Who is a gynecologist?
Gynecologists are physicians who focus on the care of women's reproductive systems. They diagnose and treat diseases associated with the female reproductive system, including the breasts, pelvic region, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. Gynecologists treat women of all ages, from the time they get their first period to the time they enter their menopausal and postmenopausal stages.
Gynecologists also conduct screening tests such as pap smears, breast exams, and pelvic exams (where the vulva, rectum, vagina, cervix, ovaries, uterus, and pelvis will be examined) to detect cancers, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or reproductive abnormalities.
Education and training for gynecologists
A gynecologist typically completes four years of undergraduate schooling and four years of medical school, followed by residency and additional training for four years. After becoming board-certified, some gynecologists also choose to specialize in areas such as breast care, family planning, minimally invasive surgery, pediatric and adolescent gynecology, pelvic reconstructive surgery, infertility, female pelvic medicine, and gynecologic oncology (the treatment of cancers associated with the uterus, cervix, ovaries, and vulva).
What common conditions do gynecologists treat?
Reproductive issues can be caused by certain environmental factors, genetic factors, poor diet, hormonal imbalances, and bad lifestyle habits such as not practicing sexual hygiene, smoking, or consuming alcohol in excess. Some common conditions treated by gynecologists include:
- Breast cancer: A prevalent type of cancer in women and is characterized by a lump or thickening of tissue in the breast, a change in shape or size of breasts, peeling or scaling of the area surrounding the nipple region, and redness on the skin of your breast. A woman's age or family history increases the likelihood of having breast cancer. A gynecologist can help in the early detection of breast cancer by mammography (X-ray of the breasts). Women can also conduct a self-breast exam to check for lumps or any unusual signs that may indicate breast cancer.
- Endometriosis: A disorder where the endometrium (a tissue lying inside the uterus) grows outside the uterus in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or the tissue lining the pelvis. In this condition, the endometrium becomes trapped, which in a normal state thickens, breaks down, and exits the body in the form of blood during a menstrual period. Endometriosis causes severe pain and can lead to fertility problems. Symptoms include painful periods, excessive bleeding, and pain during intercourse or urination.
- Sexually transmitted diseases: Diseases that occur through sexual contact. Bacteria, viruses, or parasites passing from one person to another through the blood, semen, vaginal, and bodily fluids result in infection. STDs can be passed nonsexually as well from a mother to an infant through blood transfusion or shared needles. Signs of an STD include sores on the genitals, odorous vaginal discharge, pain during sex, and lower abdominal pain. Common STIs include gonorrhea, syphilis, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, and genital herpes.
- Ovarian cysts: These cysts are fluid-filled sacs in one or both of the ovaries. While small cysts might not cause any symptoms, larger ones might cause pelvic pain, painful and/or irregular periods, and a feeling of fullness in your lower belly. In rare cases, they may even cause serious complications, such as ruptured cysts and ovarian torsion.
- Uterine fibroids: Uterine fibroids, or leiomyomas, are noncancerous muscle and tissue growths developing in or on the uterine wall. While they can be asymptomatic in some cases, in other cases, they can cause symptoms like lower back pain, frequent urination, constipation, and pain during sex. Uterine fibroids are of various types, including intramural, subserosal, submucosal, and pedunculated.
- Vaginal boils: Vaginal boils are pus-filled bumps that can be situated on your labia, vulva, or pubic region. They develop when a hair follicle gets infected. The boils might get painful and swollen, develop a crust, ooze a clear fluid, or develop a yellow or white pus-filled center. In certain cases, they can also cause fever and/or swollen lymph nodes.
- Irregular bleeding: Irregular bleeding refers to bleeding from the vagina that is not related to the periods. It can be random, unpredictable, and might be accompanied by pain. Irregular bleeding can have a number of causes, which include certain medications, pregnancy (especially complications like ectopic pregnancy and placental abruption), menopause, and infections.
What to expect while visiting a gynecologist?
While it is normal to feel nervous when seeing a gynecologist near you, remember that your doctor will try their best to make you feel comfortable and at ease. Be honest and tell them if you feel nervous or are scared about any procedures. You can also ask a friend to come with you to the doctor's if that helps you feel better and more relaxed.
Ideally, your appointment will start with your doctor discussing your medical history. This includes but is not limited to previous surgeries, current medications, smoking or drinking habits, and family history. Your gynecologist will also inquire if and how often you are sexually active, your preferred mode of birth control, your menstruation cycle, and whether you have been tested for STDs previously. Next, a nurse will conduct a general health check-up. They will measure your height, weight, and blood pressure. Sometimes, you might need to provide blood and urine samples; however, this is not required for all gynecologist visits.
Your gynecologist will then conduct a physical examination, for which you must change into a gown that opens in the front. They will check your reproductive organs from the inside. During this, they might place your feet in stirrups, or you will need to open and spread your legs. Your doctor will hold your vagina open using a speculum while examining it and the cervix. They can also insert a transducer - a device that looks like a wand and helps produce internal images with the help of sound waves - into your vagina if they are conducting an ultrasound.
