Does your pediatrician leave kids fully clothed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to most of you, and especially to 10:30! I am OP and am surprised by the answers I got here. I've always been in the room for well-child checkups, and the kids have always worn gowns and underwear. They haven't been naked and posing for the staff! Even in this practice, my younger child wore a gown & underwear (with a different doctor), and the doctor checked his private parts.

The reason I ask is that I would have thought they would check the pubertal development, as you say, and also general overview of health and appearance that might not be as apparent under the tween burka. A question has arisen that would have been addressed at the checkup if the dr had been more thorough. Now we've got to decide whether to make a special appointment for that, and believe me, that will be way more traumatic for a pubertal girl than a question posed during a general checkup.

Welcome to DC, OP. Land of helicopter parenting and paranoia galore. I find it funny that so many of the PPs are alarmed by this. My kids get into a hospital gown for their physicals... and yes, I"m present why they're examined... and no, the ped doesn't have camera equipment in the room. Good god people. Yes, there are some bad peds out there, but the way you PPs reacted, you would've thought that pedophile peds were all over the place.

Not necessarily pedophile pediatricians, but pedophiles...absolutely. Check out your local sexual offender registry to see how many convicted offenders live and work in areas you frequent. I find thhe naivety regarding pedophilia to be absolutely breathtaking, particularly because of the increased media exposure due to abuse within the Catholic church as well as pedophila at local highly respected schools by long-standing, respected teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to most of you, and especially to 10:30! I am OP and am surprised by the answers I got here. I've always been in the room for well-child checkups, and the kids have always worn gowns and underwear. They haven't been naked and posing for the staff! Even in this practice, my younger child wore a gown & underwear (with a different doctor), and the doctor checked his private parts.

The reason I ask is that I would have thought they would check the pubertal development, as you say, and also general overview of health and appearance that might not be as apparent under the tween burka. A question has arisen that would have been addressed at the checkup if the dr had been more thorough. Now we've got to decide whether to make a special appointment for that, and believe me, that will be way more traumatic for a pubertal girl than a question posed during a general checkup.

Welcome to DC, OP. Land of helicopter parenting and paranoia galore. I find it funny that so many of the PPs are alarmed by this. My kids get into a hospital gown for their physicals... and yes, I"m present why they're examined... and no, the ped doesn't have camera equipment in the room. Good god people. Yes, there are some bad peds out there, but the way you PPs reacted, you would've thought that pedophile peds were all over the place.

Not necessarily pedophile pediatricians, but pedophiles...absolutely. Check out your local sexual offender registry to see how many convicted offenders live and work in areas you frequent. I find thhe naivety regarding pedophilia to be absolutely breathtaking, particularly because of the increased media exposure due to abuse within the Catholic church as well as pedophila at local highly respected schools by long-standing, respected teachers.

Sweet jesus. So we've gone from pediatricians to pedophiles. Yes, I'm aware of the risks of sex offenders. I'm a mother of three and I'm very cognizant of who lives close to me and in my neighborhood. But a physician asking a patient (regardless of how old they are) to disrobe and wear a gown is a very common practice especially when it comes to yearly physicals. My ten yr old and six yr old just had physicals... and wore gowns. I appreciate that my pediatrician is being thorough. Are you seriously gonna bring the catholic church into this? And sorry to break it to you, but your children have a much higher risk of being sexually abused by somebody they know rather than a doctor that they may see only a few times a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once my children were over 1, they stayed dressed for the exam and sat in my lap for almost all of it. At some point the dr had the child lie down on the table or would check very quickly into the diaper area as she called it to check my son's testicles or to do a quick check of my daughter's rash if I reported a concern. But otherwise no, the kids didn't get an all over check of skin while undressed.

if you think about it, except for skin conditions, there's really no need to have a child be undressed, is there, during a well-child exam? And wouldn't you the parent be in a position to report a concern? Wouldn't an 11 year old be old enough to reporta concern about her own skin?

