Since so many people here seem traumatized by their ob/gyn experiences or afraid to even have ANY ob/gyn experiences, I thought maybe we could share some good experiences to balance the scale.

I had my annual exam today, and I love-love-love my gyn! She's so nice and so gentle and makes you so comfortable... she's the best! My exam today wasn't the slightest bit uncomfortable-- not even a twinge-- and afterward, I feel fine. If you live in or near the Houston area, her name is Dr. Dawn Black, she's at Obstetrical Gynecological Associates (OGA) at 7900 Fannin and I highly recommend her. She's very friendly and always takes time to talk with me both before and after the exam and give me a chance to voice any concerns or questions I may have about my health. I love her! :up:

I had a GYN once that was HOT so every visit was nice! LOL!! (It was a man by the way)

I don't mind going to the gyno, infact I'd rather go there then to the dentist! The office I go to there are 2 women who see me(depends on who's there that day), they're both very nice and friendly. While they're doing the examination they ask me about work, life, ect. They seem to really know what they're doing too, I've never had them mess up on anything or do anything painful.

my experiences have been positive. the actual appointments for tests and stuff go well.

it's the stuff beyond that--such as talk about birth control and fertility treatments--that frustrate me. it's difficult to find a gyn who is willing to engage the various natural methods that exist or even to acknowledge that sex doesn't have to be physically traumatizing to women.

there are a few doctors in my area who are catholic and they take the FAM approach. most of them are male and i'm not comfortable with a male ob/gyn as a general principle. I just met a woman who is a midwife and very all natural. she does the various gyn check ups (as a nurse practitioner), and i really enjoyed the 'check out' conversation i had with her (i set up an appointment to meet her and find out if i want her as my ob/gyn). she's out of network, so i'll have a bit larger copay, but if we get along, all the better.

anyway, it was cool, because we sat in this awesome old house, in the kitchen and had tea and talked about different stuff--and she was really cool and supportive and deeply intuitive about stuff and so i think i'll have my appointments with her.

I've been through 3 that were assigned to me -- one civilian, the other two military.

The second one is a positive experience. I even had him throughout my pregnancy and he was WONDERFUL! He was always 100% friendly, he would listen to me and he was extremely open minded about everything. I wanted an IUD after I had my son and he went through all of the information with me and we both decided it was the best option for me. However you have to wait until 11 weeks post partum to get one and I was moving from Florida to Hawaii one week after giving birth. He put a letter into my medical file for my next doctor to view stating that I understand the risks and that we both think an IUD is the best. (I didn't get one with my next doctor, but that wench is a not so positive experience) But he was just...wow, fantastic. Pap's were so much more comfortable with him. In my experience, I've actually gone through at least 15 OB's -- dealing with pregnancy and they've all been "down there" as well. *lol* In my experience, men are much more gentle and they really listen well when you are talking about anything from birth control - giving birth!

My gyno is great. She's got small hands, is gentle, and is easy to talk to. She's even given up her lunch to fit in an appointment for me whan I had a problem. If anyone is moving to the St. Louis area and needs a recommendation, I'd gladly give her name. My last visit was super easy ... definately better than the dentist. Recently, I had to get some extra gyno tests done and they were quick and painless, as well. Now my biggest source of discomfort is imagining the horrible grimaces I make when she's squishing around doing the breast exam. It doesn't hurt at all, I just can't help but make strange faces as I hold back the nervous giggles. :sealed: