April 30, 2025 • 37 mins
Looking for answers about lubricants, vaginal health, and what’s safe to use when pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to conceive? This episode has you covered.
I chat with Dr Raelia Lew about everything from types of lubricants to their role in supporting comfort, intimacy, and pelvic health.
In This Episode We Cover:
- The difference between water, silicone, and oil-based lubricants
- When and why you might want to use a lubricant
- Safe lubricants for pregnancy and breastfeeding
- The best lubes when you're trying to conceive (TTC)
- Lubricants for vaginal dryness and vaginismus
- How the right lubricant supports vaginal health and pleasure
- The science behind Ellechemy – a luxury, evidence-based intimate wellness brand
About Dr Raelia Lew:
Dr Raelia Lew is a Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, Fertility Specialist, and Director of Women’s Health Melbourne. She holds a PhD in Reproductive Genetics and is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne. She co-founded Ellechemy to elevate female pleasure through medically-formulated, customisable intimate products.
Common Questions Answered in This Episode:
- What’s the best lube for pregnancy?
- Can lubricant affect fertility when TTC?
- What lubricants help with vaginal dryness?
- Are oil-based lubes OK for sensitive skin?
- How do I choose a safe, effective lubricant?
LINKS:
Prenatal workouts: https://www.fitnestmama.com/program/pregnancy-exercise-program-online/
Postnatal workouts: https://www.fitnestmama.com/program/postpartum-exercise-program-online/
LINKS:
Preparing for birth Pelvic health checklist
Free 7 Day Trial Pregnancy Workouts
Free 7 Day Trial Postnatal Workouts
Instagram @kathbaquie.physio
1:1 Consultation with Physio Kath
** This podcast has general information only. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health or medical condition.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
If you are pregnant or you've recently had a baby,
this podcast is for you.
I am your host, Kath Bequey, aphysiotherapist working in
women's health and mum of three.
Inside my online program,Fitness Mama, I just love
helping support women to carefor their bodies during
pregnancy, prepare their bodiesfor birth and support their
(00:23):
after birth recovery, helpingthem feel confident and strong
inside out during this importantstage of their lives.
In this podcast, join me eachweek as we dive into all things
pregnancy care, child Hello andwelcome back to the Pregnancy,
(01:03):
Birth and Recovery podcast.
So today's episode is fabulous.
Initially, I thought it was justfor pregnancy and postpartum,
but really this is for all womenwho are sexually active.
Because I'm chatting with theamazing Dr.
Raylia Liu all about differentlubricants for pregnancy,
(01:24):
postpartum, but really for allof womanhood.
So Raylia is a board-certifiedreproductive endocrinologist.
She's a fertility specialist,obstetrician, gynecologist,
director of Women's HealthMelbourne, and co-founder of
Alchemy Intimate Wellness.
(01:44):
So Raylia...
understands and knows all thingslubricants.
So in today's episode, we arediscussing different types of
lubricants available.
We're discussing why and when toconsider using a lubricant.
And hint, it's not just ifyou've got issues.
(02:05):
It's potentially beneficial forevery woman who is sexually
active.
We're discussing particular, Iguess, prescription lubricants.
that are available, which mightbe able to help with conditions
such as pelvic pain, vaginismus,postpartum when there's estrogen
(02:29):
depletion.
We're discussing lubricants,which might be helpful for
menopause, for vaginal health,and when to use vaginal
moisturizers versus lubricants.
different types of lubricantsbecause it can be a bit of a
labyrinth in terms of it cansometimes be really hard to know
(02:49):
what to use and when.
And in this episode today withRaylia, she's really great at
just explaining it.
So it's really simple tounderstand.
So I found this episodefascinating and I trust that you
will too.
UNKNOWN (03:08):
Music
SPEAKER_00 (03:15):
Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast
today.
I'm really excited to chat toyou about this important area
that I think probably isn'ttraditionally discussed as much
as it could be or should be.
So thank you for joining me.
It's a
SPEAKER_01 (03:31):
great pleasure.
Thanks
SPEAKER_00 (03:33):
for
SPEAKER_01 (03:33):
having me.
SPEAKER_00 (03:35):
As I mentioned in the intro today, we're
discussing different vaginalhealth and also There's a big
array of different lubricants onthe market.
We've got lubricants for pelvicpain.
We've got lubricants forpregnancy, for postpartum, with
menopause.
So I'd love to really, it'sgreat to chat because let's just
(03:56):
start at the basics.
When do you think women shouldbe considering using lubricant?
SPEAKER_01 (04:07):
Look, women should consider using lubricant from
the time they become sexuallyactive because it can improve
their sexual experience andpleasure.
But a lot of people think oflubricant instead of as a tool
in their toolkit, as amedication or even as a I guess,
(04:28):
negative because it'scontextualized with some kind of
deficiency that women think theyshould lubricate naturally and
that, um, that they shouldn'tneed it.
And I would encourage women toconsider lubricant as a tool to
improve their sexual pleasureand their experience above and
beyond what nature can provide,rather than seeing it as
(04:51):
something to treat a disease ora deficiency.
SPEAKER_00 (04:55):
Yeah, right.
So you're suggesting there's apotential benefit for being
proactive and trialing it, evenif you're not experiencing the
typical symptoms that Actually,that's my next question.
So you're discussing beingproactive rather than reactive
in nature.
SPEAKER_01 (05:14):
Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_00 (05:17):
Yeah.
Okay, well, that leads me to thenext question then.
What are the symptoms thatsomeone might experience?
So apart from just using itproactively like we just talked
about to enhance and improve thesensations, what are some
definite, I guess, red flagsthat we should be considering
(05:40):
using it.
SPEAKER_01 (05:40):
Well, look, as you know, I developed a lubricant
range called Alchemy and ourrange of lubricants are designed
to be intimate moisturizers aswell.
And a lot of people do needskincare solutions for the
vulva, particularly if they'vehad laser hair removal, because
(06:01):
that's very, very common.
And, you know, with that changeof fashion, the labial skin
doesn't have natural protectantsthat it would have if it was
hair bearing.
So we see a lot more friction,irritation.
We also see a change in the skinintegrity and fragility.
And that's because The skin hasno natural protection and also
(06:27):
the laser actually works byzapping the glands and the hair
shaft.
So it causes the skin to be moredry as well as more fragile.
So I think quite often, just asa baseline part of daily care,
women who've removed pubic hairpermanently do need a
moisturizer.
(06:47):
And a lot of people present withjust chronic irritation to their
gynecologist And there are somepretty easy solutions by
integrating a bubble skincareproduct.
We also designed our lubricantrange at Alchemy to be really
creating a lube for all seasonsof a woman's life.
(07:11):
So we do have some prescriptionproducts and some
non-prescription products.
And with our prescriptionproducts, we've incorporated
elements to try and enhancefemale beauty.
pleasure, either recreationallyor in menopause or to treat
other conditions, not as amedical therapy for those
(07:32):
conditions, but as an adjuvanttherapy to try and improve
women's life experience.
