Exposure during breast exam

When your doctor does a breast exam how exposed are you? I've read accounts of being fully exposed, as in dropping the gown to your waist. I've also seen some stories where the gown is open in the front and one breast is exposed at a time.

Now for my story- when I saw my wife's exam the doctor didn't expose her at all. She just reached into the opening in the paper vest and examined them.

So zity, what is the norm? Is my wife's doctor just overly concerned with modesty, or is this how most doctors do it?

Well, I guess I'm the only one to answer up to now. If I were the examining doctor I'd like to view those beauties (not just in her case). Sometimes a complete overall exam ought to include visual, sensory as well as scan checks (ultrasound etc.) to begin to determine breast health in either gender. If not, you may possibly miss something because the subtlest of indicators could turn out to mean a lot.

Not being a specialist in the area I won't make a clinical judgment on what a doc ought to do. It perhaps was her trying to protect your wife's modesty. G'luck, Cheers!

My doctors always just reach up to my shoulders and take hold of the gown and pull it off me and drop it to my lap.

Based on some of the breast exam videos i've watched, they're supposed to be visually inspecting for symmetry and checking for abnormalities while the patient is in the upright position. The patient is supposed to position herself with hands on hips, also in the air, and bent over to check the appearance as they're hanging.

My gown is tied in the back. My doctor unties it and it falls down to my waist. She starts the exam while I am sitting up. She feels around, has me lift my arm for which side she is checking. Then she has me lay down and continues.

My doctor only examines me laying down. My gown is open in the front and he'll pull the sides open and check my breasts and nipples then cover me back up.

Lying down, my doctor only exposes one breast at a time.

I have been to my private gynecologist twice and when he does my breast exam the gown gets lowered. I think it is a bit stupid to just take the gown off one breast at a time because how can you check the symmetry like that? I do not think concern about modesty should me more important. When I have been topless on Spanish beaches lots of times I am not going to be shy with him looking. I would really prefer to just have the exam totally without the stupid gown anyway, it is just fiddly and a nuisance.

My wife went for a routine follow up check up last week and she mentioned to her primary care doctor that she got a notice that it was time for her yearly mammogram and she needed an order for it. While sitting in a chair, the doctor spent some time discussing some issues she was having and going over her medications and made some recommendations.

We thought that all her issues were handled and the visit finished when the doctor told my wife to get up on the exam table. She looked in her eyes, ears and mouth and then got her stethoscope out. She placed it under her shirt to listen to her heart. Then she lifted the shirt high on her back and told her to take some deep breaths. The next thing the doctor did was to unhook my wife's bra, tilted the exam table up and told her to lie back as she lifted the shirt to under my wife's chin exposing both breasts.

From my view next to the table it appeared like the doctor did a very thorough exam of the breast furthest away from her, followed by an equally thorough exam of the closest breast. When she was satisfied with the results, she pulled the shirt down below her breasts, lowered the table and palpitated my wife's abdomen. We left there and my wife was able to get her mammogram done that afternoon due to some weather related cancellations, but unfortunately I was not able to witness any of that.

My wife's exams are done normally with the gown open to the front. The doctor normally exposes one, then leaving the gown open, examines the other. She then closes the gown back at the top and proceeds with the rest of the exam.

Since i am always instructed to put the gown on opening in the front, my gyn has always done the exam with one breast exposed at a time, while I am laying, and the exam table at a slight angle. She had only once had me sit up and checked for symmetry.

Gown lowered to waist for visual exam and for the first (seated) part of the Breast exam itself. When I am lying down, one usually is covered by the gown.

I had a thorough exam last week as part of a chest exam consultation and was asked to go behind a curtain, take off my "top things" and put a stiff cloth gown/waistcoat type thing in with the opening at the front.

It hardly covered anything so I asked if I could take it off to be more comfortable before the doctor drew the curtain. She was fine with that so I was in my normal clothes from the waist down and naked from the waist up.

I have both breasts exposed during the exam. Before even palpating the breasts our dr checks for I guess symmetry and I sit facing her then with shoulders rolled forward hands on hips.

Then I lay back and she palpates one at a time but I would be silly to then cover the other one back up only to get out again a minute or so later.

