Dear stanwyk,

It's probably not your cervix that you're feeling. Tampons fit into most women's vaginas, but sometimes girls who are first beginning to use them have trouble inserting them. A girl may want to ask someone to show her how to correctly place a tampon in her vagina. She may want to ask her mother, older sister, or another woman she trusts to help her.

It is easier to insert a tampon when a girl is relaxed. It's a good idea to use tampons with soft, tube-shaped applicators when first beginning to use tampons. It's also helpful to remember that the vagina usually doesn't go straight up into the body — usually it angles toward the small of the back. Therefore, when a girl inserts a tampon, it's best for her to relax her vaginal muscles and angle the tampon a little bit toward the small of her back to make insertion easier.

For some girls, the hymen makes insertion more difficult. The hymen is the thin skin that stretches across the lower part of the opening of the vagina. (Some girls have so little hymenal tissue they appear to have none at all.) Usually the hymen has an opening that lets menstrual flow out of the body, but sometimes this opening is small, making it difficult to insert a tampon. Some girls find it helpful to insert a clean finger or tampon into the vaginal opening and move it slightly from side to side, slowly, to stretch the hymen a bit.

And remember, vaginal insertion (whether it be a tampon, a penis, or another object) is easiest and most comfortable when there is lubrication in the vagina. If you did not have your period when you tried to insert the tampon, it is quite possible that your vagina was not lubricated, which made insertion difficult.

If you try these things, and you still have trouble, you may want to contact a health care provider. Call 1-800-230-PLAN for a Planned Parenthood center nearest you, or find us online.

Hope this information helps!

Take care,

teenwire.com^® Editors

This column is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have a medical problem, please call toll-free 1-800-230-PLAN for an appointment with the Planned Parenthood health center nearest you.