And that's things likeconditions associated with
vaginismus or with pelvic flooroveractivity for other reasons
or for, you pain related toconditions of a gynecological
nature like endometriosis wherethere can be secondary sexual
(07:55):
problems we also know that everysingle woman goes through
menopause and for the decadeprior to going through menopause
we have this decade that we callperimenopause these days in the
old terminology it used to becalled pre-menopause now we say
peri but really gradually ourestrogen exposure reduces in
(08:18):
volume and frequency and interms of our vaginal and vulval
health our skin changes and sowe are more prone to requiring a
moisturizer and particularlyeven with you know kind of
adequate sexual stimulation overboth physical and also kind of
(08:38):
cerebral nature.
We might not lubricate in theway that we used to because the
vaginal skin does change withthe changes of perimenopause and
menopause.
So I think every woman needs alubricant at, you know, from,
from at some point in her lifeas an essential, as a, as a must
rather than a maybe, but I thinkevery woman could actually enjoy
(09:01):
sex more with a lubricant and Ithink many don't understand that
because when they have tried,they've tried products that
aren't beautiful and don't feelkind of gorgeous to the touch.
And when we designed ourproducts, we really took great
inspiration from advancedskincare solutions to create
something luxurious for women.
SPEAKER_00 (09:21):
Yeah, yeah, amazing.
And you've got an estrogen-basedcream on prescription.
Can you explain when...
Because I know you mentioned itbefore, but when you might
consider an estrogen-basedlubricant or moisturizer versus
a standard moisturizer?
SPEAKER_01 (09:44):
Yeah, so look, estrogen vaginally can be used
also as a prescription therapy.
And many people do use that inmenopause, even if they're not
using a systemic hormonalreplacement therapy.
But other people, times in lifewhere it might be really useful
is if women have a low estrogenfor other reasons, they might
(10:05):
be, say, for example, on theoral contraceptive pill.
And so the estrogen levels are alittle bit lower than as if they
were ovulating.
And the other times where thingscan be a little bit low is when
you're breastfeeding a babyafter you've given birth and
estrogen is low for quite sometime if women are fully feeding.
(10:26):
And sometimes they'd get alittle bit of estrogen
deficiency in the skin and thatcauses skin fragility and they
can really enjoy theimprovements.
Same with a little bit oftopical estrogen.
It's very safe.
All of the studies that haveshown shown um kind of estrogen
(10:48):
used even in high dosestopically in hormone replacement
therapy none of them have shownany increased risk of things
like cancer or blood clots orany other concerns that we
sometimes worry about when usingestrogen in an oral form and
certainly it's very safe
SPEAKER_00 (11:09):
so Would you say most, if not all women
postpartum are a bit estrogendepleted?
Would you therefore recommend,and I know this is a bit of a
blanket statement, but all womenmay benefit from estrogen-based
Cream, vaginal cream.
(11:30):
Well,
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
I think it's something they could try if they
felt like it might help them.
And you could argue that itmight help with certain things
like healing of tears andpotentially healing of
episiotomy, wounds and scarsafter the first instance.
Yeah.
And that often causes sexualdiscomfort for women.
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
And it can help with pelvic floor symptoms too.
So prolapse symptoms and urinarysymptoms.
So I've seen great benefit inthe clinic.
At what stage postpartum?
So for new mums, she's home withbubs.
(12:11):
You know what it's like with newbabies.
You know, having a meal can bechallenging, let alone going to
the doctor and getting aprescription for this.
At what stage would you...
recommend for these busy moms ifthey were going to try it when
would be the best stage to tryit
SPEAKER_01 (12:30):
um they should try it firstly um I would say most
women wouldn't become sexuallyactive before about six weeks
postpartum.
And I don't think most womenwould want to put any cream on
the vagina or on an earlyhealing episiotomy scar or tear
(12:51):
until that time.
But I think any time after thatwould be fine.
SPEAKER_00 (12:55):
Yeah.
So the six-week check might be agreat time to discuss with a
healthcare provider.
That's right.
Yeah.
Fantastic.
Now, rewinding a little bit, I'dlove to chat more about
pregnancy, lubricants forpregnancy.
You also mentioned thevaginismus, which can be really
(13:17):
common.
So I guess I've got twoquestions here.
It can get confusing for, Iknow, like speaking to friends
and patients, it can be getreally confusing knowing what
type of lubricants to use forwhat situations.
For example, if you're usingcondoms, you know, there's
certain lubricants that aren'tappropriate.
(13:38):
If you're using silicon-basedsex toys, it's another set of
lubricants.
So can you quickly just clarifywhat type of lubricants can be
used when?
SPEAKER_01 (13:55):
Yeah, sure.
So...
Look, most condoms you know,most lubricants will be fine.
And certainly we in our rangehave a silicon base and a cream
base and both are condom safe.
But in terms of silicon, I guessit's kind of like light poles
repel.
So if you're using silicon sextoys, you shouldn't use a
silicon lubricant.
(14:15):
If you're using, say forexample, silicon dilator wands,
you shouldn't use a siliconbased lubricant because it could
degrade the silicon of theproduct.
So that's really the clue.
Silicon's a really greatlubricant base.
And we have a serum, a siliconserum, which feels beautiful.
(14:36):
It's very slippery.
And that can be really helpfulfor women who have severe
dryness.
And it can also be, really funand people can use it for
different things like water playand you know you can use silicon
lubes and they don't wash awayso there's lots of different
applications for silicon lubenot all sex is vaginal and
(15:00):
silicon lubes can be preferredfor anyone who's interested in
anal sex a lot of men who havesex with men prefer silicon
lubes and in terms of Aqueousbased products.
Our Aqueous Lube is a reallybeautiful moisturiser.
So it sits as a beautifulbarrier cream and beautiful
(15:22):
moisturiser.
And, you know, kind of that Iwould say is a better dual
purpose product.
as a daily moisturiser and alubricant.
There are different types oflubricants that people can use.
Some people use oils.
The problem with oils is anywax-based lubricant, any
(15:44):
oil-based lubricant is it willstain, it will leave a residue.
Often people complain ofstaining of sheets and things
like that.
So I wouldn't necessarily favouran oil-based lubricant.
lubricant and because of thatyep and also because of um the
fact that it's much harder tobalance ph in oil-based
(16:06):
lubricants but people dosometimes prefer them
SPEAKER_00 (16:10):
so perhaps if it's someone's first time you would
perhaps suggest a water-basedlubricant that can also act as a
bit of a moisturizer it can workwith condoms and it's a bit of
an all-rounder would you wouldis that right
SPEAKER_01 (16:23):
to Well, that's right.
And one of our lubricants thatwe have is called Protectility.
That's a lubricant that I wouldsay is, well, our designs are to
help people when they're tryingto get pregnant.
And it's sperm friendly, butit's also a really beautiful
go-to.
And in the cream base, it's areally nice lubricant and daily
moisturizer.
And it's good for kind of youngwomen who've had that problem of
(16:46):
laser hair removal and just wanta beautiful cream moisturiser
that doubles as a gorgeous lube.
So I would say that that kind oflubricant would be a go-to and
Then, you know, women atdifferent phases of life, for
example, in menopause and lateron might want something very
deeply enriching andmoisturizing.
