To think that a hospital should have a female gynecologist?

[crazyspaniel]

My local hospital only has male gynecologists. If I want to see a female practitioner I have to travel 40 miles. In the end I went to my local hospital and found the whole experience somewhat traumatic - the fact that the doctors were male was part of the reason for finding it so horrible and humiliating.

Is it really so hard to hire a female gynecologist? I get that consultants are often of a generation when not many women went into medicine (and particularly surgery), but there are now more women than men becoming doctors and one of the doctors in the room was SHO level (or whatever they call them now), so not of that generation. I really think this is one area of medicine where there should be female quotas and where each hospital should have at least one female practitioner.

It really doesn't worry me. I'd far rather see a good male gynae than a poor female one just because she has the same physical body that I do. Skills are far more important than gender

DS was delivered by a male midwife. Did I mind... not a bit. I've seen a couple of male gynecologists - one was horrible and made me cry - mainly because he lectured to his group of students as he examined me and even said "do one of you want to feel this anomaly?" quickly and abruptly rejected as an option by me

, the other was very pleasant and carried on a conversation with me about national politics (just a few days before last general election) as he got on with whatever he was doing.

All I wanted was a sympathetic, competent person dealing with me. Both of them achieved the required outcome and I doubt either of them found my fanny very interesting!

It sounds like your feelings stop you from doing a lot of things: having kids, having a smear done. Maybe you should call the gyn's office and ask what there is available for people with these problems. You will not be the first, I'm sure. Maybe you need more information, or counceling, or see what they intend to do first before you undress, I don't know.

To answer your question: after years of fertility treatments and about 30 gyn's I don't care who prods about in my bits as long as they are capable professionals. However, I remember that as a 15 year old the idea of an examination by a man filled me with a panic. No idea how I got over it.

ZOMBIE THREAD

I was pretty surprised at the replies here, then I realised this thread is very old.

I wonder if the responses would be a bit more measured if the thread was started now? I'd like to think so, after all the related debates we've had recently.