After that, your gynecologist will take a pap smear by taking a sample of your cervical cells using a small brush. If you are sexually active, your doctor might also check for STDs during your pelvic exam. Finally, they will conduct a breast exam to detect any lumps.
None of the tests are supposed to hurt. You might feel slight discomfort and pressure on your lower abdominal area, but talk to your doctor immediately if you feel sharp pains or itchiness. Do not hesitate to stop them mid-checkup and communicate how you are feeling, as it will help them identify the reason and take any preventive measures. Similarly, you might experience light bleeding after specific tests, like a pap smear. But if you have painful cramps that do not subside within a couple of days, contact a gynecologist near you immediately.
Finding the right gynecologist near you in Germantown, MD
Visiting a gynecologist every year is essential for women of all ages. Through routine examination, your gynecologist can help in the early detection of diseases, growths, or any other developmental problems. Further, gynecologists can help guide young women through issues like painful or irregular periods, puberty, STIs, contraception, and overall sexual health.
Finding an experienced gynecologist with whom you feel comfortable discussing menstrual and reproductive health can take a while. However, on Zocdoc, you can choose from a wide range of top-rated specialists in your area without having to visit a hospital or clinical facility.
On Zocdoc, users can book a virtual appointment or in-person consultation and select their providers based on gender, hospital affiliation, distance, time of day, languages spoken, and whether they treat children or not. To book a doctor appointment, all you have to do is visit the Zocdoc website and enter your condition or symptoms, location, and the date on which you wish to see a gynecologist.
You can also see providers that accept your insurance by selecting your insurance carrier and plan from the menu at the top of the page. Alternatively, you can use Zocdoc’s insurance detector to identify in-network providers near you. While you can add medical, dental, and vision insurance plans to your Zocdoc account, you can only search for and schedule an appointment with one insurance plan at a time. In case you have multiple plans, you can mention your secondary insurance plan and carrier in your notes for the provider in the last step of the booking process. If your provider uses Zocdoc’s intake forms, you can add details about your secondary insurance while filling out your forms online. For more insurance-related queries, check Zocdoc's patient help center.
You can view each doctor’s medical background, clinical experience, awards, certifications, and licensures on their profile. In order to help you choose a gynecologist near you that suits your needs, the profiles also contain an overall rating, wait time, bedside manner, office location, accepted insurance plans, and verified patient reviews. Further, you can go through the FAQs to check whether a provider accepts new patients and the top reasons for which they are consulted.
You may schedule an appointment 24 hours in advance, on the same day, or even on weekends, depending on your provider's availability. All bookings on Zocdoc are fast, free, and secure!
Women's health and disease statistics for Maryland
The state of Maryland employs nearly 420 obstetricians and gynecologists, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area, which includes parts of Maryland, employs the highest number of obstetricians and gynecologists.
According to an American Cancer Society (ACS) report, an estimated 5,640 new cases of breast cancer, 360 cases of ovarian cancer, 240 cases of cervical cancer, and 1,400 cases of uterine corpus cancers have been reported so far in Maryland in 2022. Data collected between 2015 and 2019 by the National Center for Health Statistics showed that breast cancer constituted the second-highest death rate in Maryland.
A 2014 Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) report states that approximately 11% of women in Maryland had gestational diabetes (which occurs only during pregnancy). An estimated 14% of women reported having postpartum depression. In Maryland, Female chlamydia rates increased by 46% between 2000 and 2012. Chlamydia and gonorrhea rates were found to be the highest among the 15- 24-year-old age group. In 2012, the congenital syphilis rate (16 cases per 100,000 live births) was the fifth highest in the United States. In 2012, roughly 10,235 women were diagnosed with HIV in Maryland. Of the total cases, 67% were aged 13-49 years, nearly 66% were infected through heterosexual exposure, and 34% were exposed through injection drug use. AIDS incidence in Maryland tripled over the past 27 years, increasing from 10% in 1985 to 34% cases in 2012. In 2011, approximately 69% of mothers who delivered reported being tested for HIV during pregnancy or delivery.
As per a report published by the Guttmacher Institute in 2017, approximately 23.3% of women in Maryland aged 18-49 who used condoms as their primary contraceptive were at risk of unintended pregnancy. Additionally, almost 11.3% used an IUD (Intra Uterine Device), and 18.8% used pills as their primary method of contraception.
Sources
WebMD
Mayo Clinic[1]
Mayo Clinic[2]
Mayo Clinic[3]
National Association for Continence
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Guttmacher Institute
American Cancer Society
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Mid-Atlantic Women’s Care
Cleveland Clinic[1]
Cleveland Clinic[2]
Cleveland Clinic[3]
Cleveland Clinic[4]
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