(17:07):
And sometimes in some of ourproducts, we add other active
ingredients to try and make thecream thicker and to make it a
little bit more of a barriercream function to protect the
skin barrier even more.
And so I think it's about, youknow, kind of trying things out
and seeing what people enjoybecause lube's also about
(17:28):
texture and sensation.
And there is a personalpreference element to it as
well.
SPEAKER_00 (17:35):
Yeah.
You've just reminded me ofsomething I'd love to get your
thoughts on.
As pelvic floor physios, there'sa particular brand that I think
is quite well known We've oftenrecommended it.
It's an olive base.
It's got a bit of a beeswax baseto it.
(17:57):
But in recently, we've learnedthat this is an antibacterial
lubricant by nature, which isn'tnecessarily what we want to be
putting because bacteria is anormal part of vaginal health
and balancing our pH and all therest.
And we're not necessarilywanting to put things that are
(18:19):
antibacterial in that area haveyou got a comment on that
without mentioning names ofproducts
SPEAKER_01 (18:25):
look i again i wouldn't comment on specific
brands but what i would say isthat you know when we talk about
lubricants we're talking aboutenhancing nature but not
disturbing nature and you knowyou can have ingredients that
are essentially you know peoplethink of as natural because they
are made in the natural worldfor example honey is made by
bees and you know, things likethat and, you know, kind of oils
(18:48):
often from plants.
But it's not natural for thosesubstances to be in a person's
vagina.
And I often did quite a popularblog on coconut oil because
people often use coconut oil aslube.
It's like a bit of an urban kindof tradition.
And coconut oil is terrible touse as lube.
It's the complete wrong pH andit can really cause problems.
(19:12):
You know, a lot of flora,dysbiosis.
So it certainly shouldn't beused as a lube.
It's a food, not a lube.
But so I think, you know, bewareof claims of things being
natural.
I think we have to think with ascientific lens and we have to
analyze with the lessons of kindof physiology and think, well,
(19:35):
what does the vagina need to behealthy?
It needs to have a negative pHbecause that is what encourages
our natural protectors of thevagina the lactobacillus to
flourish and dominate and thatis your best protection against
dysbiosis or changes to themicrobiome that are negative so
(19:56):
when pathogens need a nichebacteria and yeasts and fungi
and you know, any bacteriathat's not really meant to be
there, it's only going toflourish if there's a niche.
And the lactobacillus, you know,makes the lactic acid, which is
very important in vaginal healthand self-cleansing.
(20:17):
And it also needs to be strongso that other bacteria don't get
out of hand.
And so there isn't a niche.
So any kind of disturbance tothe flora, anything that kills
the natural bacteria, anythingthat makes the pH too alkaline,
because that also causesdisturbance in the good bacteria
(20:37):
is going to be a negativeoverall effect.
So whenever designing a lube,it's really important to make
sure that it's got the rightingredient combination so that
the pH is ideal.
SPEAKER_00 (20:50):
Yeah, love that.
So from being a gynecologist andfertility specialist, at what
stage did you start to think,I'm gonna develop this product.
SPEAKER_01 (21:03):
Well, I can tell you, I actually was working in
the menopause symptoms aftercancer unit at the Royal Women's
Hospital at the time.
And I used to treat a lot ofpatients with fertility
preservation in the context of acancer.
diagnosis and then follow themthrough often breast cancer
which is unfortunately quitecommon in young women but other
(21:25):
cancers as well and what Ireally got to think about and my
patients who I had in front ofme were young women who were
sexually active and hadrelationships and were concerned
about fertility and futurefertility but had to deal with
this terrible problem they notonly had the cancer that they
often had to have treatmentslike chemotherapy for which in
(21:47):
itself causes skin disturbance,vaginal disturbance.
But then also afterwards, theyoften had to be on medications
to prevent their cancer comingback that blocked their
hormones.
And that meant that they hadkind of like a chemical
menopause induced.
And so really they basically gotplunged into essentially
(22:08):
menopause, not gradually like ithappens to most people, but just
all of a sudden.
And I realized how deficienteverything that I had to offer
them was in terms of thelubricants that were designed at
the time.
And then it really got methinking and I thought, well,
why don't we have beautifullubricants?
We go to...
(22:30):
places like Sephora and Meccaand put by beautiful
combinations of moisturizers forour skin, for our hands, for our
body, for our face.
Why don't we have beautifullubricants?
And I really just thought, well,it's because no one's really
even just turned their mind toit.
And then, you know, kind ofbeing a creative and also being
a doctor, I thought, well, howcan we use actually principles
(22:53):
to take it one step further?
And are there lessons that wecan learn from therapeutics and
from that could enhance thefemale sexual experience.
And really it occurred to methat even though lubes are for
the vagina and vulva, therehadn't really been a feminine
pleasure lens put to theirdesign.
(23:14):
And I guess a lot of lubes weredesigned to facilitate
penetrative sex from a maleperspective.
And I really wanted to thinkabout it from a feminine
perspective.
So that's really how, that wasreally the light bulb moment of
our brand.
And I sat down with my, verygood friend who's actually a
compounding pharmacist.
(23:35):
And I said to her kind of all ofthis and how can we design this
together?
And she helped me design ourformulations, which have evolved
a little bit over time.
But really the crux of ourbrand, Alchemy, is taking
lessons from advanced skincare,lessons from gynecology, and a
(23:55):
bit of a creative approachperspective on pharmaceuticals
and combining them to makeunique lube products that really
are for female pleasure and it'sreally focused with a
perspective on you know how canwe improve the lives of women
SPEAKER_00 (24:11):
yeah love that I think traditionally lubricant
you know you go to thesupermarket and very masculine
branding and raspberry flavouredand all sorts of, yeah.
So I think I love your wholebrand.
I know it's not about the brandand what it looks like, but it's
(24:34):
like a breath of fresh air.
Now I did, before we wrap up,there's a couple more questions
because I am very fascinatedwith your prescription-only
lubricants.
I think it's quite interesting.
Yeah, this is amazing.
So we discussed theestrogen-based lubricant that
you'd recommend, you know,postpartum, for example, with
dryness, you know, whilstbreastfeeding.
(24:55):
I'd love to explore a little bitmore how you can help women with
vaginismus or issues with pelvicfloor issues.
I guess, muscle tension andhelping to support that side of
things with your lubricant andhow, what's in that
prescription?
How's that different to
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
normal?
Normal.
The main, so it's still got ourbeautiful bases and you can
still choose silicon or cream,but the, Our lubricant called
CBD, which stands for Calm byDesign, also has an active
ingredient of cannabidiol, whichis a cannabinoid derivative.
(25:35):
And it is a non-hallucinogeniccannabinoid.
And it basically, we say,provides the chill without the
high of cannabis.
And it's something that can beused recreationally.
It can be used just to reducethe threshold of female orgasm,
but it also can be very helpfulfor people who do have that
(25:59):
sexual tension.
