This is a very Pollyannaish viewpoint. Also, I don't know how a question can be a lie. |
Yes, a little chat would potentially save a life. If during that chat the patient mentions symptoms that lead to an exam that leads to a diagnosis. That's how medicine works. You know what doesn't save lives? Being an uneducated moron who doesn't take their daughter to the GYN at the recommended age. Are you also this adamant about not taking your child to the dentist? It's such profound ignorance that I'd truly curious. |
I think what you don't understand is that the girls who are "hearing about their bodies for the first time" are never the ones who would be brought to these exams. They are either a) too poor to spend money on what is at heart an informational medical visit or b) their parents have kept information about their bodies from them because they want to keep them ignorant/innocent/etc and thus would never bring them to the doctor for such a visit. America is very different from Europe in this regard. Essentially what someone said earlier in the thread is true--bringing your daughter to the gyno at a very young age just to "get comfy" with the idea is the purview of extremely privileged, likely liberal, people. |
I take my kid to the dentist because they fully examine her teeth. I wouldn't take my kid to the gyno unless a) she had symptoms and/or b) we planned for her to get a full internal examination. |
But I didn't say that I would bring my daughter just to get comfy. It's a necessary medical exam just like any other. |
You are not qualified to determine what symptoms warrant a visit, which is why you take them to a specialist. If you aren't doing that, you're an irresponsible, selfish, ignorant parent. Just like you wouldn't neglect her teeth, you shouldn't neglect her reproductive health. |
| Back to OPs question, our dd went when she was a junior in HS |
We are all answering OP's question. |
OMG, so is she or isn't she getting a full internal exam? Because if she is, that's very different from what most people are proposing for their 12 year old. |
I literally just said I would take child to gyno if she had symptoms. But I'm not taking her if she doesn't. Same for cardiologist or neurologist. And my first stop would be the PCP, to see what they think. Since I'm "not qualified to determine what symptoms warrant a visit." |
You are talking to various people. The recommended age is between 12-15 because that's after the onset of puberty, menses, and all sorts of hormonal changes which affect their reproductive health. Of course, they should conduct the exam! |
And this is exactly why I said you're an irresponsible, selfish, ignorant parent. You are choosing to ignore medical advice and are putting your daughter at rick. You are not qualified to determine what warrants the visit. Which is why you should take her whether you think she has symptoms or not. |
| *risk. |
Why are you so hyper fixated on one poster’s story? Implying invasive exams on 12 yrs old. I am PP you’re responding to and I won’t slow my roll (whatever that means) so get mad I guess. My kid had her first pelvic exam at 15 because she was having all sorts of pelvic problems. VERY heavy periods. Very bad cramps. First we went to our pediatric (CMA) who said oh yeah we can help with that but only certain providers in our practice do that. Took a month to get an appointment with one of the providers who deals with gyno issues. That provider prescribed birth control pills, but they did nothing to help symptoms. My DD was miserable and was suffering. CMA wanted us to keep coming every single month for bloodwork (aka pregnancy test) and urine sample (also another pregnancy test) but wouldn’t admit they were checking for that. She was not sexually active. After 6 months of this insanity I called my gyno (CWC) and asked would they see my daughter at her age, and did she have to do a pelvic exam. They saw her the next day and did not require a pelvic exam the first visit. They took her issues very seriously, treated her like an adult, never shamed her, never made her feel self conscious. They were wonderful. After trying a different BCP and some ultrasounds she felt comfortable a month later for a pelvic exam. Pelvic exams aren’t a walk on the beach but putting fear in teens and women about them is criminal and causes women to delay care because they’re scared, fearful and embarrassed. Stop doing this. Stop! |
BRAVA |