Tatiana Butskaya, a pediatrician and winner of the “Best Parent Blogger” award, spoke about why girls must visit a female doctor even before school.
When I was preparing my daughter for school, in the first grade, I was given a long “guidebook”: a list of which doctors we need to go through in order to get the right to gnaw the granite of science. Surgeon, ophthalmologist, ENT, endocrinologist – that’s all clear. But a gynecologist? .. I myself don’t like going to this doctor too much, but I have to. However, why is he to a six-year-old child?
– On the forums, I often come across questions, indignation and fears of mothers: “A children’s gynecologist is nonsense”, “Why go if you can’t look at the child with instruments and the girl doesn’t bother?”, “I myself see that my daughter has everything there. okay! ”,“ The daughter will still have time to visit the gynecologist ”,“ Examination by a pediatric gynecologist is harmful to the child’s psyche! ” Someone really has a negative experience of visiting a pediatric gynecologist, and someone is simply not sufficiently informed about why this specialist is needed.
So, let’s dispel some of the myths around the “adult” doctor and understand the situation.
The fact that a girl is not sexually active, and she is not yet menstruating, does not mean that the gynecologist is not her doctor. After all, she has female genital organs! They are just developing and forming. And it’s very important to keep track of how this happens. After all, problems with gynecology and reproductive function in a woman, when she begins to have sex and decides to give birth to a child, may be the result of untreated, neglected problems in childhood. Which ones? For example, such:
– vulvovaginitis – Violations of the microflora of the vagina lead to it, as in a mature woman. This can even happen in a newborn girl. Often, such a problem is encountered in the first two years of life, when diapers are actively used, creating a greenhouse effect. Girls do not yet have enough lactobacilli in their vagina to protect against infections like women do. Therefore, any decrease in immunity or inadequate hygiene can cause inflammation.
– congenital cysts or tumors of the ovaries, underdevelopment of internal genital organs. This is very dangerous during puberty and can lead to irreversible consequences if the problem is not identified in time.
– a common problem for little girls – synechiae, or fusion of the labia minora… Because of this misfortune, it is difficult for a child to go to the toilet and close to inflammation in the kidneys. Synechiae can occur due to an allergic reaction, features of the skin of the labia minora, or in the presence of an inflammatory process. The reason must be found out.
In addition, the pediatric gynecologist examines not only the genitals, but also the mammary glands, assesses the state of the girl’s endocrine system, hair growth, which is especially important to exclude violations of puberty. Especially a pediatric gynecologist is important for a girl who has just started her period. He should talk about the rules of hygiene, what signs and symptoms should and, conversely, should not embarrass the girl.
Many believe that they can independently assess the condition of their daughter’s genitals. And they are wrong.
Mom may think that outwardly everything is fine. But the absence of redness, discharge, itching, complaints of the daughter is not a guarantee that there is no latent inflammatory process or disease. For example, the same adhesions of the labia minora often do not manifest themselves in any way and are outwardly invisible. Moreover, the mother sees only the external genitals of her daughter and, by the way, does not really know how they should normally look at every age of the girl, and the doctor will be able to delicately, through the stomach, probe the internal organs and determine their condition.
The question is, of course, important. If the doctor is delicate, respectful of the child, the girl is prepared, and the mother is calm, then there will be no trauma to the psyche. There are several rules for those who do not trust pediatric gynecologists.
1. Find your doctor
If we, for example, come across an indelicate dentist, do we, in principle, stop treating a child’s teeth? We just start looking for another doctor. Also here. Remember how you were looking for the same gynecologist or other specialist for yourself, how many doctors you went through. It is really important to find a doctor you and your child can trust. Try to find a doctor through friends or look for recommendations on the forums.
2. Learn how a girl should be examined
Examining a girl is not at all like examining a mature woman. No mirrors and instruments are in any way inserted into the girl’s vagina. This is really unnecessary. Examination by a pediatric gynecologist is a delicate external examination and a superficial palpation of the abdomen in order to understand how the internal genital organs develop, whether there are any cysts, tumors, inflammations.
3. Prepare and customize your daughter
Tell your daughter that there is such a doctor, why he is needed and what will be done at the appointment. Explanations, of course, must be tailored according to the age of the child. Tell that you and other women also go to such a doctor – this will definitely inspire confidence in your daughter. If you understand what the examination is for, if you trust the doctor, then you can explain everything to your daughter so that she is not afraid. Otherwise, the child may be frightened only by the fact that you yourself are tense.