And often with vaginismus,there's the physical cause and
the also disconnect between thebrain and the pelvic floor and
the ability to relax kind ofwith, I guess, control, but
There's also this reflex, oftenemotional side of it, which it's
(26:20):
like a vicious cycle.
cycle because when you've hadpain associated with muscle
tension you then anticipate thatsex is going to be painful and
that causes reflex muscletension so it's like this
self-perpetuating spiral yeahand so what we often need to do
and i'm sure you're very expertat this from a pelvic floor
physio perspective is we've gotto work on the body and we've
(26:41):
got to work on the mind andwe've got to give people
confidence and and help withwith relaxation and one of the
nice things that you can dobecause we can compound to a
silicon base I think for dilatortherapy for women who do have
vaginismus and who are trying tohave the confidence to insert
(27:03):
dilators themselves so it'sunder their control you can do
it in a warm bathtub with oursilicon base and with the
cannabidiol preparation and thatcan be really nice and very
helpful because it helps themuscles relax you can't but
relax in warm water And womenoften, like a lot of women, like
water births and things likethat for that reason to help
deal with those sensations.
SPEAKER_00 (27:27):
Has it ever been used pre-birth?
SPEAKER_01 (27:32):
No.
Look, we haven't done a lot ofclinical trials in many settings
like that just because it's veryhard.
We're a very small bespoke kindof brand and really we've been
really focused on individualexperiences care for for women
and and very local and so we'renot a big pharmaceutical company
(27:53):
and you're running those kind oftrials this is prohibitively
expensive but it would be itwould be it would be amazing
when you go into labor
SPEAKER_00 (28:01):
pop on your cream before you start pushing yeah
SPEAKER_01 (28:06):
fantastic maybe maybe one day we can do that
child care you and i oh
SPEAKER_00 (28:13):
funny okay and there's you've got a third
prescription prescription one,don't you?
Which has got a bit oftestosterone and sildenafil,
which I don't know what it is.
SPEAKER_01 (28:23):
It's Viagra, sildenafil Viagra.
It's a vasodilator.
So it's also got aminophyllinein it, that prescription
product.
So it's a combination ofvasodilators, which means kind
of topical drawing of blood tothe surface, engorgement, and
also testosterone, which drivesdesire.
And so it's the idea of tryingto, again, sensitize and drive
(28:49):
desire from a female pleasureperspective.
SPEAKER_00 (28:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:53):
And that can be helpful for some women who find
it difficult to achieve orgasmor who have a reduction in
sensitivity.
SPEAKER_00 (28:59):
Yeah.
UNKNOWN (29:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:01):
And it's all topical as well.
So it's not, you know, a tabletthat you ingest and systemic.
So, yeah.
Yeah, and all
SPEAKER_01 (29:10):
effects are local and all effects are subtle, you
know.
So I would never, you know,oversell our products and say
that people are going to havelike this absolutely dramatic
kind of mind-blowing effect.
It's to subtly improve sexualfunction for women.
And happily we've had beautifulfeedback from our patients and
customers and, you You know,it's one of those little cult
(29:32):
products where people keepcoming back and trying it again
or trying different SKUs.
And I'd say there's not one SKUthat's right for everybody.
People can often try differentthings and actually enjoy them.
So it's just like sometimes youfeel like a Chardonnay, other
times like a rosé.
So, you know, it's fine.
You can try it.
SPEAKER_00 (29:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
UNKNOWN (29:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:55):
Okay, so I'm just looking at my list of questions.
I think we've pretty muchcovered everything.
We've talked about differenttypes of lubricants, the
different lubricants we mightuse for pelvic pain compared to
postpartum and menopause.
We talked about vaginal health,when to consider using a
lubricant.
Are there any...
questions or is there anythingyou feel like i need to we need
(30:16):
to talk about oh
SPEAKER_01 (30:17):
look the only thing i'd say in terms of alchemy is
one of our other products whichis really popular amongst young
women actually has a little bitof boric acid in it so that's
often a thrush repellent so tospeak and so sometimes people do
get chronic thrush and it's hardto treat and it is about just
then you know re kind offostering the love of the
(30:38):
lactobacillus so yeah um thishas a little bit of a kind of, I
guess, prebiotic function andsome probiotic action as well.
It's about the balance and it'sabout comfort.
Often women who have a bit ofvaginal irritation from having
chronic thrush find boric acidvery soothing and it's restoring
(31:01):
again that negative pH to allowthe lactobacillus to thrive.
And that can be very helpful.
Some people get recurrent thrushalso with the changes of the
hormones of the menstrual cycle,more prone to getting it just
after a period.
So sometimes we can usepreventers instead of having to
rush to recurrent treatments,which can be less effective over
(31:23):
time.
SPEAKER_00 (31:24):
Yeah, interesting.
Vaginal, sorry, bacterialvaginosis can affect fertility
and it can often be recurring.
Okay.
(31:44):
I'm just interested in recently,because I did read some recent
research, it was actually a dearfriend of mine that published
it, so it's very exciting,discussing how treatment has
traditionally been for just thewoman, treatment with different
medications and whatnot, and hownow they're suggesting treatment
(32:06):
for the male partner.
yeah help with these conditions
SPEAKER_01 (32:08):
yeah so there was a study and basically what it did
was it it randomized people intotreating just the woman or
treating both partners and whatit showed was that there was
less recurrence rate in thewoman if both partners were
treated with antibiotic therapyso we now i guess have reframed
bacterial vaginosis from afemale imbalance to a sexually
(32:29):
transmitted infection eventhough it's not a serious
infection that causes long-termdamage of structures like
chlamydia and gonorrhea but itstill can be passed back and
forward.
Another one that sometimes wethink about in the world of
fertility, and this is somethingthat can be a cause of recurrent
implantation failure in IVF, iscolonization with ureoplasma,
(32:50):
mycoplasma, and they can bequite hard to culture.
So if somebody has that, that'sanother one that sometimes we
treat both partners to preventkind of that ping pong ball
effect of passing back andforward the same condition.
Interesting.
But
SPEAKER_00 (33:05):
not thrush, like what you were talking about
before.
Yeah, well, that's right.
SPEAKER_01 (33:08):
Well, the thing is that we've just got to consider
the physiology of the maleversus the female reproductive
tract.
And actually most conditions,like, for example, candida and
thrush, it thrives in a warm,moist environment.
And because male externalgenitalia has different skin,
squamous epithelium, a lot ofthings that affects the vaginal
(33:30):
The vaginas, you know, that'swhy women are actually more
susceptible to STIs because thevagina is the biggest surface
area and it's mucous membraneline.
So it's just some more kind ofeasily invadable tissue.
And that's why things likechlamydia, men can be
symptomatic in the acute phase,but then they tend to present
(33:50):
and get treated, whereas womencan have these kind of
infections that go deeper andmore extensive into the pelvis
and can cause fertilityproblems, block fallopian tubes,
ultimately very damaged anatomy.
So we are more susceptible.
And so, yeah, our anatomy isdifferent, which is why some
conditions are more serious forwomen than they are for men.
UNKNOWN (34:12):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:13):
Amazing.
Thank you, Raylia.
You've been a wealth ofknowledge and it's been really
great to unpack what can be abit of a, yeah, sometimes
overwhelming for some women.
You know, where do I start withwhat lubricant?
