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Filler
FILLER
Down thereyou know . . . whatchamacallit!
Michael Berry specialist trainee year 4, anaesthesia, Watford General Hospital
It never ceases to amaze me how the words vulva and vagina
make peoples toes curl. Female patients frequently use all sorts
of euphemisms to describe their genitalia, implying some sense
of shame associated with the anatomically correct terms. This
leads me on to the medical profession and its collusion with this
taboo surrounding the terminology of female genitalia.
Moreover, the specialty expected to be the pioneers in
appropriate nomenclature is probably one of the worst offenders:
obstetrics. Conceptionthat is, sexand stages of cervical
dilatation are all freely and proudly discussed. However, the
regular vaginal examinations are secretively disguised as an
internal examination or shortened to an acronym such as VE.
The comedy or tragedy depending on how you view it does not
end there. Delivery by forceps entails half a dozen healthcare
professionals peering intently at a womens vulva and repeated
examinations down below are loudly announced by obstetricians
of varying seniority. On more than one occasion has the rightly
concerned birthing partner turned to me and whispered: Where
are they going to examine?
Finally, after a delivery by caesarean section, the last steps of
the procedure always involve cleaning you down therethat
shameful abyss, which like Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter
series is not allowed to be named. What a paradoxical situation
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