I agree with all of the pps. OP, that seems very odd. We are heading to our kids 2 and 5yo well visits in a few hours and I'll report back whether or not the 2 yo was undressed. I know he has been undressed up until now, but I'm pretty certain our 5 yo was not undressed past the age of 2. Now, we do have a concern with our son to be undressed for the dr to check out, but I'll see if it's part of their normal procedure.

The only reason I can see for undressing a smaller child (up to 2) may be to look for signs of abuse, if suspected.

update - Our 5yo did not get undressed at all, but we did take off the 2yo's pants/diaper only because we had a concern that required his bottom half naked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a medical practitioner we are trained to do all well-child visits with the child in a gown and usually underwear. There are things that should be checked without clothes....especially at age 11. Spine alignment is one, but also breast/external genital area for signs of normal growth and development. I think that pediatricians in this area might have moved away from that because of people like the ones who have posted here...super sensitive about child nudity, etc. As someone who has seen more naked people than I care to remember, trust me when I say it is far from the same experience as seeing someone naked outside of the medical setting.

Another medical practitioner here who requires all annual physical exams to be done in a gown with underwear on. Honestly, how would I have ever diagnosed my teen patient's melanoma (on her back) if I hadn't done a full skin exam? Or how to look for other skin abnormalities? And, yes an annual exam should include examination of the genitalia for abnormalities.

I offer all patients a chaperone (either parent or nurse/tech- their choice) for their exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a medical practitioner we are trained to do all well-child visits with the child in a gown and usually underwear. There are things that should be checked without clothes....especially at age 11. Spine alignment is one, but also breast/external genital area for signs of normal growth and development. I think that pediatricians in this area might have moved away from that because of people like the ones who have posted here...super sensitive about child nudity, etc. As someone who has seen more naked people than I care to remember, trust me when I say it is far from the same experience as seeing someone naked outside of the medical setting.

Another medical practitioner here who requires all annual physical exams to be done in a gown with underwear on. Honestly, how would I have ever diagnosed my teen patient's melanoma (on her back) if I hadn't done a full skin exam? Or how to look for other skin abnormalities? And, yes an annual exam should include examination of the genitalia for abnormalities.

I offer all patients a chaperone (either parent or nurse/tech- their choice) for their exam.

Another thing to add now that I've read a few of the postings (I love the tween burka comment), I would have completely missed the self mutilation (cutting) of a teen patient two weeks ago if I had not had her completely changed.

[Anonymous]

So far with my four year old, exams have been done dressed. They lift his shirt when they check the heart and lungs, though.

The doctor also checks the genitalia, and does the whole "Only your parents and your doctor should should touch this part of you" (paraphrased) speech.

I don't think I would be freaked out by the gown thing, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to most of you, and especially to 10:30! I am OP and am surprised by the answers I got here. I've always been in the room for well-child checkups, and the kids have always worn gowns and underwear. They haven't been naked and posing for the staff! Even in this practice, my younger child wore a gown & underwear (with a different doctor), and the doctor checked his private parts.

The reason I ask is that I would have thought they would check the pubertal development, as you say, and also general overview of health and appearance that might not be as apparent under the tween burka. A question has arisen that would have been addressed at the checkup if the dr had been more thorough. Now we've got to decide whether to make a special appointment for that, and believe me, that will be way more traumatic for a pubertal girl than a question posed during a general checkup.

Welcome to DC, OP. Land of helicopter parenting and paranoia galore. I find it funny that so many of the PPs are alarmed by this. My kids get into a hospital gown for their physicals... and yes, I"m present why they're examined... and no, the ped doesn't have camera equipment in the room. Good god people. Yes, there are some bad peds out there, but the way you PPs reacted, you would've thought that pedophile peds were all over the place.

Not necessarily pedophile pediatricians, but pedophiles...absolutely. Check out your local sexual offender registry to see how many convicted offenders live and work in areas you frequent. I find thhe naivety regarding pedophilia to be absolutely breathtaking, particularly because of the increased media exposure due to abuse within the Catholic church as well as pedophila at local highly respected schools by long-standing, respected teachers.

