Male obstetricians & gynaes

[RevoltingPeasant]

This is just a musing, really.

What do you think about men who work in obstetrics & gynaecology? In my undergraduate women's studies days, I would've bristled and said, 'What? Why does it matter whether the dr is a man?'

But since joining MN I have read so much about assault during childbirth, rude and dismissive HCPs, and it does seem that most of these comments are about male doctors. Recently I have started to wonder if bad treatment of maternity patients is related to the still-preponderance of male HCPs.

Would we be better off with mostly female consultants in this area? Would you go to a hospital/ clinic entirely staffed by women? Do you think women drs listen to women more?

Or is this a non-issue?

I know a consultant obs. He refers to himself as a "fanny mechanic" . A few weeks ago he was seriously telling me that in his professional opinion all women should have a C section as the outcome for babies is better but not for women but they aren't as important

slug the C-Section/natural birth argument is a funny one, as both sides claim to be pro women and the other to be misogynist.

E.g. This blogpost outlines how the insistence on "pain relief is bad, feeling pain is empowering" is actually quite misogynist.e

If I look at the ragged bits thread I'm not sure whether recommending a CS doesn't also have a good outcome for the mother in mind. My perineum and the risk of tears certainly also was one point of consideration when I decided to ask for an ELCS with my second child.

As for "fanny mechanic" - as long as he doesn't introduce himself as that to a patient, I can't really see the outrage, it's no worse than referring to the urinary tract as waterworks or an anaethesist calling himself "gasman". It's flippant, yes, but certainly not misogynistic.

To be fair he did also point out it was easier for the doctors, the C sections could be timetabled to make good use of hospital resources. Though the costs argument didn't seem to occur to him. The man is a neighbour. He's not a person I would voluntarily spend time with, though his wife (also a consultant gyne) is very nice.

It can be shocking and quite upsetting for your husband if you go to a male gynaecologist. Men know how other men actually think!

WRT costs - I wonder how they compare if continence issues, loss of sexual function and psychological trauma are taken into account.

I am a feminist but my personal experiences would make me prefer to deal with male obs. Purely because I know that I would then avoid the female arseholes that I've previously encountered.

I had a male student doctor observing when I had my son, and to be frank it made the labour much more difficult. I wish I hadn't agreed to it. I just feel more comfortable with women and the female midwife I had was SUPERB!!!! She gave me a hug and praised me all the way through and she was just great. I find it hard to understand why some women feel more comfortable with male gynae doctors TBH.

I would like to add that with my daughter, my first child, a male doctor performed the sweep, and it was very painful. He showed little regard and my husband was furious. He was the one who asked the doctor, 'As a man, what do YOU know about the pain my wife is in?' I wasn't furious as I was just concerned for my child...but when a female doctor performed the sweep with my son and it was painless, I felt that I would always prefer a woman doctor from then on. I felt guilty about that...but I am not sure why.

IME, both make and female professionals can be just as dismissive and have bad bedside manner. I prefer women a it makes me more comfortable but in labour, you pretty much take what comes and can't discrimate.

'It can be shocking and quite upsetting for your husband if you go to a male gynaecologist. Men know how other men actually think!'

That is really disturbing. I think you need to stop taking 'ownership' of your wife and her vagina.

If your wife is happy enough to have a male gyno then there's no reason for you to get your knickers in a twist.

Please be advised, This 4 month old thread has been revived by mywifeismylife

Oh right, didn't notice that, thanks.

There has been a long history of men in obstetrics and gynaecology. But should they be involved in women's intimate care?
There are lots of posts on this forum about why women shouldn't be sexist and gender doesn't matter when it comes to their gynaecologist. Well, in my experience of the NHS you are not given a choice of the gender of your practitioner.

However, studies do show that if women are given a choice only a very small percentage would choose a male over a female. The largest percentage would choose female and the remainder don't mind either way.

Women don't know who their male gynaecologist is. What complaints have been made against him in the past and there is no end of 'respected' male gynaecologists being found guilty of indecent assaults on patients after years of practicing and women patients proclaiming him as marvellous.

All of the sexual allegations investigate by the GMC last year were against men. In 2017 more than half of all female medics in UK will be female. None of them have sexual allegations made against them.

