Jennifer Garner's Doctor Told Her That Vaginas Can Collapse — and Her Reaction Is Understandable

Jennifer Garner is dropping knowledge bombs left and right. First she issues a warning on injectables, then she reveals her fitness secrets, sharing a box-jump workout with her trainer. And now she's divulging a little known fact about a particular reproductive organ.

"I just learned that our vaginas may collapse," she says during a recent interview with Allure. "I saw my OB this week and she gave me a pamphlet about vaginal collapse."

If this sounds like some made-up term to you, it's not. The condition Garner is referring to a relatively common and natural occurrence known as vaginal collapse (also called vaginal prolapse or pelvic organ prolapse) where the vagina falls out of position due to muscle and tissue weakening.

"Wait. Is this the same thing that happens when you pee if you sneeze?" asked Allure. "No, that's not collapse. Collapse is like you can't have sex because you can't get in there because it's collapsed on itself," Garner responded. But that part is not quite true.

While pain or discomfort during sex can be a symptom of vaginal collapse, you can still have and enjoy sex with pelvic organ prolapse with certain adjustments, as per the National Association for Continence. Still, the condition can seem pretty scary given some of its other symptoms like vaginal throbbing and the sensation that something is falling out of the vagina.

The "13 Going on 30" star was shocked to say the least when the doctor explained the condition further. "I'm like: 'When? Is it imminent? Do I need to put it in my calendar? What is happening?!'" Garner told Allure of her reaction. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine about a third of women will experience prolapse in their lifetime.

"It's a thing," Garner reiterated to Allure, adding that vaginal collapse does not happen to everyone, but it is "a possibility." Women who've delivered children vaginally, are approaching menopause, or who are struggling with their weight, may be more susceptible to vaginal collapse, according to Johns Hopkins.

Treatment for vaginal prolapse can vary with severity. In mild cases your doctor will recommend certain pelvic floor exercises, whereas in moderate cases a vaginal pessary (a removable device that provides support to the vaginal tissue) might be used, according to Johns Hopkins. And in severe cases surgery might be necessary. But in many cases vaginal prolapse will not require treatment at all, and you can simply add it to the list of bodily changes that people could experience in a lifetime.