You Had a Large Baby and Now Don’t Feel Like “Yourself” Down There Anymore

First off, congratulations to all the moms out there. Motherhood is a wonderful thing, but it can come with some post-partum challenges. One of the biggest complaints we hear from new moms is that they feel that childbirth affected their vaginal laxity. Pregnancy and the trauma of a vaginal birth, especially for women who have given birth to multiple children, had the use of forceps during the delivery, or those who had a large baby can lead to vaginal laxity issues.

Unfortunately, most women are told to simply give it time for their body to recover or to do Kegels, a type of pelvic floor muscle exercise. While these options may work, some women are just too busy to do Kegels several times per day, every day. Also important to note, Kegels may not even work! According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, while pelvic floor training and Kegel exercises may be recommended to tighten the vaginal muscles, there is no evidence that such isometric exercises result in vaginal tightening."

So what can women do to improve their vaginal laxity issues? Luckily, there are several non-invasive, non-surgical options that utilize laser or radio frequency (RF) energy available that are proven to provide significant improvement in vaginal laxity. Both laser and RF devices work by heating up the tissue to promote neocollagenesis, or new collagen formation. Vaginal laxity is improved when neocollagenesis occurs and new collagen forms to support the structure of the vaginal wall.

The advantage of utilizing these treatments is that there is little to no downtime and they can be completed in under an hour. It's a great lunch-time procedure! Results may be seen in as little as a month with most patients seeing results within 3 months. Most patients will need annual maintenance treatments, but as with any medical treatment, results may vary and we recommend speaking to Dr. Mary C. DuPont, vaginal health specialist in Chevy Chase, MD and Washington DC, about your specific needs and expectations.