I can respect that some women have no trouble with male nurses/OBs, but I
think it's important to note that some women are opposed to being examined by
a male in these circumstances.  We can say that we can just ask the woman's
permission first then before letting a male examine her, but most women (even
if very uncomfortable) are not going to decline this (feeling the pressure to
conform to the big medical system).

It's not that there aren't great men in this field of female reproduction
(Michel Odent, Michael Rosenthal, Marsden Wagner, etc.), but even the great
Dr. Odent says he is considering retiring and thinks all men should consider
retiring and returning the care and process of childbearing back to women.
We as childbirth educators and doulas are constantly talking about how
childbirth has become distorted and convoluted in our culture at least in
part because of the decline of female care (midwifery) and the complete
change to almost exclusive male physician care.

I personally would feel VERY uncomfortable with a man other than my husband
handling my breasts (or examining and touching my genitals for that matter),
even for the purposes of reproductive examination/education.  My husband
would die a thousand deaths before he would willingly stand by and let
another man touch my breasts (or genitals) for any reason at all.  I also
think I would feel pressured if someone asked me to let a male nurse help me
with my birth or breastfeeding, and this pressure might make me feel somewhat
resentful toward the hospital.  I think I would feel like, "If I say yes then
I will be highly uncomfortable and will feel violated.  If I say no then I
will be labeled as 'one of those patients.'"

My two cents is that I think it's best to keep the process of caring for
women and their bodies reproductively to women.  I want to close by saying
that I love such greats on this list as Dr. Jack Newman, Dr. Jay Gordon,
etc., and do not begrudge their expertise and contributions to this field in
any way.

Jessica Harrison Carlyon, MBA, CD, CLE

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