Opinion | Why so many Chinese women feel invisible to their gynaecologist
- A viral video on Weibo has sparked discussion on painful medical tools and the lack of care women suffer during gynaecology appointments
- While pain relief treatments such as epidurals during labour remain uncommon in China, hospitals can still do more to provide comfort and communicate with patients
The first thing the doctor would say to me was, “Take off your underwear and lie on the table”. Then, she would squeeze some gel on my belly and start rolling an ultrasound probe up and down my skin with her right hand. She would type on a keyboard with her left hand when she spotted something on the screen.
The process usually lasted 15 minutes. The whole time, the doctor never spoke to me directly. She occasionally shouted incomprehensible measurements at her assistant, who recorded them on a diagram of the human uterus.
It was a strange and uncomfortable experience. They were examining me, but I felt entirely irrelevant.
The blogger shared her experience of being at the doctor’s and the discomfort she felt during her appointment, wondering why there haven’t been any improvements.