So, and different areas ofvaginal health.
So thank you so much forchatting to me today.
(34:34):
I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01 (34:36):
You're really welcome.
I think the take-home message isdon't think of lube as like a
punishment or something bad.
It can be something for you andit can be something that can
actually make your life morepleasurable and it's not to
treat a disease, it's just toenhance the natural experience.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_00 (34:52):
brilliant.
Fantastic.
Thank you, Raya.
Thank you.
Thanks for listening to theFitness Mama podcast brought to
you by the Fitness Mama freebiesfound at www.fitnessmama.com
forward slash free.
(35:12):
So please take a few seconds toleave a review, subscribe so you
don't miss an episode, and besure to take a screenshot of
this podcast, upload it to yoursocial media, and tag me at
Fitness Mama so I can give you ashout out too.
Until next time, remember, anactive pregnancy, confident
challenge, I'll see you soon.
If you are pregnant or you've recently had a baby,
this podcast is for you.
I am your host, Kath Bequey, aphysiotherapist working in
women's health and mum of three.
Inside my online program,Fitness Mama, I just love
helping support women to carefor their bodies during
pregnancy, prepare their bodiesfor birth and support their
(00:23):
after birth recovery, helpingthem feel confident and strong
inside out during this importantstage of their lives.
In this podcast, join me eachweek as we dive into all things
pregnancy care, child Hello andwelcome back to the Pregnancy,
(01:03):
Birth and Recovery podcast.
So today's episode is fabulous.
Initially, I thought it was justfor pregnancy and postpartum,
but really this is for all womenwho are sexually active.
Because I'm chatting with theamazing Dr.
Raylia Liu all about differentlubricants for pregnancy,
(01:24):
postpartum, but really for allof womanhood.
So Raylia is a board-certifiedreproductive endocrinologist.
She's a fertility specialist,obstetrician, gynecologist,
director of Women's HealthMelbourne, and co-founder of
Alchemy Intimate Wellness.
(01:44):
So Raylia...
understands and knows all thingslubricants.
So in today's episode, we arediscussing different types of
lubricants available.
We're discussing why and when toconsider using a lubricant.
And hint, it's not just ifyou've got issues.
(02:05):
It's potentially beneficial forevery woman who is sexually
active.
We're discussing particular, Iguess, prescription lubricants.
that are available, which mightbe able to help with conditions
such as pelvic pain, vaginismus,postpartum when there's estrogen
(02:29):
depletion.
We're discussing lubricants,which might be helpful for
menopause, for vaginal health,and when to use vaginal
moisturizers versus lubricants.
different types of lubricantsbecause it can be a bit of a
labyrinth in terms of it cansometimes be really hard to know
(02:49):
what to use and when.
And in this episode today withRaylia, she's really great at
just explaining it.
So it's really simple tounderstand.
So I found this episodefascinating and I trust that you
will too.
UNKNOWN (03:08):
Music
SPEAKER_00 (03:15):
Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast
today.
I'm really excited to chat toyou about this important area
that I think probably isn'ttraditionally discussed as much
as it could be or should be.
So thank you for joining me.
It's a
SPEAKER_01 (03:31):
great pleasure.
Thanks
SPEAKER_00 (03:33):
for
SPEAKER_01 (03:33):
having me.
SPEAKER_00 (03:35):
As I mentioned in the intro today, we're
discussing different vaginalhealth and also There's a big
array of different lubricants onthe market.
We've got lubricants for pelvicpain.
We've got lubricants forpregnancy, for postpartum, with
menopause.
So I'd love to really, it'sgreat to chat because let's just
(03:56):
start at the basics.
When do you think women shouldbe considering using lubricant?
SPEAKER_01 (04:07):
Look, women should consider using lubricant from
the time they become sexuallyactive because it can improve
their sexual experience andpleasure.
But a lot of people think oflubricant instead of as a tool
in their toolkit, as amedication or even as a I guess,
(04:28):
negative because it'scontextualized with some kind of
deficiency that women think theyshould lubricate naturally and
that, um, that they shouldn'tneed it.
And I would encourage women toconsider lubricant as a tool to
improve their sexual pleasureand their experience above and
beyond what nature can provide,rather than seeing it as
(04:51):
something to treat a disease ora deficiency.
SPEAKER_00 (04:55):
Yeah, right.
So you're suggesting there's apotential benefit for being
proactive and trialing it, evenif you're not experiencing the
typical symptoms that Actually,that's my next question.
So you're discussing beingproactive rather than reactive
in nature.
SPEAKER_01 (05:14):
Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_00 (05:17):
Yeah.
Okay, well, that leads me to thenext question then.
What are the symptoms thatsomeone might experience?
So apart from just using itproactively like we just talked
about to enhance and improve thesensations, what are some
definite, I guess, red flagsthat we should be considering
(05:40):
using it.
SPEAKER_01 (05:40):
Well, look, as you know, I developed a lubricant
range called Alchemy and ourrange of lubricants are designed
to be intimate moisturizers aswell.
And a lot of people do needskincare solutions for the
vulva, particularly if they'vehad laser hair removal, because
(06:01):
that's very, very common.
And, you know, with that changeof fashion, the labial skin
doesn't have natural protectantsthat it would have if it was
hair bearing.
So we see a lot more friction,irritation.
We also see a change in the skinintegrity and fragility.
And that's because The skin hasno natural protection and also
(06:27):
the laser actually works byzapping the glands and the hair
shaft.
So it causes the skin to be moredry as well as more fragile.
So I think quite often, just asa baseline part of daily care,
women who've removed pubic hairpermanently do need a
moisturizer.
(06:47):
And a lot of people present withjust chronic irritation to their
gynecologist And there are somepretty easy solutions by
integrating a bubble skincareproduct.
We also designed our lubricantrange at Alchemy to be really
creating a lube for all seasonsof a woman's life.
(07:11):
So we do have some prescriptionproducts and some
non-prescription products.
And with our prescriptionproducts, we've incorporated
elements to try and enhancefemale beauty.
pleasure, either recreationallyor in menopause or to treat
other conditions, not as amedical therapy for those
(07:32):
conditions, but as an adjuvanttherapy to try and improve
women's life experience.
And that's things likeconditions associated with
vaginismus or with pelvic flooroveractivity for other reasons
or for, you pain related toconditions of a gynecological
nature like endometriosis wherethere can be secondary sexual
(07:55):
problems we also know that everysingle woman goes through
menopause and for the decadeprior to going through menopause
we have this decade that we callperimenopause these days in the
old terminology it used to becalled pre-menopause now we say
peri but really gradually ourestrogen exposure reduces in
(08:18):
volume and frequency and interms of our vaginal and vulval
health our skin changes and sowe are more prone to requiring a
moisturizer and particularlyeven with you know kind of
adequate sexual stimulation overboth physical and also kind of
(08:38):
cerebral nature.
We might not lubricate in theway that we used to because the
vaginal skin does change withthe changes of perimenopause and
menopause.
So I think every woman needs alubricant at, you know, from,
from at some point in her lifeas an essential, as a, as a must
rather than a maybe, but I thinkevery woman could actually enjoy
(09:01):
sex more with a lubricant and Ithink many don't understand that
because when they have tried,they've tried products that
aren't beautiful and don't feelkind of gorgeous to the touch.
