Healthcare

Physical therapist Caitlyn Tivy talks pelvic exams in the current era: what they are, why you might need one, and how to make them a comfortable and positive experience, including modifications that can be made with them that you might want or need.

A primer on accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare in the United Kingdom.

Do you really need that pelvic exam? Here's a quick primer of how to figure out if you do and how to talk to your healthcare about it, including if they say you do when you think you don't or just don't want one.

That's a really, really good question! To answer it, I want to stop for a second to talk about why your doctor asked you that question. Usually, for young people (especially if you've seen them before and it's the first time they've asked you that question), the doctor wants to assess what kinds of...

My experience with sex-negativity and ignorance in the medical world. Adventures in having an ovarian cyst, coming out in the ER, enduring bad gynecological exams, healing my relationship with my anus and finally finding a good doctor.

You're not the only person confused by this term, so let's see if we can't clear it up for everyone once and for all. When healthcare professionals ask that question, they are asking from a sexual health perspective. In other words, what they are wanting to know is if a patient or client has...

Hi there, I am so sorry you had such a negative experience for your first PAP test. I promise you, it is not always like this, and it certainly doesn't HAVE to be like this. First off, your doctor TELLING YOU that you have to have a PAP test is wrong. A nurse practitioner (NP) cannot tell you what...

This is actually a question that we see very often around here, and it’s understandable that you’d be worried about this if you don’t want your mother right now to know that you’re sexually active. Doctors actually have an ethical responsibility in keeping what’s called doctor-patient...

The answer to this depends entirely on exactly what you're talking about here. If you're wondering whether a gynecologist can tell if a woman has ever had an orgasm, then the answer is no. Orgasm does not permanently change the state of the genitals in any way. There would be nothing special for the...

Probably not, no. There are a few reasons why this is the case. One of them, particularly in clinics which also provide abortions, is an issue of simple security. It is dangerous to work in these clinics because of a history of in-clinic violence, and some time ago, one way people who did violence...