Just a month ago model Chrissy Teigen and her singer husband John Legend welcomed their second child, baby boy named Miles. Chrissy is one of the few celebrities who keeps it real with her fans. Last month, Chrissy shared a photo of hers in postpartum underwear showing an honest side to motherhood right after delivery. And yesterday, the 32-year-old supermodel documented herself trying out three different beauty treatments – one being vaginal steaming. What is vaginal steaming, and would you dare to try it?

On Tuesday, Teigen shared an Instagram photo with a caption that read: “Face mask/heat pad/vagina steam no I don’t know if any of this works, but it can’t hurt right? *vagina dissolves*” Well, this is as real as one can get. But we wonder, does it really work?

Chrissy Teigen’s Post on Vaginal Steaming

In the photo, Chrissy is sitting on top of the steamer with a towel draped over her thighs and has a face mask on as well as a heating pad around her neck. Earlier, it was Gwyneth Paltrow who raved about the benefits of vaginal steaming in a post to her website Goop in 2015. She claimed that the benefits include cleansing your vagina and uterus.

What is Vaginal Steaming & is it Safe?

Vaginal steaming is an age-old natural remedy said to cleanse the vagina and uterus, regulate menstruation and ease period cramps and bloating. Vagina steaming directs herb-infused steam into your vagina. Herbs often used alone or in combination are mugwort, chamomile, basil, oregano and more. Does it really work? There’s no scientific evidence to suggest that vaginal steaming helps any condition. Although according to Dr. Jen Gunter, ob-gyn, vagina steam is a ‘scam’ and is ‘potentially harmful. Although she recommends sitz baths.

Dr. Gunter claims that how will steaming herbs gain access to your uterus through a tightly closed cervix at the end of your vagina. There’s little chance herbal steam would penetrate vaginal tissues, let alone regulate hormones and improve fertility. Sitz baths however relax swollen and inflamed tissue and reduce pain and itching. Women recovering from delivery or ulcers, soak their vaginas and rectums in warm water up to their hips. They also work by helping to increase blood flow to the areas that need it for healing.

Doctors also do not recommend that women clean their vagina with perfumed soaps because they kill good bacteria and makes it easier for bad bacteria to overgrow. Dr. Christine Greves, an ob-gyn told Today, “The vagina is a self-cleaning oven, which is awesome. You may feel the need to do something to it, but you don’t.”

Adding steam could upset the delicate vaginal environment, causing irritation and infection. For a woman recovering from delivery, this could mean extra suffering. For all the new moms out there, including Chrissy, steer clear from this method. Instead just stick to warm sitz baths with clean water.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 20, 2018 04:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).