Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Ngatikaura BLASTED for getting labiaplasty - as expert claims it sets a bad example for young women

A body image educator famed for taking photos of women's vulvas has accused Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives of setting a bad example for women by airing a labiaplasty surgery.

Australian photographer Ellie Sedgwick, who created the female body positivity movement Comfortable In My Skin, told DailyMail.com that the hit series could leave 'impressionable teenagers' with body image issues.

Sedgwick was outraged after seeing cast member Jessi Ngatikaura undergo a labiaplasty on the show following the birth of her second child. 

On the show, Ngatikaura referred to her lady parts as 'meat curtains' and said that she wanted to make it 'nice and perfect again' through surgery.

Since the cast of the Hulu show are all TikTok influencers, Sedgwick stressed that Ngatikaura was sending the wrong message to young girls by normalizing the procedure.

'She's using words like, "I'm going to be perfectly tight." Like, "Yeah, I'll cut off my extra meat so that my lips are just nice and perfect again,"' Sedgwick recounted.

'And that's kind of giving these impressionable teenagers this idea that if you have any sort of labia hanging down or any beautiful moms that have just birthed a baby, it's giving them this idea that if their vulva does change during birth, that if they have anything hanging down, that it's like meaty and it's wrong and it's not beautiful.

'You're not desirable, you're not worthy, and labiaplasty is so accessible now, just go and get it chopped off and that's fine.'

Sedgwick has published a book of vulva photography called Flip Through My Flaps, and says that most women aren't aware of what a normal vulva looks like due to the normalization of things like 'the Barbie vagina' in the media.

'I would love to ask Jessi if she's seen many vulvas. So I would love to ask her where she got her information from that her vulva is a lot worse than other people's,' Sedgwick said.

'For example, in my book there's a lot of vulvas at post-birth. Do you actually know what a normal vulva looks like?'

Sedgwick also warned that many women are unaware of the dangers and complications that can come with a labiaplasty.

'People aren't educated on this kind of surgery and what it is. Obviously women have been heavily left out in [medical] research throughout history, so we don't know exactly how many nerve endings are in there,' she said.

'From doing the research I've done, working with sexologists, I know that that part of the inner labia that everyone's getting cut off is filled with nerve endings. They say there's more than 8,000 to 10,000 nerve endings in there,' Sedgwick continued.

'So what concerns me is that people are gonna go have this surgery because they saw something on TV, and they're going to cut off this beautiful pleasure tool just to fit society's idea of beauty and to meet these beauty standards that aren't realistic.'

She added ominously: 'And you can never get that put back on. It's like, once you cut it off, that's it forever gone.'

Speaking to DailyMail.com last month, Ngatikaura said that she had no regrets about going under the knife. 

'Everything's great - I'm so happy I did it,' she gushed.

'I think as a mom who's had children, your body changes. And I wanted to share that it's okay to want to feel and look better, especially as a mom because you sacrifice so much of yourself to have those kids that you love so much, so you wanna feel like yourself again,' she continued.

'I know that plastic surgery can be a hot topic but I'm hoping that if someone watches it and wants a similar surgery, they can reach out to me and I can share my experience.'

Ngatikaura shocked her castmates on the hit Hulu show by showing them the results of her labiaplasty procedure on camera.

In the episode, the mom-of-two, 32, said that childbirth had changed her vagina and left her unable to wear yoga pants.

'My meat curtains, they just hang low,' she told her stunned co-stars on episode six of the controversial Hulu series. 

'I've noticed a big difference down there, to the point where it's uncomfortable,' she continued.

'So they're basically cutting off that extra meat and making it so my lips are just nice and perfect again.' 

Jessi then added with a laugh, 'Extra meat - I'm gonna make a sandwich with that!'

The hairstylist, who has previously had three breast augmentations, also decided to get her implants reduced while going under the knife for her labiaplasty.

'I've never gotten two surgeries done in the same day but I figured I might as well do a 2-in-1 [and] only go under anesthesia once,' she said.

Discussing the results with her castmates, Jessi revealed that she couldn't have sex for 'four to six weeks' while she recovered from the painful procedure.

Sharing the 'brutal' recovering period, Jessi said, 'I felt like I had a blowtorch up there!'

She then pulled her shorts down to showcase the results to her friends, who were visibly shocked at the sight of her surgically-enhanced nether region.

'Spread it open!' they shrieked as Jessi disrobed in front of them.

Showcasing her designer vagina to her pals, Jessi said, 'It's swollen. They said that right now it should look like hotdog buns, which it does, but once it's not swollen it's gonna be tight.' 

She added, 'Before [the surgery] all of this stuff was hanging down at least that much.'

Speaking to DailyMail.com, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr Deepak Dugar, from the Beverly Hills Rhinoplasty Center, said that some pain and bleeding is common during the recovery process.

'Typically, you have one week where you might have some pain and some spotting and bleeding, then it's about four to six weeks until the general swelling is gone and you can resume most major physical exercise and activity, including sexual activity,' he said. 

Dr Dugar said that most women seeking a labiaplasty are moms who have seen their vaginas change after childbirth.

'The biggest changes that happen in the labia usually occur hormonally through puberty, or they happen post pregnancy when there is stretching and tearing,' he explained. 

'And so there is a significant thought that these type of procedures usually should be done postpartum and saved until postpartum because of the fact that there could be more changes that happen after having children with vaginal delivery,' he added. 

And when it comes to getting the vulva of your dreams, Dr Dugar said that there is a certain level of customization that patients can request.

'I think there's definitely customization and different ways that people approach labiaplasty,' he explained.

'There's a trim procedure. There's a wedge procedure. So there's different types of labiaplasty that are performed and discussing it with a board-certified plastic surgeon is the key for them to show you examples of work that is very similar to yours,' he continued.

'Obviously, labiaplasty being very personal and private, there won't be much public information on it, so I think going to a surgeon who does a lot of these and letting them guide you with before and after photos so that you can understand what the differences are and where you could hit your goals is key.'