Why A Visit To Gynecologist Is Unpleasant For Some Women

For some women, it is the fear of physical examination that holds them back, for others it is the fear of a pathological outcome.

Some medical checkups seem more difficult than appearing for an exam. They make us anxious and cause that gut-wrenching feeling days before the scheduled appointment. One of these might be a visit to your gynecologist. While many women are more confrontational about their reproductive health, others feel embarrassed and are intimidated by experiences that intrude on their bodily privacy.

Intimidating expert

Simran Rao, a 23-year-old young woman suffers from PCOS. Having changed some gynecologists over a span of a year, she shared how the intimidating persona of one of the medical experts had made it hard for her to open up about her health problems. "I won't name the doctor, but I will surely describe the haunting feeling I faced every time I entered his clinic. If I had to picture him, I would say that he was an old, grumpy man. It was just a one-sided conversation with him. His face had the constant lemon-like-sour expression, which made it difficult for me to open up."

In her entire course of treatment, Rao shared how she used to ask her mother to accompany her each time she visited the expert. She felt that her mother's presence made it easy for her to counter question the doctor when needed. "He was an experienced doctor, but it should not be a levy to misconduct. By the very nature of it, such checkups are sensitive. By maintaining a rude demeanor, you are making it all the more difficult for us to address the already tabooed issues."

Fearing the pelvic test

As per a study, Women's Attitudes Regarding Gynecological Examination, published in 2007 in the National Library of Medicine, pelvic examination can provoke negative feelings such as fear of illness, pain and embarrassment. The procedure may be experienced as very unpleasant and humiliating.

The study also stated that during the physical examination, women experience many feelings such as embarrassment about undressing, worries about cleanliness of their genitals, a fear that a gynecologist might discover something about their intimate practices or the fear of discovery of a pathological condition.

Fearing deadly diagnosis

Richa Sharma, a 32-year-old woman based in Agra shared her experiencing on how she felt on visiting a gynecologist as a young woman.

"I was never scared of the physical examination but what made me fearful was the outcome of the test. I used to fear being diagnosed with some serious ailment. We keep hearing about these diseases all the time, be it breast cancer or cervical cancer. My source of anxiety was the diagnosis," said Sharma.

Asking for privacy

Apeksha Priya, a young woman from Bengaluru raised an objection on gynecologists asking intimate questions in presence of family members who often accompany these women for checkups.

"It's a matter of awareness for both the doctors and the family members who accompany us for these physical tests. I personally feel that our bodily privacy must be taken care of when we are visiting with relatives or friends. While doctors must be careful of the manner in which they are putting up the questions and family members too should provide us that private space where we can openly talk about our problems with the expert," said Priya.

Experts have a say

Dr Chennuru Nishitha, a Telangana based gynecologist, described how she often comes across shy patients who are hesitant in visiting her for check-ups. "Young women, especially in sub-urban spaces only turn up to our doors if the condition is pathological. Very few young women come up for routine check-ups."

She also shares how she attempts to make the experience easy for her young patients. "As gynecologists, we have to ask straightforward questions. Without answers, we can't head for the treatment. So, this requirement cannot be compromised but what can be done to make things easy is to make your patients comfortable in our presence by asking the same questions in an indirect manner which might not sound that confrontational." Dr Nishitha also shared how she often tries to keep the pelvic examination tools away from the sight of her patients as a technique to reduce their anxiety.

The last word

Studies show that women's reluctance to undergo gynecological examination, due to the nature of the examination, fear or concerns about the gynecologist's attitude, may result in delay or avoidance of examination with potentially harmful health effects. Timely and routine examinations are important. This can save your life.