As far as sex offenders go, depending on victim preference it is a well known strategy that sex offenders (again mainly men) choose occupations that will give them more or less unrestricted access to their preferred victim type. Think of recent scandals in the Catholic Church, football coaches in the UK. if your preferred victim type is an adult female what better job than being a gynaecologist? A patient thinks she was being groped, he says he was being thorough. VERY difficult to prove otherwise and women being women blame themselves, don't want to seem a prude or are over reacting. Eventually one victim comes forward and is believed and there is an avalanche effect with numerous victims coming forward. DOnt forget DR Shipmans patients loved him.

Male gynaecologists have been telling women for years that female genitalia is just another body part to them. If that's the case why wouldn't they give their own mothers a cervical smear test. bet they would look at a cut on her knee though, if she asked. THey have told women this because it ensures compliance.

Women if you get a choice, choose female. If something inappropriate or weird happens when you are being examined by a male gynaecologist, report it. You might save a lot of women coming after you a lot of pain , mainly emotional.

"no... but you expect a female dr to be more sympathetic to period or childbirth problems.. but their not. how a male dr can empathise with heavy painful periods I don't know.. same as we can't empathise with prostate or impotence issues for example.."

But what if you've got a broken arm, but your doctor has never broken a bone? Or you have cancer and they've never experienced it? I don't want my doctor to empathise with me or tell me how they've experienced it and yeah it's horrible, I want them to diagnose and treat me.

ZOMBIE THREAD

choccylab, why did you bump a thread from 5 years ago? Might be better to start a new thread, as many posters may not be around to respond after this long a gap.

Well you responded. Maybe others will too😊

Would we be better off with mostly female consultants in this area? Would you go to a hospital/ clinic entirely staffed by women? Do you think women drs listen to women more?

Yes, yes, maybe.

I am one of the people who are unlikely to seek help for annoying, but survivable health issues because in the hospital system, there is no consideration for women's privacy.

Even if the male doctor is perfectly nice, I don't want my private parts looked at by random males. And if the door is open and any male can just walk in - really, no one need complain that women don't go to the hospital to give birth.
(I'd try and bear the pain rather than have my privacy violated, too. I'd want pain relief, but if that's only accessible at the cost of having my boundaries violated, I'd make a choice)

I have no problem with male gynecologists as such. They can treat all women who book appointments with them, no problem. But to have them in a hospital and forced on any woman who gives birth there - no.

(And I'd much prefer to have a 100% female team for more or less any surgery that requires me to be partially unclothed. I had my wisdom teeth removed by a mostly male team, and that was okay, but if I had to have my appendix removed, ugh, no.)

Complete non issue for me although the all female staffed Well Women clinic I attended re very heavy and very frequent periods were hopeless , problem was solved by male gynaecologist.

I was offered female only doctors/midwives with my son due to my history. I declined.

Oddly enough I prefer men because when women find out what happened to me one of two things happens, either it's dismissed and I'm essentially told I need to "put my big girl pants on" even if I haven't raised it (i.e. them reading my notes) or they became too nice, patting my hand, trying to hug me etc and essentially treating me as a victim which is the last thing I want.

Men on the other hand (in my experience so far), having first discovered whether I'm okay with whatever they're doing get on with it without the blaming me, making me feel awkward or trying to hug me stages.

No I'm not saying men cannot be competent or caring when it comes to dealing with women. I am saying that the chances are you will have no idea about the dictors history or competence when you attend your appointment and if you want to take away or completely negate the chance of being sexually abused when you are being intimately examined, you should choose women practitioners.

My problem with it is not at all to do with the sex of the consultant but rather the medicalisation of women and women's bits. Because we all fall apart at some point in our lives and we must a. spend our own money to fix it or b. go to someone else who will profit from it.

Men have such sturdy bits and are never controlled by their hormones. Most urinary consultants are men, because most urinary problems are male.

How where your heavy periods solved Lass?

How where your heavy periods solved Lass?

Endometrial ablation. The NHS Well Women clinic never suggested it. They suggested that hormone implant thingy which sounded scary and were very iffy when I asked if it could be removed early if it didn't suit me The male gynaecologist saw me as a private patient.

Endometrial ablation is not an option if you want future pregnancies but I didn't.

Either EA or Hysterectomy. I'd plumb for the EA. I never knew the NHS did Well Women clinics, but my Well Woman clinic which I went to privately when I was working was as much use as a chocolate fire guard. I didn't pay for it.

Elendon, GP surgeries used to do Well Woman clinics, they don't any more.