The postnatal examination is in the first instance an examination of the woman’s physical health. Routine questions about her general wellbeing, lactation, duration of lochia and healing of the perineum will be asked as a matter of course. Details of the delivery may need to be discussed. Blood pressure and weight are checked and pelvic [...]
Mr. C. has severe premature ejaculation and he put it this way. ‘Imagine what it is like. You put on a condom to stop coming. Sometimes I come when she is watching me put it on, and if I get inside I am likely to go soft and it will come off before I ejaculate.’ [...]
Miss J., aged 19, was 17 weeks pregnant. This would be her second abortion. She was very ambivalent about whether she wanted to have a baby or continue with her free, youthful life of going out whenever she felt like it and spending her wages on clothes. She revealed that she had had a lot [...]
History-taking will not be regarded as an interrogation or intrusion if its relevance is explained. To facilitate rapport during history-taking and to avoid misunderstandings, the doctor needs to be specific and wherever possible avoid medical terminology. Thus the words ‘clotted or inflamed blood vessels’ may replace ‘thrombophlebitis’. It is important that words such as ‘migraine’ [...]
Men who feel inadequate, and who are unable to compete with their peers because of lack of skills and training, may put great emphasis on their ability to get their partners pregnant, some talking of their plans to have a football team. Condoms are mocked; they split and tear and cannot hold back their powerful [...]