Sweet jesus. So we've gone from pediatricians to pedophiles. Yes, I'm aware of the risks of sex offenders. I'm a mother of three and I'm very cognizant of who lives close to me and in my neighborhood. But a physician asking a patient (regardless of how old they are) to disrobe and wear a gown is a very common practice especially when it comes to yearly physicals. My ten yr old and six yr old just had physicals... and wore gowns. I appreciate that my pediatrician is being thorough. Are you seriously gonna bring the catholic church into this? And sorry to break it to you, but your children have a much higher risk of being sexually abused by somebody they know rather than a doctor that they may see only a few times a year.

Read the original post. OP kids were completely undressed *not* wearing gown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a medical practitioner we are trained to do all well-child visits with the child in a gown and usually underwear. There are things that should be checked without clothes....especially at age 11. Spine alignment is one, but also breast/external genital area for signs of normal growth and development. I think that pediatricians in this area might have moved away from that because of people like the ones who have posted here...super sensitive about child nudity, etc. As someone who has seen more naked people than I care to remember, trust me when I say it is far from the same experience as seeing someone naked outside of the medical setting.

Another medical practitioner here who requires all annual physical exams to be done in a gown with underwear on. Honestly, how would I have ever diagnosed my teen patient's melanoma (on her back) if I hadn't done a full skin exam? Or how to look for other skin abnormalities? And, yes an annual exam should include examination of the genitalia for abnormalities.

I offer all patients a chaperone (either parent or nurse/tech- their choice) for their exam.

Calling bullshit on this post. GPs do not diagnose melanoma. You would have sent her to a specialist for a biopsy.

[Anonymous]

My 2 year old daughter at her check up this past month got down to her diaper. My son's 7 year check up this past fall he was down to underwear. They've checked my son for hernias every year. I would imagine that would be kind of hard to do with pants on. This is at the pediatricians office though. Maybe they do it differently at a family practice. But I don't know how thorough of a yearly exam they can do with a long sleeved shirt and pants on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a medical practitioner we are trained to do all well-child visits with the child in a gown and usually underwear. There are things that should be checked without clothes....especially at age 11. Spine alignment is one, but also breast/external genital area for signs of normal growth and development. I think that pediatricians in this area might have moved away from that because of people like the ones who have posted here...super sensitive about child nudity, etc. As someone who has seen more naked people than I care to remember, trust me when I say it is far from the same experience as seeing someone naked outside of the medical setting.

Another medical practitioner here who requires all annual physical exams to be done in a gown with underwear on. Honestly, how would I have ever diagnosed my teen patient's melanoma (on her back) if I hadn't done a full skin exam? Or how to look for other skin abnormalities? And, yes an annual exam should include examination of the genitalia for abnormalities.

I offer all patients a chaperone (either parent or nurse/tech- their choice) for their exam.

Calling bullshit on this post. GPs do not diagnose melanoma. You would have sent her to a specialist for a biopsy.

Yes, the patient was referred to dermatology for biopsy and excision of a suspicious lesion that on pathology was a melanoma. Early catch and no metastatic disease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to most of you, and especially to 10:30! I am OP and am surprised by the answers I got here. I've always been in the room for well-child checkups, and the kids have always worn gowns and underwear. They haven't been naked and posing for the staff! Even in this practice, my younger child wore a gown & underwear (with a different doctor), and the doctor checked his private parts.

The reason I ask is that I would have thought they would check the pubertal development, as you say, and also general overview of health and appearance that might not be as apparent under the tween burka. A question has arisen that would have been addressed at the checkup if the dr had been more thorough. Now we've got to decide whether to make a special appointment for that, and believe me, that will be way more traumatic for a pubertal girl than a question posed during a general checkup.

Welcome to DC, OP. Land of helicopter parenting and paranoia galore. I find it funny that so many of the PPs are alarmed by this. My kids get into a hospital gown for their physicals... and yes, I"m present why they're examined... and no, the ped doesn't have camera equipment in the room. Good god people. Yes, there are some bad peds out there, but the way you PPs reacted, you would've thought that pedophile peds were all over the place.

