@faithfullyhis4ever In the US, gynecologists often ignore guidelines and do yearly pap smears on all their patients. Most gynos and midwives do yearly pelvic exams even though there's a mountain of evidence it's not necessary and other medical organizations like the AAFP recommend against it. These providers also hold your birth control hostage until you submit. Ask the provider why you need a pelvic exam and they give you a dumb explanation like "it's just to make sure you're okayyy" as if you're three years old at the dentist. Yet despite this the doctors apparently don't explain anything because so many women have no idea what a pap smear actually is. I've met many who think just because you have a negative pap that means you're free of any and all STDs and cancers when it only checks for one specific thing, so you could be Syphilis Sally and still have a negative pap.
Some women have
employers that require a pelvic exam every year in order for their birth control to be paid for, even if the doctor doesn't require it! And even worse,
some employers won't allow their insurance polices to cover some or all types of birth control because of their religious beliefs. All in all, you're really better off seeing a clinic or Planned Parenthood becasue they're much more likely to follow guidelines and denying you care based on personal beliefs isn't allowed there. Private practice is just a crapshoot, and we have an OBGYN shortage so a lot of the ones taking new patients are the worse ones.
Every time you see any doctor they ask you when your last pap and last period was like that's the most important thing in the world even if you're injured and bleeding or you're stick with strep throat. I once got emergency care in a tent after a tornado. First question they asked me was when was my last period! Also for some reason the majority of women here require a plastic straw and plunger contraption to insert tampons.
