@RN1993 I am not in Europe and I live in what might be one of the most liberal cities in the US, but over the last 40+ years in the US there has been a large change and where I live it is becoming hard to find a male ob/gyn. I suspect the trend is similar in Europe. My question is, do you think the changing in draping for female exams has any coloration the gender shift in ob/gyb's?
@reggind I dont really know the answer to that question , however their are more women doctors in practice now that 40 to 50 years , giving females more choice.
Found this survey :
Four hundred and nine female patients of both male and female physicians completed a self-administered questionnaire exploring their attitudes and practices regarding gynecologists and gynecological examinations.
Responses to the question "Would you prefer a woman gynecologist?" divided the sample into three groups: those responding "yes" (33.9%); those responding "no" (19.3%); and those responding "no difference" (36.2%).
Results revealed that patients who preferred female gynecologists were most likely to find gynecological examinations difficult and to be critical of gynecologists' understanding of women's psychological and sexual problems.
A subsample of patients in psychotherapy was especially apt to prefer female gynecologists.
The "no difference" group had the most positive attitudes towards gynecological examinations and gynecologists.
Demographic differences were insignificant. The importance of judging a gynecologist's competence without sexual bias, of re-evaluating stereotypes of women physicians, and of increasing the proportion of women in gynecology is stressed.
Factors Related to the Preference for a Female Gynecologist Esther Haar, Victor Halitsky and George Stricker
Medical CareVol. 13, No. 9 (Sep., 1975), pp. 782-790
Another study
Do women prefer care from female or male obstetrician-gynecologists? A study of patient gender preference.
Johnson AM1, Schnatz PF, Kelsey AM, Ohannessian CM. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2005 Aug;105(😎:369-79.
OBJECTIVE:
To determine whether men should be encouraged to enter the medical specialty of obstetrics and gynecology.
METHODS:
A self-administered survey was designed for and distributed to patients (N=264) in 13 obstetrics and gynecology waiting rooms in Connecticut. The survey was used to determine whether there were any patient preferences with regard to the gender of physicians providing obstetric and gynecologic care within this population. In addition, the rationale for any preferences was analyzed.
RESULTS:
The majority of patients (66.6%) had no gender bias when selecting an obstetrician-gynecologist, and an even larger majority (198, 80.8%) felt that physician gender does not influence quality of care. There was no statistical difference in patient satisfaction based on physician sex. Respondents self-reporting gender bias rarely selected obstetrician-gynecologists based solely on this factor and frequently choose physicians of the sex that was not their indicated preference, suggesting that several factors other than gender preference are more important in physician selection.
CONCLUSIONS:
The majority of women surveyed did not select their obstetrician-gynecologists based solely on physician gender. Although a small percentage of survey respondents did indicate a gender preference, it rarely influenced physician selection and was only a minor consideration when compared with other desirable physician attributes.
So its difficult to say why there is a decrease in male obstetrician-gynecologist numbers , but I do know that the numbers of men going into obstetrician-gynecologist careers have been decreasing year on year