“I just don’t understand physiologically how putting steam up the vagina is going to change your fertility or help you relieve stress. There’s plenty of data that supports mind-body intervention and how that improves fertility and decreases stress. But steam itself in the vagina doesn’t make any sense for me. It’s not like it’s going to blow up some closed tube.”
— Dr. Laura Riley, director of labor and delivery at Massachusetts General in Boston, doubts the efficacy of chai-yok, a traditional Korean treatment in which naked women squat above a pot of herb-infused boiling water. Adds Riley, “Someone who believes it’s going to work might get some benefit. But I’d be more concerned about burning my vagina. That’s a very sensitive area.”