And when we designed ourproducts, we really took great
inspiration from advancedskincare solutions to create
something luxurious for women.
SPEAKER_00 (09:21):
Yeah, yeah, amazing.
And you've got an estrogen-basedcream on prescription.
Can you explain when...
Because I know you mentioned itbefore, but when you might
consider an estrogen-basedlubricant or moisturizer versus
a standard moisturizer?
SPEAKER_01 (09:44):
Yeah, so look, estrogen vaginally can be used
also as a prescription therapy.
And many people do use that inmenopause, even if they're not
using a systemic hormonalreplacement therapy.
But other people, times in lifewhere it might be really useful
is if women have a low estrogenfor other reasons, they might
(10:05):
be, say, for example, on theoral contraceptive pill.
And so the estrogen levels are alittle bit lower than as if they
were ovulating.
And the other times where thingscan be a little bit low is when
you're breastfeeding a babyafter you've given birth and
estrogen is low for quite sometime if women are fully feeding.
(10:26):
And sometimes they'd get alittle bit of estrogen
deficiency in the skin and thatcauses skin fragility and they
can really enjoy theimprovements.
Same with a little bit oftopical estrogen.
It's very safe.
All of the studies that haveshown shown um kind of estrogen
(10:48):
used even in high dosestopically in hormone replacement
therapy none of them have shownany increased risk of things
like cancer or blood clots orany other concerns that we
sometimes worry about when usingestrogen in an oral form and
certainly it's very safe
SPEAKER_00 (11:09):
so Would you say most, if not all women
postpartum are a bit estrogendepleted?
Would you therefore recommend,and I know this is a bit of a
blanket statement, but all womenmay benefit from estrogen-based
Cream, vaginal cream.
(11:30):
Well,
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
I think it's something they could try if they
felt like it might help them.
And you could argue that itmight help with certain things
like healing of tears andpotentially healing of
episiotomy, wounds and scarsafter the first instance.
Yeah.
And that often causes sexualdiscomfort for women.
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
And it can help with pelvic floor symptoms too.
So prolapse symptoms and urinarysymptoms.
So I've seen great benefit inthe clinic.
At what stage postpartum?
So for new mums, she's home withbubs.
(12:11):
You know what it's like with newbabies.
You know, having a meal can bechallenging, let alone going to
the doctor and getting aprescription for this.
At what stage would you...
recommend for these busy moms ifthey were going to try it when
would be the best stage to tryit
SPEAKER_01 (12:30):
um they should try it firstly um I would say most
women wouldn't become sexuallyactive before about six weeks
postpartum.
And I don't think most womenwould want to put any cream on
the vagina or on an earlyhealing episiotomy scar or tear
(12:51):
until that time.
But I think any time after thatwould be fine.
SPEAKER_00 (12:55):
Yeah.
So the six-week check might be agreat time to discuss with a
healthcare provider.
That's right.
Yeah.
Fantastic.
Now, rewinding a little bit, I'dlove to chat more about
pregnancy, lubricants forpregnancy.
You also mentioned thevaginismus, which can be really
(13:17):
common.
So I guess I've got twoquestions here.
It can get confusing for, Iknow, like speaking to friends
and patients, it can be getreally confusing knowing what
type of lubricants to use forwhat situations.
For example, if you're usingcondoms, you know, there's
certain lubricants that aren'tappropriate.
(13:38):
If you're using silicon-basedsex toys, it's another set of
lubricants.
So can you quickly just clarifywhat type of lubricants can be
used when?
SPEAKER_01 (13:55):
Yeah, sure.
So...
Look, most condoms you know,most lubricants will be fine.
And certainly we in our rangehave a silicon base and a cream
base and both are condom safe.
But in terms of silicon, I guessit's kind of like light poles
repel.
So if you're using silicon sextoys, you shouldn't use a
silicon lubricant.
(14:15):
If you're using, say forexample, silicon dilator wands,
you shouldn't use a siliconbased lubricant because it could
degrade the silicon of theproduct.
So that's really the clue.
Silicon's a really greatlubricant base.
And we have a serum, a siliconserum, which feels beautiful.
(14:36):
It's very slippery.
And that can be really helpfulfor women who have severe
dryness.
And it can also be, really funand people can use it for
different things like water playand you know you can use silicon
lubes and they don't wash awayso there's lots of different
applications for silicon lubenot all sex is vaginal and
(15:00):
silicon lubes can be preferredfor anyone who's interested in
anal sex a lot of men who havesex with men prefer silicon
lubes and in terms of Aqueousbased products.
Our Aqueous Lube is a reallybeautiful moisturiser.
So it sits as a beautifulbarrier cream and beautiful
(15:22):
moisturiser.
And, you know, kind of that Iwould say is a better dual
purpose product.
as a daily moisturiser and alubricant.
There are different types oflubricants that people can use.
Some people use oils.
The problem with oils is anywax-based lubricant, any
(15:44):
oil-based lubricant is it willstain, it will leave a residue.
Often people complain ofstaining of sheets and things
like that.
So I wouldn't necessarily favouran oil-based lubricant.
lubricant and because of thatyep and also because of um the
fact that it's much harder tobalance ph in oil-based
(16:06):
lubricants but people dosometimes prefer them
SPEAKER_00 (16:10):
so perhaps if it's someone's first time you would
perhaps suggest a water-basedlubricant that can also act as a
bit of a moisturizer it can workwith condoms and it's a bit of
an all-rounder would you wouldis that right
SPEAKER_01 (16:23):
to Well, that's right.
And one of our lubricants thatwe have is called Protectility.
That's a lubricant that I wouldsay is, well, our designs are to
help people when they're tryingto get pregnant.
And it's sperm friendly, butit's also a really beautiful
go-to.
And in the cream base, it's areally nice lubricant and daily
moisturizer.
And it's good for kind of youngwomen who've had that problem of
(16:46):
laser hair removal and just wanta beautiful cream moisturiser
that doubles as a gorgeous lube.
So I would say that that kind oflubricant would be a go-to and
Then, you know, women atdifferent phases of life, for
example, in menopause and lateron might want something very
deeply enriching andmoisturizing.
(17:07):
And sometimes in some of ourproducts, we add other active
ingredients to try and make thecream thicker and to make it a
little bit more of a barriercream function to protect the
skin barrier even more.
And so I think it's about, youknow, kind of trying things out
and seeing what people enjoybecause lube's also about
(17:28):
texture and sensation.
And there is a personalpreference element to it as
well.
SPEAKER_00 (17:35):
Yeah.
You've just reminded me ofsomething I'd love to get your
thoughts on.
As pelvic floor physios, there'sa particular brand that I think
is quite well known We've oftenrecommended it.
It's an olive base.
It's got a bit of a beeswax baseto it.
(17:57):
But in recently, we've learnedthat this is an antibacterial
lubricant by nature, which isn'tnecessarily what we want to be
putting because bacteria is anormal part of vaginal health
and balancing our pH and all therest.