Not necessarily pedophile pediatricians, but pedophiles...absolutely. Check out your local sexual offender registry to see how many convicted offenders live and work in areas you frequent. I find thhe naivety regarding pedophilia to be absolutely breathtaking, particularly because of the increased media exposure due to abuse within the Catholic church as well as pedophila at
local highly respected schools by long-standing, respected teachers.

Sweet jesus. So we've gone from pediatricians to pedophiles. Yes, I'm aware of the risks of sex offenders. I'm a mother of three and I'm very cognizant of who lives close to me and in my neighborhood. But a physician asking a patient (regardless of how old they are) to disrobe and wear a gown is a very common practice especially when it comes to yearly physicals. My ten yr old and six yr old just had physicals... and wore gowns. I appreciate that my pediatrician is being thorough. Are you seriously gonna bring the catholic church into this? And sorry to break it to you, but your children have a much higher risk of being sexually abused by somebody they know rather than a doctor that they may see only a few times a year.

Read the original post. OP kids were completely undressed *not* wearing gown.

okaaay. quote it for me then... cuz i don't see it. in the above post she wrote, she clearly states that her kids wore a gown with underwear underneath. a pretty standard practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a medical practitioner we are trained to do all well-child visits with the child in a gown and usually underwear. There are things that should be checked without clothes....especially at age 11. Spine alignment is one, but also breast/external genital area for signs of normal growth and development. I think that pediatricians in this area might have moved away from that because of people like the ones who have posted here...super sensitive about child nudity, etc. As someone who has seen more naked people than I care to remember, trust me when I say it is far from the same experience as seeing someone naked outside of the medical setting.

Another medical practitioner here who requires all annual physical exams to be done in a gown with underwear on. Honestly, how would I have ever diagnosed my teen patient's melanoma (on her back) if I hadn't done a full skin exam? Or how to look for other skin abnormalities? And, yes an annual exam should include examination of the genitalia for abnormalities.

I offer all patients a chaperone (either parent or nurse/tech- their choice) for their exam.

Calling bullshit on this post. GPs do not diagnose melanoma. You would have sent her to a specialist for a biopsy.

You know everything. I wish I knew somebody as smart as you. You're like the smartest person ever. GPs diagnosing things? I mean, that's weird. GPs don't diagnose things. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

The thing that has me worried is the amount of child abuse going undetected if the pediatricians aren't doing a once over of kids without their shirts on. That seems to really be dropping the ball and putting kids a risk.

[drmom]

Hello all-

Im Jenn mother of 2 teens and I work in the medical field ( physician assistant). I have mixed feelings over the question of making kids/teens/adults undress for physical exams.

I have completed many physical exams/ check ups/sports exams- or whatever you call them, on both males and female patients.

I understand why a doctor would want a patient undressed with a gown, but i see NO need for it. I do NOT let my kids undress at the doctors unless their is a problem.

In my opinion, we have given doctors too much trust and too much of a way for them to take advantage of patients.

Most of my experience is with kids/teens.

Best,

Jenn

[Anonymous]

drmom wrote:Hello all-

Im Jenn mother of 2 teens and I work in the medical field ( physician assistant). I have mixed feelings over the question of making kids/teens/adults undress for physical exams.

I have completed many physical exams/ check ups/sports exams- or whatever you call them, on both males and female patients.

I understand why a doctor would want a patient undressed with a gown, but i see NO need for it. I do NOT let my kids undress at the doctors unless their is a problem.

In my opinion, we have given doctors too much trust and too much of a way for them to take advantage of patients.

Most of my experience is with kids/teens.

Best,

Jenn

First, you're not a physician. Second, it is absolutely irresponsible of you NOT to fully undress a pediatric patient. You will miss child abuse, self-mutilation, and scores of other illnesses, such as the skin cancer mentioned above. You should ALWAYS have a chaperone (parent or nurse) for all breast or genital exams or any exam which may make the patient uncomfortable. Signed, a pediatric ER doctor.