To think men should not be allowed to be gynaecologists

[CaragianettE]

Just that, really. Saw one last week. He was trying to be helpful, but I really really really don’t want to discuss ‘do you get clots’ ‘do you experience flooding’ ‘do you find intercourse painful’ with a strange man. Yes it would be awkward with a strange woman too, but at least I know she likely has some lived experience of what we are talking about. TBH I also question men’s motives for choosing this job, not just the licence to look at strange women’s vaginas, but I think there’s something deep in the male psyche that just loves laying down the law to women about their reproductive systems. It’s a job for a woman, and while I know men were allowed to train for it in the past, I think they should now be phased out.

Sorry but SEX, not gender. That is relevant in a medical setting.

I am more than happy for a man to poke around my plumbing but don’t tell rape and abuse survivors (of which I am one) to ‘grow up’

When my baby was in distress and I needed an emergency section I was very glad that men are able to work in this field of medicine. So long as my baby was delivered safely it could have been a green skinned martian working 'at the business end' for all i cared.

OP you sound deranged.

I haven't read 7 pages of replies and I can see the OP has only done two posts on this, but I want to add support, because the lack of female gynaecologists I think is an issue, and I think it's weird that there are often only male gynaecologists available in my local hospital and certainly at senior levels and it makes me uncomfortable. I always ask to see a female even if I have to wait.
I've had a few negative experiences with male doctors for intimate healthcare and I'm not interested in giving them another try.
Fuckem.

The issue is trust of course. I have had some truly incompetent female doctors and healthcare providers over the years and would rather have a man.

Women are clearly not going into gynae in the same numbers as men. That’s not the fault of the men, the women need to go into that field to provide more choice

It’s a surgical speciality. Despite some progress, surgery still poses challenges for women who want to enter it, both from a culture perspective but also due to practical and flexibility issues once they have kids. Things are changing, but slowly.

I mentioned about that, to replace the male surgeons, you would need more than a 1:1 ratio because of the flexibility issues and got shouted down.

If not enough women are specialising in gynae then that is not the fault of the men.

So the posters thinking men in that field are ‘icky’, would you prefer there be very very limited numbers of gynaecologists in the country? Once you start branding men suspect for their specialism then you can’t complain about availability of care.

It’s a very mysogynist world still-particuarly surgery.

I have had two absolutely appalling experiences with 2 different male gynaes. By far the 2 worst medical experiences of my life. I will only go to a woman now.

Even more reason not to brand any male surgeons as perverts. I don’t know specifically why women can’t qualify in it (is it more than their child bearing status?) but until they do qualify in numbers, I presume we still need gynaes in the meantime.

I’m not branding male surgeons as perverts. I am simply saying I would prefer a woman gynaecologist.

Your being utterly ridiculous.

I work with some amazing male obstetricians and male midwives. Gender does not matter when it comes to health, personal preference yes but not a career choice.

Less than 200 male midwives registered in the UK-yet Mumsnetters know loads of them….And they are all super wonderful.

Someone used the word ‘icky’ and others suggested it was creepy

Can we call it ‘sex’ please given we are talking about women’s healthcare provided by men

I work with 4 male Obstetricians/Gynaecologists, 1 very well experienced male midwife and another who is very close to becoming qualified. I used to work with another who retired just before Covid but given I work in a large teaching hospital and not a rural area it’s not surprising.

And I said some not all… or did you just decided to ignore that part of my post in your snarky reply?

I get that most gynecologist men are perfectly competent, but when I was in medical school all the womaniser-type lads went into gynaecology. Make of that what you will.

You see my point, though. Less than 200 male midwives in the country-47000 women. But Mumsnetters all seem to have dealt with one of the men….

What you see on this thread is a self selecting sample, mainly of people disagreeing with OP. It is not surprising that those who had a male midwife would mention that whereas those who had a female midwife would not.

This is one situation where the issue is not about the men, it’s about the women. Why aren’t women training in this specialism?

Because we would currently need more than a 1:1 replacement ratio unless all of those women are able to do the job without having mat leave, going part time around the family etc.

Are they not? This is just an observation on my part but I believed that trend had been reversing over the last decade in both the United States and the UK.

According to the GMC, female practitioners currently account for 63% of the obstetric and gynaecology workforce and that women are continuing to increase dominant residency in the field.

Due to my childhood experiences I have significant issues with being naked and vulnerable around women. I always choose a male staff member where possible as it makes me feel safer.

OP should have the right to see staff who make her comfortable, but so should people like me too. Banning one gender will always hurt some patients no matter which it is.

Well than there shouldn’t be an issue getting a woman if there are more women than men. How come it’s not that easy? Are they not working the same amount? Are they all in one geographical area?

Before this thread, I had never heard of anyone struggling to see a female OBGYN, so it must be to do with location and the fact there is generally limited choice of doctors in the NHS - you get what you’re given. The trend is definitely moving towards more and more women in this specialism and has been for years.

Very unreasonable. Best gynae ive ever seen was a man. He was thoughtful, asked me more questions than any female gynae I've seen and most of all listened to me and sorted out the treatment I required. But, to be perfectly honest, I wouldnt have cared if I saw a trained monkey, as long as the issues I had were dealt with.

Very, very weird post. OP could attempt to request a female obs/gynae.