# Refusing pelvic exam at post partum check



## snowbird25ca (May 8, 2005)

I have my post partum check tomorrow with my OB. I'm already 9 wks pp, but my OB has been on mat leave and just returned this week. Honestly, I wouldn't even go to the appointment, but I want the pathology results from my placenta.

It may be my OB or an OB that she's job sharing with at the moment who sees me tomorrow and I won't know until I get there, and with all the stuff that happened this pregnancy I just don't feel like having yet another stranger take a look down there.









I'll go in to my family doc to get my regular pap done next fall since I was given the ok to move to every 2 yr paps awhile back now. And I didn't have any tears or hemorroids or anything, so no concerns from a medical perspective...

So I'm just wondering if anyone else refused the pelvic exam at the pp check? And were you given a hard time about it?


----------



## mamallama (Nov 22, 2001)

At the pp visit after my second birth (CNM attended homebirth,) my midwife asked if I needed or wanted her to check me out. I didn't. We were both satisified.

It's ok to be assertive with your ob. Sure, they have their policies and routines, but in the end it's YOUR body. If you don't want anyone poking around your yoni, that's your prerogative.


----------



## snowbird25ca (May 8, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mamallama* 
At the pp visit after my second birth (CNM attended homebirth,) my midwife asked if I needed or wanted her to check me out. I didn't. We were both satisified.

It's ok to be assertive with your ob. Sure, they have their policies and routines, but in the end it's YOUR body. If you don't want anyone poking around your yoni, that's your prerogative.

That's pretty much what I've decided.. my body, my decisions and the dr. is just going to have to stuff it if she has a problem. I'm just trying to give myself that extra bit of nerve now in case I'm given a hard time.


----------



## Mothra (Jun 4, 2002)

Why go to the appointment? Can't they give you the results you need over the phone?


----------



## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

You can say no. It is your body, and you are the boss.

My mw asked me if I wanted a pelvic exam or not and I didn't. That was that.


----------



## ~Mamaterra~ (Jul 5, 2006)

Don't do anything that you are uncomfortable with. Why is it that we will subject ourselves to an invasive pelvic just to avoid making the doctor feel bad? Your body, your choice!!!


----------



## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

I never even went to any postpartum appts.


----------



## snowbird25ca (May 8, 2005)

Thanks everyone. I just told the nurse I wouldn't be having a pelvic and she seemed shocked, but that was that. I told the dr I'd follow up with my family doc next fall when I was due for a pap and she was fine with it... never gave me a hard time anyways or tried to convince me otherwise.

Here you can't call in for test results, you have to actually see the dr. to get results unless the dr. is calling to follow up on something.

As it turned out, the pathology report showed an infection starting in the outer part of the placenta but it hadn't made it in far enough to affect ds yet. The dr. told me that I had a smart little guy and that my body did exactly as it was supposed to and put me into labor to protect us both. (I'd had PPROM for 8 days at that point.)

So all is good and I was worried for nothing. And I got to see the dr. I'd seen during my pregnancy, so that was good too.


----------



## bobandjess99 (Aug 1, 2005)

cool!
and just as a thought......don't think of it as "refusing"...instead,. think of it as "i am not going to choose to have a pelvic at this time."

"refuse" has such a negative conotation..like a 3 year old refusing to pick up his toys or something...same thing with any test or procedure....remember , YOU are in control, YOU make the decisions....you either choose or choose not to do things.....much more empowering than "accept" and "refuse"


----------



## doctorjen (May 29, 2003)

Quote:

and just as a thought......don't think of it as "refusing"...instead,. think of it as "i am not going to choose to have a pelvic at this time."

"refuse" has such a negative conotation..like a 3 year old refusing to pick up his toys or something...same thing with any test or procedure....remember , YOU are in control, YOU make the decisions....you either choose or choose not to do things.....much more empowering than "accept" and "refuse"
Just an aside, but I also hate that "refuse" thing that is used in medical documentation. I always chart that a client either "declined" or "chose" to do something I suggested or counseled about.

Also, I almost never do a pelvic exam at a postpartum visit. I always ask if the client is having any difficulty, and if they had stitches do they want me to take a look, but most people don't. If someone is due for a pap, I offer that as well, but it's unusual for me to do one then unless we were following a problem already.


----------



## snowbird25ca (May 8, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *doctorjen* 
Just an aside, but I also hate that "refuse" thing that is used in medical documentation. I always chart that a client either "declined" or "chose" to do something I suggested or counseled about.

Also, I almost never do a pelvic exam at a postpartum visit. I always ask if the client is having any difficulty, and if they had stitches do they want me to take a look, but most people don't. If someone is due for a pap, I offer that as well, but it's unusual for me to do one then unless we were following a problem already.

That's a nice change to hear from a dr. Around here pp check consists of pap, discuss birth control and that's mostly it. I wouldn't have even gone if I hadn't wanted the pathology results from the placenta. Although for the record, I've never been able to see a midwife, so I'm sure that'd be a different story.


----------

