Breasts exposed when you lie back for breast exam?

Ladies, when you're in for your yearly Physical with your doctor are your breasts already exposed when he/she asks you to lie back for the breast exam or are they covered up until the doctor starts to check them?

Covered up until he does the best exam.

He opens the small paper vest while sitting up and then covers them back up until I'm on my back then exposes them one at a time.

My gynecologist unbuttons the snaps on the arms of my gown and lowers it when he does my breast exam

She has me lower my gown and asks me to place my hands behind my head and visually checks then I lean forward after which she has me retain one arm behind my head and checks that breast and nipple. She repeats the same for the remaining breast and then has me lay back for more examination of them. By now, the gown is over my waist and stays there until she is to feel between my legs.

My doctor has me expose my chest while sitting up for the visual exam in various positions and feels the glands and my armpits. Then I'm told to lay back with arms over my head and the doctor thoroughly palpates both breasts and nipples.

Similar to Jill my breasts are exposed and sit with hands on hips during a visual inspection followed by sitting back for palpation.

Just as important as checking for lumps we all need to be actually looking at our breasts and nipples for dimpling, puckering of skin or inversion of nipple which wasn't previously.

This actually occurred in a friend of mine

When I went to see my gynecologist I am sure my gown was up but lowered when he gave my my breast exam.

Mollie is right too about looking at your own breasts to see if there are changes and problems. My husband would not miss anything either and I think he is really the best person for that.

Yes, my breasts are exposed when I lay back because he examines them when I'm sitting up first and then asks me to lay down.

Here I am not offered a gown so they are not covered

Here I am not offered a gown so they are not covered

In the United States, you aren't offered a gown?????

I was born in the States, but I am working in France. Like most of Europe for the most part they do not both with gowns.

I know what you have to go through mello. I have worked in France too and have come across the differences between the medical procedures there and back home. When I went for a employment physical I was shown into the dr room and welcomed by the dr. The nurse told me to undress, which I did down to my undies. The nurse clearly annoyed beaconed me to take my bra off which I did and I asked for a gown. Abruptly she said no gown and indicated I should take my panties off too and after I had done that she told be to sit on the chair by the dr desk. He went through my medical history before giving me a basic exam. When he finished I was about to dress but I was told to sit back down so he could discuss his findings. Why on earth did I have to sit talking to him before and after the exam whilst I was naked.

The doc usually starts the breast exam when I am sitting, so when I lie down my breasts are already exposed.

I've always been the one to expose myself when he examines them. First sitting up and then laying down like the others but they always start covered.

Theyre usually covered until he/she examines and usually does one at a time

Theyre usually covered until he/she examines and usually does one at a time

That is a bit odd to do just one at a time. I thought they were both meant to be looked at as a pair to see if they are symmetrical. Mine really are symmetrical so I was not worried about how they would look.

The doctor usually starts my breast exam while I am sitting. They are both exposed. Then he has me lie back and they continue to be exposed. After I sit back up, he checks my heart and lungs - they are still exposed.

My breast exam usually starts with me sitting down . My top half is usually bare as we don't get gowns here . Both breasts are compared to check they are symmetric . Then each breast is palpated and felt to check for any lumps . I'm then asked to lie down on the examination bed with my hands behind my head . Both breasts are examined again , the same way as before . I'm then asked to put my hands to my sides and they are examined again for any lumps or discharge .

The whole exam takes around 5 - 6 minutes .

Usually the heart and lung exam follows this so I'm exposed for longer . Once that is complete I re - dress my top half.

That is a bit odd to do just one at a time. .

You can see with some breast exams on youtube,as well as in the movie The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, they do one at a time when the patient is lying down, to minimize on the exposure.

The visual part to look for symmetry & all that stuff is usually done sitting up, & i see both are always exposed while sitting usually. But when palpating etc, since only one is being worked on at a time, they usually try to keep the other one covered.

I found it a little ridiculous how my doc the other day made a point to cover me after applying each EKG electrode to my side, especially since it was quite apparent that i was not the least bit concerned about exposure. In fact, being covered by the gown worked against her, as i perspired, thus making it hard for the electrodes to stick.

Didn't mean to tangent off the topic, the point being the lengths health care professionals go to to maximize the modesty factor, even when patients like me have zero sense of modesty. Thus, while lying down for the breast exam, you'll notice many docs will keep one covered while examining the other.

Yes, i used "tangent" as a verb. Poetic license. 😉

You can see with some breast exams on youtube,as well as in the movie The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, they do one at a time when the patient is lying down, to minimize on the exposure.

The visual part to look for symmetry & all that stuff is usually done sitting up, & i see both are always exposed while sitting usually. But when palpating etc, since only one is being worked on at a time, they usually try to keep the other one covered.

I found it a little ridiculous how my doc the other day made a point to cover me after applying each EKG electrode to my side, especially since it was quite apparent that i was not the least bit concerned about exposure. In fact, being covered by the gown worked against her, as i perspired, thus making it hard for the electrodes to stick.

Well @Healthy44 I think it is a bit silly to be that bothered about exposure that they do really silly things like baring one breast at a time. It was not like that when I had my exam by my private gynecologist because both my breasts were exposed when it was time for him to examine them. I just thought the whole gown thing was a nuisance all the way through the exam really and I would just have preferred to have gone without it. My gynecologist would not have needed to worry that I was too exposed because I really would not have minded it.

Always exposed.

Begins visit before sitting, and lying. always with bare breasts. My gynecologist is male

Theyre usually covered until he/she examines and usually does one at a time

That is a bit odd to do just one at a time. I thought they were both meant to be looked at as a pair to see if they are symmetrical.

I’ve always had them checked one at a time with the other one covered. Come to think of it I don’t think I have ever been completely topless so as to evaluated for ‘symmetry’ hmmm.

To answer the original question: I’ve usually been examined laying down.

Covered and only one is exposed at a time.

The last visit I was privileged to go to, she accidentally put the gown on backwards, she said it was due to her being nervous. So instead of the flap being in the front and the doctor putting his hand under the flap with limited exposure, she had to pull her whole arm out of the gown and have her entire breast exposed one at a time. It’s the most exposure I’ve seen for the breasts as it seems the ones I’ve been present at, the doctor limits exposure by utilizing the gown flaps.

Mine have always been covered and one exposed at a time

I've experienced both.

Once i had a Dr. check me sitting up on the table with the full gown pooled at my lap and exposing waist up , then while it was still down, she layed me down flat and checked me again.

On another visit with different Dr. , she examined me with one breast exposed at a time.

At my Gyn, I'm in a paper vest, which more or less gets tucked behind me while he does the seated portion of the exam. Both breasts are exposed during the supine part of the exam.

Our internist just lowers my gown for the breast exam, both seated and supine. It stays that way until she's done checking the girls.

Usually covered as much as possible