry

The focus on fear in labour is so unjustified. We are built to deliver humans into this world. We can really enjoy it. I did.

Hell, do you think I am going to actually grow an entire new human in my body for nine months and not actually take pleasure in the delivery of my new human, my child, my baby. I will enjoy the process and feel the pain of bringing that person out into the world.

How nuts is that? How can we be made to be afraid of this?

Oh I enjoyed having that human being inside my uterus. At times it is magical. To feel a little heel or elbow poking out. To see the whole baby roll over. But childbirth for me was very very painful. I would have fallen apart were it not for my DH. It has left me with deep anxiety when it comes to being examined.

OTOH, the women who looked after me - fed me, cleaned me, cleaned the room where I gave birth.. they mothered me as I became a mother.

Datun good question! Not sure - so that's something for me to look up later. I need to disappear this morning but will come back to this thread later on.

I also loved growing my babies. They were mine exclusively until they were born. Their kicks, hiccups, stretches were within me. No one could feel them the same way I did.

I also loved pregnancy and birth, particularly. Really treasured memories .

It is a secret that I know women can't share widely. I don't know why.

Perhaps it's because we rarely get the chance to celebrate the things our body can do without somebody else chirping in with ''well, what about women who can't?''.

I loved being pregnant. I wasn't that keen on the giving birth bit but afterwards I felt amazing, so strong and powerful, especially with the birth that I managed pain-med free.

It is a secret that I know women can't share widely. I don't know why.

Perhaps it's because so many women have painful and stressful births? It might make those who have had enjoyable births feel that it would insensitive to share their experiences?

There's so much pressure put on women:

• don't have drugs you should prioritise a "natural" birth/do have drugs and don't be a show-off because nobody likes a hero

• breast is best/it should be a Mum's choice how she feeds her baby, stop judging
• you need to start exercising the moment you're able to get your body back because your health is a priority/who cares, it's more important to bond because you won't get this time back again...

Is it any wonder women feel compelled to sit down and shut up? We're damned if we do and damned if we don't! Had a bad birth? Don't talk about it, it's just one of those things and you have to get on with it. Had a great birth? Don't boast because it makes everyone else feel bad.

All of this says to me that we need more support for women. Maternity care (pre- and post-natal) should be a priority. All women should feel that their birth experience was well managed - whether that's a water birth to whale music or a crash c-section. Information should be clear, freely given and communication with pregnant should be at the heart and centre of that care.

Perhaps if that changed, more women would be able to look at their experience and say "It didn't follow my plans, but it was a good experience because it was well managed, I was kept fully informed at all times and I was well cared for".

It is a secret that I know women can't share widely. I don't know why.

Because for many women pregnancy and birth isn’t some happy, glowy, enjoyable experience.

We hold up the ideal of an unassisted, pain med-free birth. That being able to to that is being a powerful woman.

1 in 5 women “fail” and need a cs. Others don’t manage without pain relief, forceps, episiotomies.

Then you have miscarriage and stillbirth, birth injuries, disabilities.

Then breastfeeding. There are the constant arguments here on how judged bottle feeders feel for “failing” to breastfeed.

If pregnancy and birth always followed peoples plans, it would probably be celebrated more. But what people are describing here is not my experience.

Yes, it feels that both positive and negative experiences are silenced in case they upset the other side.

Birth was tricky for me but I had great midwives and felt well-supported. However, once past the first 6 weeks, I really enjoyed breastfeeding. It was such a positive experience for me and my daughter still talks about it now! I assumed she’d had forgotten it all. I do feel like I can’t talk about it to anyone though in case I upset them if the formula fed or come across as evangelical.

OK Datun I've done some googling and found a fairly clear explanation which tells us in layman's terms that basically a number of eggs die off every month.

So using the earlier information:

• A newborn female will have approx. 2m eggs in her ovaries (her ovarian reserves);
• By the onset of puberty c.11,000 have died off each month prior to the occurrence of puberty, leaving a reserve of approx. 300-400k eggs left.
• Once puberty has occurred approx. 1,000 eggs each month will die off as they are not needed. The remaining ovarian reserve continues until the next cycle of ovulation - at which point one egg is released and another c.1,000 will die off.
• As above menopause occurs when the ovarian reserves are exhausted.

There's a really powerful cycle of birth, renewal and death which feels very primal. I am continually amazed at how clever our bodies are!

This is an amazing thread. This is why women’s voices must never be silenced. We inspire, we comfort, we uplift.

I thought pregnancy was shit and stropped and swore my way through it. But I love hearing from women who found it a magical experience and wax lyrical about it.

I thought childbirth was a means to an end and approached it in a utilitarian fashion. But I also love hearing from women who found it a magical experience and wax lyrical about it.

I liked the getting the kid at the end bit best.

There's a really powerful cycle of birth, renewal and death which feels very primal. I am continually amazed at how clever our bodies are!

There is, it does, and me too.

Thank you for this information. I'm just sat here gazing at it in wonder!

I loved being pregnant, was very happy with my second and third (planned) CSs, cried when the "baby of my dreams" (ie the unborn baby) was replaced by a wonderful, screaming, pooing, smiling, sicking, giggling, stropping, snuggling actual real life person that I could watch absorbing everything around it, I hated breastfeeding, and loved sharing bottle feeding with big sisters. I'm envious of the feelings I didn't get during birth, but I know what I chose was right for me AND my babies.

We don't talk enough about how miraculous what we can do is, and mostly it all just happens, and has done since forever.

(I'm not crying now, there must be some dust in the room or something )

Pregnancy did not agree with me at all, but I found birth and breastfeeding to be (on the whole) a doddle. Though I suffered later for my quick births.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone sail through it all without a hiccup, never feel you have to justify your choices, vision

What a lovely thread. LangCleg I want a print of that clitoris on my bedroom wall!

Personally I cannot think of anything I'd rather not do than have a baby; the thought of being pregnant or giving birth makes me feel ill. However, it is an amazing process and all the things the female body can do are incredible. Everyone's stories are wonderful.

I never knew my maternal grandmother as she died years before I was born to a condition that my mother and I now have, but is thankfully very treatable. The thought that I was in some way being carried by her inside my own mother when she was in the womb has blown my mind and made me slightly tearful (in a good way)

Hail the vagina and the female body!

The thought that I was in some way being carried by her inside my own mother when she was in the womb has blown my mind and made me slightly tearful (in a good way)

It's such a powerful envisioning, isn't it?