And we're not necessarilywanting to put things that are
(18:19):
antibacterial in that area haveyou got a comment on that
without mentioning names ofproducts
SPEAKER_01 (18:25):
look i again i wouldn't comment on specific
brands but what i would say isthat you know when we talk about
lubricants we're talking aboutenhancing nature but not
disturbing nature and you knowyou can have ingredients that
are essentially you know peoplethink of as natural because they
are made in the natural worldfor example honey is made by
bees and you know, things likethat and, you know, kind of oils
(18:48):
often from plants.
But it's not natural for thosesubstances to be in a person's
vagina.
And I often did quite a popularblog on coconut oil because
people often use coconut oil aslube.
It's like a bit of an urban kindof tradition.
And coconut oil is terrible touse as lube.
It's the complete wrong pH andit can really cause problems.
(19:12):
You know, a lot of flora,dysbiosis.
So it certainly shouldn't beused as a lube.
It's a food, not a lube.
But so I think, you know, bewareof claims of things being
natural.
I think we have to think with ascientific lens and we have to
analyze with the lessons of kindof physiology and think, well,
(19:35):
what does the vagina need to behealthy?
It needs to have a negative pHbecause that is what encourages
our natural protectors of thevagina the lactobacillus to
flourish and dominate and thatis your best protection against
dysbiosis or changes to themicrobiome that are negative so
(19:56):
when pathogens need a nichebacteria and yeasts and fungi
and you know, any bacteriathat's not really meant to be
there, it's only going toflourish if there's a niche.
And the lactobacillus, you know,makes the lactic acid, which is
very important in vaginal healthand self-cleansing.
(20:17):
And it also needs to be strongso that other bacteria don't get
out of hand.
And so there isn't a niche.
So any kind of disturbance tothe flora, anything that kills
the natural bacteria, anythingthat makes the pH too alkaline,
because that also causesdisturbance in the good bacteria
(20:37):
is going to be a negativeoverall effect.
So whenever designing a lube,it's really important to make
sure that it's got the rightingredient combination so that
the pH is ideal.
SPEAKER_00 (20:50):
Yeah, love that.
So from being a gynecologist andfertility specialist, at what
stage did you start to think,I'm gonna develop this product.
SPEAKER_01 (21:03):
Well, I can tell you, I actually was working in
the menopause symptoms aftercancer unit at the Royal Women's
Hospital at the time.
And I used to treat a lot ofpatients with fertility
preservation in the context of acancer.
diagnosis and then follow themthrough often breast cancer
which is unfortunately quitecommon in young women but other
(21:25):
cancers as well and what Ireally got to think about and my
patients who I had in front ofme were young women who were
sexually active and hadrelationships and were concerned
about fertility and futurefertility but had to deal with
this terrible problem they notonly had the cancer that they
often had to have treatmentslike chemotherapy for which in
(21:47):
itself causes skin disturbance,vaginal disturbance.
But then also afterwards, theyoften had to be on medications
to prevent their cancer comingback that blocked their
hormones.
And that meant that they hadkind of like a chemical
menopause induced.
And so really they basically gotplunged into essentially
(22:08):
menopause, not gradually like ithappens to most people, but just
all of a sudden.
And I realized how deficienteverything that I had to offer
them was in terms of thelubricants that were designed at
the time.
And then it really got methinking and I thought, well,
why don't we have beautifullubricants?
We go to...
(22:30):
places like Sephora and Meccaand put by beautiful
combinations of moisturizers forour skin, for our hands, for our
body, for our face.
Why don't we have beautifullubricants?
And I really just thought, well,it's because no one's really
even just turned their mind toit.
And then, you know, kind ofbeing a creative and also being
a doctor, I thought, well, howcan we use actually principles
(22:53):
to take it one step further?
And are there lessons that wecan learn from therapeutics and
from that could enhance thefemale sexual experience.
And really it occurred to methat even though lubes are for
the vagina and vulva, therehadn't really been a feminine
pleasure lens put to theirdesign.
(23:14):
And I guess a lot of lubes weredesigned to facilitate
penetrative sex from a maleperspective.
And I really wanted to thinkabout it from a feminine
perspective.
So that's really how, that wasreally the light bulb moment of
our brand.
And I sat down with my, verygood friend who's actually a
compounding pharmacist.
(23:35):
And I said to her kind of all ofthis and how can we design this
together?
And she helped me design ourformulations, which have evolved
a little bit over time.
But really the crux of ourbrand, Alchemy, is taking
lessons from advanced skincare,lessons from gynecology, and a
(23:55):
bit of a creative approachperspective on pharmaceuticals
and combining them to makeunique lube products that really
are for female pleasure and it'sreally focused with a
perspective on you know how canwe improve the lives of women
SPEAKER_00 (24:11):
yeah love that I think traditionally lubricant
you know you go to thesupermarket and very masculine
branding and raspberry flavouredand all sorts of, yeah.
So I think I love your wholebrand.
I know it's not about the brandand what it looks like, but it's
(24:34):
like a breath of fresh air.
Now I did, before we wrap up,there's a couple more questions
because I am very fascinatedwith your prescription-only
lubricants.
I think it's quite interesting.
Yeah, this is amazing.
So we discussed theestrogen-based lubricant that
you'd recommend, you know,postpartum, for example, with
dryness, you know, whilstbreastfeeding.
(24:55):
I'd love to explore a little bitmore how you can help women with
vaginismus or issues with pelvicfloor issues.
I guess, muscle tension andhelping to support that side of
things with your lubricant andhow, what's in that
prescription?
How's that different to
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
normal?
Normal.
The main, so it's still got ourbeautiful bases and you can
still choose silicon or cream,but the, Our lubricant called
CBD, which stands for Calm byDesign, also has an active
ingredient of cannabidiol, whichis a cannabinoid derivative.
(25:35):
And it is a non-hallucinogeniccannabinoid.
And it basically, we say,provides the chill without the
high of cannabis.
And it's something that can beused recreationally.
It can be used just to reducethe threshold of female orgasm,
but it also can be very helpfulfor people who do have that
(25:59):
sexual tension.
And often with vaginismus,there's the physical cause and
the also disconnect between thebrain and the pelvic floor and
the ability to relax kind ofwith, I guess, control, but
There's also this reflex, oftenemotional side of it, which it's
(26:20):
like a vicious cycle.
cycle because when you've hadpain associated with muscle
tension you then anticipate thatsex is going to be painful and
that causes reflex muscletension so it's like this
self-perpetuating spiral yeahand so what we often need to do
and i'm sure you're very expertat this from a pelvic floor
physio perspective is we've gotto work on the body and we've
(26:41):
got to work on the mind andwe've got to give people
confidence and and help withwith relaxation and one of the
nice things that you can dobecause we can compound to a
silicon base I think for dilatortherapy for women who do have
vaginismus and who are trying tohave the confidence to insert
(27:03):
dilators themselves so it'sunder their control you can do
it in a warm bathtub with oursilicon base and with the
cannabidiol preparation and thatcan be really nice and very
helpful because it helps themuscles relax you can't but
relax in warm water And womenoften, like a lot of women, like
water births and things likethat for that reason to help
deal with those sensations.
