All vulvas are different?they?re as unique as our individually quirky and beautiful faces, yet the shame we carry about this misrepresented body part runs deep?beyond our own mirrors and bedrooms. We cringe at the thought of OBs, midwives or other healthcare professionals getting a good look of our nether regions, during pelvic exams and labour and yet we’re also mortified by our own pubic hair, so we’ll even endure a painful bikini wax right up until delivery day. Then after the wonder of becoming a mother, when we should be truly celebrating the mind-blowing magic of our bodies, our sensitive self esteem about all things vulvovaginal often hits new lows. We are constantly apologizing for what we?ve got.

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We shouldn?t have to live with 'broken vaginas'And sometimes, like we did in the title of this post, we don’t even call our vulvas by the right name, referring to the external area made up of our labia, clitoris and urethral opening as our vagina?which is actually the canal that runs internally to our cervix. (We did it knowingly in case any readers were unsure of the distinction, but it’s also reflective of the shame women face over the name and appearance of our own body parts).
Kristin Phillips, a pelvic floor phys...