Bare chest policy at pediatrician

How was the policy of undressing for auscultation of heart and general examination (e.g. checkups) of the upper body at your pediatrician?

For women: can you leave your bra/bustier on? Maybe it was necessary to wear a bra for not being bare chested because undershirts are not allowed?

For men: Were vest allowed? Were you shirtless for the whole time?

Every pediatrician I went to required me to strip to my underwear (briefs), no matter the reason for the visit. As

they would always do a chest exam, this made sense. It also added to a feeling of surrender to his authority, which is a bonus, as it made me feel compliant.

It was always the same, namely, strip to my briefs and be examined such that my briefs would be lowered or removed when it was time to check my genitals!

I didn't go to a pediatrician, my doctor was the GP that my whole family used. (Circa 1950's-60's) From my earliest memory up through my teen years any office visit meant stripping to underpants only. Underpants would be lowered for genital checks and RTs (though age 8 ) but often removed if getting a shot. I was skinny as a kid but as I developed upper body muscles more shots were given in the arm.

Typically we were dressed for most of the exam and the doctor would lift up our shirts or go under. Only one time off the top of my head did I have to remove my shirt at my standard visit. There were a couple of different doctors that did it differently. I was stripped more bare for my first sports physical and wore a gown for one visit when I was young.

I didn't have a pediatrician, I only went to a GP when I was ill as a kid.

Nine times out-of ten I had to strip down to my underpants. The odd time I didn't I was still asked to take my t-shirt off for them to listen to me.

At our pediatrician we had to take everything of and only underpants were ok.

At pediatrician I usually stripped to my underwear, no gown for all visits.

At the pediatrician, the nurse would always say "everything off except underpants". Up until about age 8 the doctor would always do the regular parts of the checkup first, and then take down the underpants to handle and examine my "boy parts". My mom's eyes would always light up, and a big smile would come over her face as she stared with a profound look of fulfillment at my naked penis and testicles. From age 9 the pediatrician varied when he would strip me naked for the male genitalia examination. Sometimes he'd do it in the middle of the checkup, and even sometimes toward the beginning. This seemed to delight my mom even more. I loved that my mom derived great joy from seeing my completely naked male body and bare penis and testicles, and I looked forward each year with increasing sexual arousal to having her see me stripped and naked. The crescendo of those pediatric physicals was during my first checkup after sprouting pubic hair. I was already mostly erect in the underpants, and when off came the underpants and mom expressed her delight that some hair had begun to grow above my penis, up up went the penis to full erection and squirt squirt squirt went the semen from my erect, hairy, naked penis. I'd never seen Mom smile more as she licked her lips and locked her eyes on the semen running down her "beloved boy's" nude, hairy penis.

It depends on the reason I went to the pediatrician. If it was a visit due to illness, I usually only took off my shirt so that the doctor could auscultate my heart and lungs. During periodic examinations, I was usually asked to strip down to my underwear and then lower it to examine my intimate parts.

It was shirt off or down to undies. Never had any options.

I always had to remove my shirt even if I kept my pants on. I hated it. I hated taking my shirt off as a child and teenager because of some gynomasticoma. I was always embarrassed. I’d argue with my mom about keeping my shirt on until the doctor came in, even if my pants were already off, too.

I had a pediatrician - two actually because we moved - from birth through the end of high school. Both pediatricians had the same office procedure. No matter what I went in for, from a full physical to sore throat, I had to strip to just my briefs/boxer shorts and socks. The doctor also always examined my testicles no matter why I was there.

At my pediatrician’s office it was everything off except underwear. After weighing, measuring, BP, and rectal temperature, the undershirt came off while waiting for the doctor. A parent was in the room all throughout high school. Girls were not exempt. They undressed to bra and panties, and after their temperature was taken the bra came off. I have referenced many times the lack of privacy, I.e. doors left wide or partially open. Basically, everyone walking the hall could see anyone in various stages of undress, having their temperature taken, being examined with a stethoscope, genital exam, and of course penicillin shots.

I never really gave it much thought. As a kid there were many situations where a particular costume was expected. School clothes, church clothes, sleep ware, swim ware etc., each had their own appropriate costume. It was just the custom and you went along with it. The appropriate costume for a doctor's office visit was underpants only, pretty much the whole time of the exam.

We went to a number of different doctors when I was growing up and into my teens, but the main one we went to, if you were there because you were sick or hurt, you only exposed what was needed and often stayed dressed. BUT if you were there for a physical exam, you had to get undressed.

For my school, though, for physicals we had for sports, they divided the process into three sections. The first section was fitness tests. The second and third sections were the medical part (the second was a series of stations set up in the gym and the training room - or, when it was done at the state clinic, it was a series of rooms - and the final section was in the student health office where the nurse usually was but on these days there would be a few doctors doing the final check and sign-off). For the first part, the fitness part, you wore your gym clothes but boys were specifically told no shirts were allowed. And that was pretty much how they put it. I remember at the first big one I went to, my group was led to the locker room to change and a lot of guys chose to leave a t-shirt on and the staff person there supervising said, "shirts off guys. you aren't allowed to have a shirt on once they start, and there is no place up there to leave it, so when you leave the locker room we want you bare from the waist up."

It has been a long time, but I still remember. When I was very young, I had to undress completely for a couple of full body checks. Other than that, it was always a strip down to underwear up until I was around 16, when doctors stopped examining me properly. Since then, I've only had to strip at the dermatologist's office, but never fully naked. Auscultation as a kid was always bare chested, because it is much easier to get a good listen all over. I had a couple of visits where it was enough to pull up the shirt.

@JakeNewYork What happened in the subsequent stations?

@JakeNewYork What happened in the subsequent stations?

The stations set up in the gym and training room included: height/weight, hearing/vision, blood pressure, eyes/ears/nose/throat, gait/coordination, respiratory and cardio tests including the EKG, body mass (the thing where they use calipers to pinch folds of skin in different places), reflexes, scoliosis, and a few other things. Then, when you got to the final area where the main doctors were, they did a quick once over including a few things that had already been done (like listening with stethoscope, pressing on abdomen) and they had you walk around a little and they did the genital stuff and Tanner stage assessment (required for some sports).