Q&A: What Can I Do About Embarrassing Lady-Part Noises?
Gurmukh offers advice for this common post-baby problem.
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Q: This is a rather delicate question. Ever since the birth of my son, five years ago, I have had an embarrassing occurrence during class. When doing Upward Dog and other forward bending poses, air draws up into my vagina; when I come out of the pose it releases loudly. I want so much to be able to go to classes againis there something I can do to alleviate this problem? —Lena
Read Gurmukh’s reply:
Dear Lena,
I talked with Davi Khalsa, a registered nurse midwife at Golden Bridge, about this issue. Before answering, I want you to know it is quite common, so please dont feel embarrassed about it. Im sure other women are glad you asked the question.
According to Davi, it is not healthy for air to be drawn into the vagina, so for now you may consider wearing a sanitary napkin to your yoga class and throughout the day. This will prevent the intake of air, ending those embarrassing sounds. Next, begin Kegel exercises. This will heal the situation.
Of course, if you just say, Ill do my Kegel exercises,” then youll quickly forget about them. So every time you need to urinate, interrupt the flow eight times by pulling up on the Kegel muscles. This will help you isolate the muscles you need to strengthen, differentiating them from the muscles of the rectum and abdomen, and very soon you’ll find that you wont have a problem with air in your vagina anymore.