SPEAKER_00 (27:27):
Has it ever been used pre-birth?
SPEAKER_01 (27:32):
No.
Look, we haven't done a lot ofclinical trials in many settings
like that just because it's veryhard.
We're a very small bespoke kindof brand and really we've been
really focused on individualexperiences care for for women
and and very local and so we'renot a big pharmaceutical company
(27:53):
and you're running those kind oftrials this is prohibitively
expensive but it would be itwould be it would be amazing
when you go into labor
SPEAKER_00 (28:01):
pop on your cream before you start pushing yeah
SPEAKER_01 (28:06):
fantastic maybe maybe one day we can do that
child care you and i oh
SPEAKER_00 (28:13):
funny okay and there's you've got a third
prescription prescription one,don't you?
Which has got a bit oftestosterone and sildenafil,
which I don't know what it is.
SPEAKER_01 (28:23):
It's Viagra, sildenafil Viagra.
It's a vasodilator.
So it's also got aminophyllinein it, that prescription
product.
So it's a combination ofvasodilators, which means kind
of topical drawing of blood tothe surface, engorgement, and
also testosterone, which drivesdesire.
And so it's the idea of tryingto, again, sensitize and drive
(28:49):
desire from a female pleasureperspective.
SPEAKER_00 (28:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:53):
And that can be helpful for some women who find
it difficult to achieve orgasmor who have a reduction in
sensitivity.
SPEAKER_00 (28:59):
Yeah.
UNKNOWN (29:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:01):
And it's all topical as well.
So it's not, you know, a tabletthat you ingest and systemic.
So, yeah.
Yeah, and all
SPEAKER_01 (29:10):
effects are local and all effects are subtle, you
know.
So I would never, you know,oversell our products and say
that people are going to havelike this absolutely dramatic
kind of mind-blowing effect.
It's to subtly improve sexualfunction for women.
And happily we've had beautifulfeedback from our patients and
customers and, you You know,it's one of those little cult
(29:32):
products where people keepcoming back and trying it again
or trying different SKUs.
And I'd say there's not one SKUthat's right for everybody.
People can often try differentthings and actually enjoy them.
So it's just like sometimes youfeel like a Chardonnay, other
times like a rosé.
So, you know, it's fine.
You can try it.
SPEAKER_00 (29:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
UNKNOWN (29:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:55):
Okay, so I'm just looking at my list of questions.
I think we've pretty muchcovered everything.
We've talked about differenttypes of lubricants, the
different lubricants we mightuse for pelvic pain compared to
postpartum and menopause.
We talked about vaginal health,when to consider using a
lubricant.
Are there any...
questions or is there anythingyou feel like i need to we need
(30:16):
to talk about oh
SPEAKER_01 (30:17):
look the only thing i'd say in terms of alchemy is
one of our other products whichis really popular amongst young
women actually has a little bitof boric acid in it so that's
often a thrush repellent so tospeak and so sometimes people do
get chronic thrush and it's hardto treat and it is about just
then you know re kind offostering the love of the
(30:38):
lactobacillus so yeah um thishas a little bit of a kind of, I
guess, prebiotic function andsome probiotic action as well.
It's about the balance and it'sabout comfort.
Often women who have a bit ofvaginal irritation from having
chronic thrush find boric acidvery soothing and it's restoring
(31:01):
again that negative pH to allowthe lactobacillus to thrive.
And that can be very helpful.
Some people get recurrent thrushalso with the changes of the
hormones of the menstrual cycle,more prone to getting it just
after a period.
So sometimes we can usepreventers instead of having to
rush to recurrent treatments,which can be less effective over
(31:23):
time.
SPEAKER_00 (31:24):
Yeah, interesting.
Vaginal, sorry, bacterialvaginosis can affect fertility
and it can often be recurring.
Okay.
(31:44):
I'm just interested in recently,because I did read some recent
research, it was actually a dearfriend of mine that published
it, so it's very exciting,discussing how treatment has
traditionally been for just thewoman, treatment with different
medications and whatnot, and hownow they're suggesting treatment
(32:06):
for the male partner.
yeah help with these conditions
SPEAKER_01 (32:08):
yeah so there was a study and basically what it did
was it it randomized people intotreating just the woman or
treating both partners and whatit showed was that there was
less recurrence rate in thewoman if both partners were
treated with antibiotic therapyso we now i guess have reframed
bacterial vaginosis from afemale imbalance to a sexually
(32:29):
transmitted infection eventhough it's not a serious
infection that causes long-termdamage of structures like
chlamydia and gonorrhea but itstill can be passed back and
forward.
Another one that sometimes wethink about in the world of
fertility, and this is somethingthat can be a cause of recurrent
implantation failure in IVF, iscolonization with ureoplasma,
(32:50):
mycoplasma, and they can bequite hard to culture.
So if somebody has that, that'sanother one that sometimes we
treat both partners to preventkind of that ping pong ball
effect of passing back andforward the same condition.
Interesting.
But
SPEAKER_00 (33:05):
not thrush, like what you were talking about
before.
Yeah, well, that's right.
SPEAKER_01 (33:08):
Well, the thing is that we've just got to consider
the physiology of the maleversus the female reproductive
tract.
And actually most conditions,like, for example, candida and
thrush, it thrives in a warm,moist environment.
And because male externalgenitalia has different skin,
squamous epithelium, a lot ofthings that affects the vaginal
(33:30):
The vaginas, you know, that'swhy women are actually more
susceptible to STIs because thevagina is the biggest surface
area and it's mucous membraneline.
So it's just some more kind ofeasily invadable tissue.
And that's why things likechlamydia, men can be
symptomatic in the acute phase,but then they tend to present
(33:50):
and get treated, whereas womencan have these kind of
infections that go deeper andmore extensive into the pelvis
and can cause fertilityproblems, block fallopian tubes,
ultimately very damaged anatomy.
So we are more susceptible.
And so, yeah, our anatomy isdifferent, which is why some
conditions are more serious forwomen than they are for men.
UNKNOWN (34:12):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:13):
Amazing.
Thank you, Raylia.
You've been a wealth ofknowledge and it's been really
great to unpack what can be abit of a, yeah, sometimes
overwhelming for some women.
You know, where do I start withwhat lubricant?
So, and different areas ofvaginal health.
So thank you so much forchatting to me today.
(34:34):
I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01 (34:36):
You're really welcome.
I think the take-home message isdon't think of lube as like a
punishment or something bad.
It can be something for you andit can be something that can
actually make your life morepleasurable and it's not to
treat a disease, it's just toenhance the natural experience.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_00 (34:52):
brilliant.
Fantastic.
Thank you, Raya.
Thank you.
Thanks for listening to theFitness Mama podcast brought to
you by the Fitness Mama freebiesfound at www.fitnessmama.com
forward slash free.
(35:12):
So please take a few seconds toleave a review, subscribe so you
don't miss an episode, and besure to take a screenshot of
this podcast, upload it to yoursocial media, and tag me at
Fitness Mama so I can give you ashout out too.
Until next time, remember, anactive pregnancy, confident
challenge, I'll see you soon.
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