Will having a baby "stretch" your vagina?

"Giving birth will stretch and loosen the vagina, affecting future sexual life" is the concern some expectant mothers have about natural childbirth. Some new mothers start to look for and try "vaginal tightening" products as soon as they leave the confinement period, and some even choose cesarean section directly during delivery. In fact, such concerns are a complete misunderstanding of female genitals.

The vaginal tissue is composed of vaginal mucosal folds, vaginal smooth muscle layer and vaginal connective tissue.

The vagina includes vaginal tissue and vaginal lumen, wherein the vaginal tissue is composed of vaginal mucosal folds, vaginal smooth muscle layer and vaginal connective tissue. The contraction of vaginal smooth muscle is different from the contraction of skeletal muscle and is not controlled by human will. Under natural circumstances without sexual stimulation or excitement, the vagina is like a deflated flat balloon. The walls around the vagina may be huddled together, and the lumen is not obvious. There is no obvious "hole" as the general public imagines.

The vaginal smooth muscle has a strong ability to relax and contract. When stimulated, such as sexual excitement, sexual intercourse, childbirth, etc., the vagina will be like a balloon, whether it is a finger, a fist, a penis or a child passing through.

The vagina will expand as the size increases.

When the stimulation disappears, the vagina will shrink and return to its natural state. The time required for recovery varies according to individual constitution and age. For young women who give birth naturally, especially those of childbearing age who only give birth to one child, the vagina will generally return to its original state after three weeks to three months. Unless it is a multiple birth or the fetus is too large and accompanied by birth injuries, it may take longer to recover or may not be possible to recover to the original state. For some older women (such as those over 40 years old), the decrease in estrogen levels in the body may have caused the vaginal walls to begin to thin, the vaginal muscles to weaken, and the ability to contract to decrease, so that the vagina is no longer able to return to its previous state.

The vaginal loosening felt by young women or their partners after childbirth is not due to widening of the vaginal canal, so there is no need for any so-called "vaginal tightening" products to "restore a girl's tight vagina." The real reason is that the delivery process may tear and strain the vaginal sphincter, the surrounding bulbospongiosus muscles, part of the levator ani muscles, especially the pubococcygeus muscle (PC), etc., thereby affecting the vagina's ability to contract. For this problem, persistent PC muscle exercises can greatly improve the vaginal contraction and recovery ability. If pregnant women start PC muscle training before the birth of the child, they can avoid the problem of weak vaginal contractions to the greatest extent.