Free Read My Lips by Debby Herbenick, Vanessa Schick

hygiene products unless specifically recommended by a healthcare provider.
    What to Wear Down There
    As the vulva can be quite sensitive, healthcare providers sometimes suggest that the most vagina/vulva-friendly underwear is cotton underwear, as it allows the genitals to “breathe.” It also helps to keep the genital area dry rather than trapping moisture.
    Some women also find it helpful or comfortable to sleep or go through their day without wearing underwear. This may be particularly helpful if they are prone to genital discomfort or pain. In addition, thong underwear has been identified as a common irritant of the vulva, so you may find it more comfortable to choose other styles of underwear.
    Laundry
    Although most women find that they can use any laundry detergent they want and not experience genital irritation, not all women are so lucky. If you’re prone to vaginal or vulvar irritation, itching, or pain, you may want to use a detergent that is free of fragrances and dyes. Some women even run their laundry—or at least their underwear— through an additional rinse cycle to further dilute any detergent that may be lingering in their undies.
    EXERCISE
    Exercise and Clothing
    Not only is regular physical exercise good for the heart, lungs, weight management, and overall wellness, it can also feel invigorating for many women. Plus, exercise helps many women to manage menstrual or premenstrual symptoms such as cramps and irritability.
    If you exercise (and we hope you do, whether it’s walking, running, swimming, dancing, or taking your dog out for long walks), try to change out of your exercise clothes or underwear soon after you’re done exercising. This can help to keep your genitals dry rather than having them trapped with all that moisture from sweating, which can irritate the genitals. Putting on clean, dry clothes is a welcome relief for vulvas and vaginas worldwide.
    Heave, Ho
    When you lift objects, try to adopt a healthy lifting posture (you know, the whole “bend at the knees” thing). It’s not just good for your back, but it might be vagina-friendly, too. Why? Because the pelvic-floor muscles support the bottoms of our bodies including our vaginas, rectums, and reproductive organs. Lifting heavy things, especially improperly, can put strain on the pelvic-floor muscles and weaken them over time. Body weight, including weight gained during pregnancy or even when one is not pregnant, can also put strain on the pelvic-floor muscles. Of course, it’s important to be open to gaining a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy but that amount varies from woman to woman. If you are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant, ask your OB/GYN for advice about attaining a healthy pregnancy, including a healthy pregnancy weight. And if you are not pregnant but have questions about your health, weight, or body composition, your healthcare provider can be a good source of information as can a registered dietician. (Note: an RD is different from a “nutritionist,” which anyone can call himself or herself, even with no advanced training.)
    Kegels
    Kegel (say “kay-gull”) exercises are named for the gynecologist Dr. Arnold Kegel who first described these exercises as a way to help women maintain bladder control. Just as certain exercises can help to strengthen leg muscles or arm muscles, Kegel exercises can help to improve the tone of the pelvic-floor muscles. This can be important in terms of helping to reduce the risk of incontinence that otherwise increases with age and childbearing. Some women feel that pelvic-floor exercises also help them to experience more intense orgasms, though this is not well understood in research.
    To identify your pelvic-floor muscles, try stopping the flow of urine as you pee. Those are the muscles that—when you’re not peeing— you will want to squeeze as part of your Kegel exercises. Another way to identify these muscles is by inserting a finger into the vagina and