How a Little Bit of TMI Led Me to Period Bliss

I will never forget my first DivaCup experience. Learning how to put a menstrual cup in, at first, felt daunting!

Setting: Five years ago, my home, early September.

Like most new Divas, I was a bit nervous, skeptical and unsure about how this new menstrual care product was going to work out. I won’t lie, it took a few attempts (and cycles) to get the cup positioned just right.

But, I will never forget waking up that first morning to find… nothing! As a young woman with heavy cycles I was ecstatic at the prospect of saying goodbye to leaks through the night! Sadly, and to my dismay, the next night was not as liberating. One word: leaks!

I couldn’t understand what I did wrong from one day to the next and thought maybe the menstrual cup just wasn’t right for me.

I talked with some friends, looked online at some forums and of course, the DivaCup website, and after a few more failed attempts I quickly turned to the DivaCup customer care team. It was a little strange emailing a detailed account of my menstrual cup woes to a complete stranger, but the feedback I received in return was well worth that small moment of TMI.

I quickly learned that the issue was not that the cup wasn’t right for me, that I needed the larger size, or that there was a defect with the product, it was simply that when the cup was inserted, it didn’t open all the way. Basically, my flow was being collected in the cup while also leaking past it.

Since starting at Diva International, I have learned that whether you have success your first try or fourth try with the DivaCup, the important thing is that you don’t give up. Our cycles are constantly changing, and so are our bodies, which together make the DivaCup experience different for every woman. Even after years of using the DivaCup, there are times when I realize I have missed an important step, or that it needs a little extra care to open fully and rotate in either direction with ease.

Like anything new, the DivaCup can take some getting used to. We’ve done our best to provide information and tips about the DivaCup on our website and in our user guide, but know there are a few tricks that come with experience and practice – and from sharing our DivaCup story with the women in our lives!

Over the years we’ve gathered a number of helpful DivaCup tips and wanted to share some of these with our Diva Community. We hope this post will also become a helpful resource for our Diva Community and hope you will join in the conversation. Your helpful tips could make a world of difference for a Diva who is still trying to find her unique DivaCup fit!

Tips for How to Put a Menstrual Cup In

• As a new user, who may be a bit nervous, try inserting the DivaCup after a hot bath or shower. Your muscles will be more relaxed, making insertion easier.
• When inserting the DivaCup it is important to relax. The reason being, the vaginal muscles hold the cup in place and if these are tense, insertion will be more difficult.
• You can also wipe some warm water on the cup; this will help the cup glide in easier.
• What many women don’t know is that the tightest part of the vaginal canal is right at the opening and when inserting the cup there may be a bit of tension. When women feel this they stop inserting it thinking that it cannot be inserted any further. Once past the opening, the cup will glide in easier.
• If your cup does leak, it is mostly likely because it has not been inserted properly (horizontally, towards the tailbone), it has not been rotated; it is not inserted at the right angle; or that your vaginal muscles need to be strengthened with kegel exercises (usually necessary after multiple vaginal childbirths)
• Once inserted, if your DivaCup moves up or down, (or all around), it may be that your vaginal muscles need to be strengthened with kegels. These are simple exercises that can be done at any time and often provide the added support a woman needs to keep the DivaCup in place.

Removal Tips

• It is highly unlikely that the DivaCup will become “stuck”, because the vagina is only approximately 4 or 5 inches long! This means that the vagina does not connect to other parts of the body so the DivaCup will not get lost.
• If the DivaCup does move up in the vaginal canal and becomes harder to reach, simply push down in a series of motions (or bear down) with your stomach muscles (similar to having a bowel movement), reach inside the vagina and pull on the stem until you can reach the base of the cup.
• When you can reach the cup base, give it a gentle squeeze. Once you have squeezed the base to release the air, pull the cup out at a sideways angle. This allows more air to enter the vagina, and it will then be able to be removed easily.
• If you still cannot reach the DivaCup, squat on the floor. This will help lower the cup because this position shortens the vagina.
• Similar to when inserting the DivaCup, when removing the menstrual cup, make sure that you are relaxed so that your vaginal muscles do not become tense.

Note: In the rare case that you are still unable to remove the DivaCup after more than twelve (12) hours, we encourage all our customers to seek medical advice.

Cleansing Tips

• When cleaning your menstrual cup, if one of the four holes around the brim of the cup is blocked, fill the cup with water, place your palm on top of the cup and flip upside down. Squeeze gently on the sides of the cup. As you do this, water will push through the four holes, cleaning anything that remains.
• Cleaning the blocked holes can also be done by gently brushing around the holes with a toothbrush specifically designated for cleaning your DivaCup or use a toothpick to gently clean them.
• If in a public restroom, you can simply empty the contents of your DivaCup into the toilet, wipe the inside with toilet paper and reinsert. At the next convenient time, give your DivaCup a thorough cleaning with warm water and our DivaWash or a mild, unscented soap.

Note: It is important to empty, wash and rinse the DivaCup with warm soapy water a minimum of two to three times daily (every 10 to 12 hours).You can find some additional cleaning tips on our Care and Cleaning webpage!

If you still have questions or concerns about your DivaCup our FAQ page is a great place to find answers. The Diva Consumer Experience Team is always available to help!