Women's Health

When should your daughter start seeing a gynecologist?

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Just this week, my perimenopausal patient asked if she could bring her teenage daughters to see me for their first GYN visits. Since my practice is focused on women over 40, I do not see younger women as often.  On the other hand, my own patients have daughters and want their first visit be with someone known and trusted. So, I agreed to see these young women. I was careful to reinforce an atmosphere of confidentiality, so everyone was comfortable sharing information with me. My own patient understood the need for that, and I presume that her trust in me made the process of letting her girls take this next step into adulthood easier.  

 
Women under the age of 21 do not need routine PAP smears, pelvic and breast exams. This recommendation includes sexually active young women. However, young women need a lot of education on menstrual cycles, premenstrual symptoms and their remedies, acne and weight issues, and a non-scary talk about sexually transmitted disease prevention and contraception. I also include a discussion on sexual function, including how to achieve orgasm. Yes, that’s right. This topic rarely comes up for young women in a setting that allows for explicit instructions on the nuts and bolts of the matter. Isn’t it better for our daughters to get the best information from an expert rather than their friends and the internet? I think so. If you happen to send your daughters to me for their first GYN visit, at least you know what I will be talking about, so you don’t have to!

Tara Allmen, MD Credentials:
– Board Certified Gynecologist and Nationally Certified Menopause Practitioner
– New York City’s Leading Expert In Menopause
– President, North American Menopause Society Foundation
– Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
– New York City’s Top Gynecologist, 2015
– Five Star Rating From Doctor’s Choice Awards
– Five Star Rating From HealthGrades

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