A bit hard to do the breast exam without exposing the breasts!

I have always observed the breast exam being performed totally undressed waist up.

I've seen them done multiple different ways. Most of the time my wife's current male doctor has my wife put on the gown with the opening in the front. He examines her breasts while she is seated by putting his hands inside the gown. Then he opens the gown and does a visual comparison / inspection with her still seated and then he has he lay down and he does another breast exam by opening up one side of the gown and then the other.

However, I have seen previous doctors have her put the gown on with the opening in the back and then lower the whole gown from her shoulders while she is seated and then proceeds to do a second exam while she is laying down while the gown is at her waist. And then there are the silly paper vests as well... I think it's all a matter of preference but when she went to a female ob/gyn in the past, a few times, the doctor did only one exam with her laying down with the gown open in the front.

At my exams, I'm asked to lower the gown completely (or, I guess rather "to the waist" since it only covers my top half) white sitting up for a visual inspection plus the hands-over-the-head routine. Then, when I lay down for my doc to feel my breasts, she uncovers only the one she is working on before switching to the other side.

My doctor opens up each side of my gown seperately. I always feel funny not knowing where to look.

My girlfriends doctor has her put her gown on with the front opening. Then usually does one breast at a time, never exposing both at once.

I've never had a visual inspection. My doctor has only ever opened the gown one side at a time. I'm about to see a new doctor, though, so maybe it'll all change.

During a clinical breast exam, your healthcare provider checks your breasts’ appearance. You may be asked to raise your arms over your head, let them hang by your sides, or press your hands against your hips. These postures allow your healthcare provider to look for differences in size or shape between your breasts. The skin covering your breasts is checked for any rash, dimpling, or other abnormal signs. Your nipples may be checked to see if fluid is expressed when lightly squeezed.

So both breast should be exposed with the gown at the waist to ensure a good visual exam of the breast .

I've never had a visual inspection. My doctor has only ever opened the gown one side at a time. I'm about to see a new doctor, though, so maybe it'll all change.

Do keep us abreast of how things go with your new doc.

Do keep us abreast of how things go with your new doc.

Lol nice pun. And I definitely will!

My doctor just exposes one breastfeeding at a time. It's almost painful when she is pushing around though. She is very thorough.

Yes having the breasts out is part of the routine feels well like freedom if you ask me getting your nipple felt

My hot male gynecologist will undo the snaps on the top of the sleeves on my gown and then folds the gown down below my breasts and examines them one at a time, it's very, VERY yummy 😃

The one time I saw my wife get a breast exam she was lying down and wearing a "smock" (for lack of a better term) that covered her front and back but left the sides open. The doctor, a really cute female, reached in from the side and checked each breast that way. There was no exposure. I didn't see anything except her hand sliding into my wife's drape.

It was very quick. Then she said her hand further down for a quick abdominal palpation, also without exposing any part of my wife, before moving on to the pelvic exam.

I first got to see my wife's breasts being examined at a pre natal exam where the dr had her nude. We often try to go to each others exams and she is always topless. The only time I do not get to see her being examined is when she has a mammogram.

The one time I saw my wife get a breast exam she was lying down and wearing a "smock" (for lack of a better term) that covered her front and back but left the sides open. The doctor, a really cute female, reached in from the side and checked each breast that way. There was no exposure. I didn't see anything except her hand sliding into my wife's drape.

I do not think that sounds like a proper breast exam at all @KC_Patient because that doctor did not see if your wife's breasts looked ok. Seeing what they look like is a good part of it. I do not think that doctor could have felt all around the breast especially the inside near the centre of the body if she just put her hand in through the side of the gown. For my gynecologist the gown is lowered to my waist to let him see my breasts properly and he knows that they are supposed to look symmetrical. Then because the gown is down he can examine them properly using both of his hands.

I do not think that sounds like a proper breast exam at all @KC_Patient because that doctor did not see if your wife's breasts looked ok. Seeing what they look like is a good part of it.

Yes, I wondered about that myself as I was sitting there watching. I wonder if the doctor did a less thorough exam because I was in the room.

It might have also been due to the fact that it was an initial prenatal exam after my wife learned she was pregnant. It's entirely possible that the doctor had done a more thorough breast exam a few months earlier.