We really haven’t had a problem with this. My daughter is now 9, and I took dex. while pregnant, so she was not virulized, although she does have faint striated marks (like on a little boy’s scrotum) on her labia. Obviously, after she was born, the endo. did want to check to see if everything was OK down there, and we have had periodic genital exams to check that other things are alright as well (she does have a bit of narrowing of the vaginal opening that we are controlling with Premarin cream).

Besides that, the only 2 endos that my daughter has ever had, are both women! I thank God for that, because - as a woman - she is going to have to have things like PAP smears done, and will have to "get over" the embarrassment anyway.

Our first endo was really good with my daughter when she was small: when she wanted to take a look, she’d ask her if it was OK (the one time my daughter was shy and said, "no", the endo did not do it!). Then, she would get ME - her mom - to do the actual touching, and she would just observe. That didn’t seem like such a big deal to my daughter, as Mom always helped her with washing and wiping down there anyway, at that age. Our current endo is great, in her early 30’s and my daughter loves her to pieces; they discuss puberty, and what to watch for, and she speaks right to my daughter, not over her to me. The couple of times that my daughter has had to be checked because of the vaginal narrowing, the endo asked her first if it was OK, and made sure I was in the room and that it was done as quickly and privately as possible. I asked my daughter right now if these exams are hard for her ... she doesn’t even remember the ones with our first endo (age 4 and under), and with the latest ones with our new endo, she said that although it’s "a little embarrassing ... it’s no big deal". That’s been our experience. I really think that have a female endo has made a big difference for her.

As far as your daughter goes, I’m afraid I have to agree with the side that says she should be seen at least once more. Your doctor is going to want to check that his work is healing properly and that there are no more complications. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he would have to have a follow-up, to avoid being sued for something later on. Whether or not it’s necessary in the future will likely depend on how well your daughter is healing, and if everything is OK afterward. If she is fine, I don’t see why he would need to check time and time again, and I would call him on this. In my opinion, there need NEVER be anyone else present in the room but the 3 of you. But if he sees a problem or something that needs to be watched, I’d let him do his job. Perhaps he would be open to YOU doing the actual touching of your daughter and he could just observe. Of course, as she nears puberty, it will likely need to be checked again, especially since there can be problems with a narrow vaginal opening and menstruation.

Blessings,