First Time Speculum

I recently used a speculum on my girlfriend for the first time. I had a great view of the vaginal walls, but I was not able to see the cervix. The walls closed in and touched before I was able to view her cervix. Short of using a bigger speculum (which she won't allow at this time), do you know of any way I might be able to see her cervix?

It may depend upon her menstrual cycle. The cervix can change position during the cycle. I would use the speculum at differnet times during the course of her cycle and see if the position of the cervix changes and comes into view.

I saw from an earlier post that you went with her to one of her exams. Do you or her know how the specula (the one you are using and the one the Doctor used) compare in size? Did the Doctor seem to have any difficulty viewing the cervix?

The speculum I'm using looks smaller than the one the doctor used. She told me that it felt smaller as well. The doctor had no trouble finding the cervix, though I'm sure he's had more practice at this than I have.

You do probably need to use a larger speculum. Maybe after she is comfortable with you using the smaller one and you become more familiar too, she'll allow you to use a larger.

Some tips, if you need them;

Make sure you use lube on the blades, use the index and middle fingers of the free hand to open the labia, start with the handle at 3 o'clock (the blades will be less wide), as the speculum enters her rotate the handle downward to 5 or 6 o'clock), begin to gradually open the blades before the speculum is fully inserted. When removing, only close the blades part way at first, gradually close them more as you remove the speculum but do not allow them to fully close to avoid pinching.

Good luck, be safe and have fun hunting for the elusive cervix!

Ejpilot,

to locate the cervix, it might help if you can first try to locate the cervix opening with your finger. this will give you a 'directional' finding (from one pilot to another). If you can locate the cervical os with your finger, you'll then know where to direct the speculum.

Thanks for the tips guys. Hopefully she'll let me try again sometime soon. Who knows, maybe I'll get to snap a couple of pictures. 😁

That's good to know. I tried inserting the speculum a couple of times with no success. It resulted in a frustrated female friend.

Is the cervix far in the canal ? Any more tips on how to find it ?

It's not that deep... The depth is primarily determained by the girls anatomy. I would suggest trying to find it on a turned on patient your first time. If should be eiasier to find and less discomfort for your patient.

When you say turned, do you mean the speculum or the girl? I would think that it would be hard to insert a speculum while she is on her side.

I have found that sometimes it's the angel of entry that's the problem. Try backing out about two inches (please, please make sure it's well lubricated or it can feel like pinching) and then slowly back in at a slightly higher or lower tilt. Let us know how it works out for you.

Ejpilot...another suggestion that has helped me in the past. If your partner is agreeable to it (and lets face it, if she's letting you slide a speculum in, she is probably pretty comfortable with you), try with either your fingers or a speculum while she is in the "knee chest" position. If you're a little new to this, this is what is the medical term for "doggy style", more or less. It helps to relax the vagina and uterus since there is less pressure from the abdominal organs pressing on them. I hope this helps!