Are My Labia Normal?!

By Dr. Paola Bordoni, OBGYN based in Miami, FL & MOONS Medical Advisor

Listen to Dr. Paola answer the question posed by one of our community members "Are my labia normal?"

OR read the full transcript below. 

 

 

Hi everyone, this is Dr. Paola Bordoni coming to you from OBGYN Associates of Miami and I'm here today to answer some MOONS questions. 

So the question that we received today is actually one of my most favorite questions! And it is: Is my labia normal?

SO this is a question that we're actually receiving quite often nowadays and I believe that one of the reasons for this is that there is such a large presence on social media, so many of our younger individuals are relying on social media and on the internet for their information. 

Some patients will come with an altered sense or perception of what is normal or not based on videos that they've seen on social media or on different websites. 

So the short answer to whether or not your labia are normal: it really depends more on your perception. Yes, we do have certain criteria that we can use textbook-wise as to what may be categorizes as normal or not. But in general it is determined by an individual's perception. 

So there's all different kinds of labia. There are labia where the labia are larger than the labia minora. There are some patients have labia minora that extend beyond the labia majora and this is actually a normal variant also. There are some patients that have plumper labia minora than labia majora, and that is acceptable too. There's all different types of labia. Some people will also have inside the lips of the labia majora, they'll have little tiny bumps. This is considered normal. Some people will have hair distribution that reaches inside partially the inside portion of the labia majora—yes, these are all considered normal variants. 

Whether or not it is abnormal, really depends on a patient's perception. So if a patient comes to us and says I'm perceiving this as an issue—I'm not able to run, I'm not able to enjoy sex, because my labia minora are extending beyond my labia majora. Or I'm having difficulty placing a tampon. Or I notice if I walk large amounts of time I'll have little lacerations that occur in the area. 

Those are times or situations when we might say, you know what maybe this isn't normal. The patient's perception is being affected by what she has and she feels that this is bothersome to her. If it's affecting her quality of life, then that's a situation where we might have to sit down with a patient and say, let's talk. Let's talk about different options. Let's talk about possible surgical procedures or creams or different lifestyle changes that you can make. 

So that gives a quick answer to "Are my labia normal?" Please let us know if you have any other questions! 

 

Photo credit: Netflix's Sex Education