What % of women don't know basics of female anatomy?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I had a wonderful daughter of an elderly patient assist with doing a minicath. I missed the first try, making some comment about getting the correct hole, and the confusion at times. The 60 something daughter said "2 holes?". I said something like, you know the pee and the baby hole?

The lady was shocked she had no idea there were two holes down there. I good naturedly covered up my utter surprise at her ignorance regarding this matter.

How many women don't know about this?

With popular culture demonstrating individuals referring to theirher vulva as a lady parts it tells me that far to many are ignorant in this matter. I instructed a girl with children to clean her labia for the clean catch urine and she asked me what was labia. I told her lips. It asked sounds me but this lack of education is pervasive and extends to overall health illiteracy.

I can understand that she wasn't educated enough to know the clinical term for parts of anatomy but I hope at least she understood that the opening providing the urine sample wasn't the same opening that produced her children. I hope.

Yes, it's pretty sad. Also, vulvas are mythical/mystical/magical in a somewhat evil kind of way, I've learned. Even many people in healthcare don't want to know anything about them.

I did my MSN capstone QI project on trying to decrease contaminated urine samples in an outpatient OB/Gyn clinic. As part of my project, I made a graphic representation (color drawing) of a vulva with labia separated, to visually show the two holes and where they're located, how to clean the area before peeing, etc. I posted the drawings in the patient restrooms. OMG, the complains I received! From other staff! One particularly vocal complainer was a pediatrician whose practice was with adolescents! The pictures regularly disappeared off the bathroom walls.

Six months later, I was invited to do a poster presentation at the local EBP symposium, and when I submitted the .PDF of the poster (which had a the graphic on it) I was asked by the symposium coordinators (who were healthcare people) to please remove the vulva from my poster.

Demonizing educational materials is how we wind up with these ignorant people in the first place. Maybe the people running these seminars would prefer to discuss HooHoos and Coochies instead????

Specializes in OB.
Honesty? Are these women educated at all? I don't mean to be rude I'm just flabbergasted that any female who has been through the sixth grade wouldn't know this. My kids learned the basics of human anatomy in the classroom before they even got to middle school!

Well, the majority of my patients are immigrants and a large percentage have no more than an elementary school education, so it makes sense. I also see a fair amount of women from West African countries where female genital cutting is pervasive, so they are literally raised to believe their genitalia is evil and should be modified to only function to birth babies. I sat with a pregnant woman from Guinea once who was fascinated by my poster of the female reproductive system, and educated her on all the different parts.

That being said, I've worked with white, upper middle class women too, and many of them are really not that much more enlightened. Our society is truly Puritanical in a lot of ways still. My classmate in midwifery school, who was also an L&D nurse, swears on all that is holy that she had a labor patient who was a medical student who needed a Foley after getting an epidural, and did not understand how the baby would come out if there was a tube there.

Well, the majority of my patients are immigrants and a large percentage have no more than an elementary school education, so it makes sense. I also see a fair amount of women from West African countries where female genital cutting is pervasive, so they are literally raised to believe their genitalia is evil and should be modified to only function to birth babies. I sat with a pregnant woman from Guinea once who was fascinated by my poster of the female reproductive system, and educated her on all the different parts.

That being said, I've worked with white, upper middle class women too, and many of them are really not that much more enlightened. Our society is truly Puritanical in a lot of ways still. My classmate in midwifery school, who was also an L&D nurse, swears on all that is holy that she had a labor patient who was a medical student who needed a Foley after getting an epidural, and did not understand how the baby would come out if there was a tube there.

third world countries, that I totally get. A medical student from this country, though?? Still shocked at the ignorance, and how it's possible in this country to have a person in a graduate degree program this deficient in basic anatomy. SMH.

It's not necessarily about being uneducated, it's not something that was ever taught. I know at least my school never taught it, and I'm sure that it was not taught generations before me.

I can remember though me and my friends talking about it in junior high and trying to figure out just how many holes a woman had. Some thought three, some thought just one. And just think, men have one. They ejaculate and pee all the same hole. So why would women not think it was the same?

It's not amazing at all to me that most women don't understand.

Specializes in OB.

Our genitalia are irrevocably linked to sex, and sex is still taboo in the U.S. in a lot of ways. Pictures of genitals are "inappropriate" for children, like klone described. Women are shamed for breastfeeding in public. Yet at the same time, sex is EVERYWHERE---on TV, billboards, in music. It's very sad and really makes no sense.

As for the medical student, I have no earthly idea how it's possible either, but I don't think my classmate made it up.

A surprising number of my friends didn't know there was a difference. Yes, it's taught in school, but the reality is that most of that "lesson" was so embarrassing and uncomfortable that most of the information taught wasn't retained. That sort of stuff was only taught in sex ed class, and it should be in a biology class or something similar.

Also, many adult women don't know the proper terminology and use the word lady parts to describe everything in that vicinity.

Periods and sex and things in that vein are often considered "dirty" and therefore not discussed openly. It's an unfortunate side effect of our culture. I have lots of friends that don't know much about their bodies (where the privy parts is located, how to properly use sex toys, when ovulation occurs, etc).

Specializes in ER, Med-surg.

Soooo many.

And it's even worse among men.

I've had more than one person (male and female) express the believe that it's *impossible* to pee with a tampon in, because they believe urine is coming from above the insertion site of the tampon.

See also: the many men, including one in my high school health class, who steadfastly believe that it's both possible and desirable for a member to penetrate the cervix.

Specializes in Cardicac Neuro Telemetry.
Yes, it's pretty sad. Also, vulvas are mythical/mystical/magical in a somewhat evil kind of way, I've learned. Even many people in healthcare don't want to know anything about them.

I did my MSN capstone QI project on trying to decrease contaminated urine samples in an outpatient OB/Gyn clinic. As part of my project, I made a graphic representation (color drawing) of a vulva with labia separated, to visually show the two holes and where they're located, how to clean the area before peeing, etc. I posted the drawings in the patient restrooms. OMG, the complains I received! From other staff! One particularly vocal complainer was a pediatrician whose practice was with adolescents! The pictures regularly disappeared off the bathroom walls.

Six months later, I was invited to do a poster presentation at the local EBP symposium, and when I submitted the .PDF of the poster (which had a the graphic on it) I was asked by the symposium coordinators (who were healthcare people) to please remove the vulva from my poster.

You had medical professionals outraged by a scientifically correct representation of female anatomy? Wow! Anatomy is not shameful.

At my ObGyn's office, she had graphics like this in each room which I presume was for educational purposes.

It's not necessarily about being uneducated, it's not something that was ever taught. I know at least my school never taught it, and I'm sure that it was not taught generations before me.

I can remember though me and my friends talking about it in junior high and trying to figure out just how many holes a woman had. Some thought three, some thought just one. And just think, men have one. They ejaculate and pee all the same hole. So why would women not think it was the same?

It's not amazing at all to me that most women don't understand.

I don't think it is amazing either. And I grew up in the era where women sat around in circles with mirrors and looked at their genitals. ;)

Personally, until I became a nurse and had to start my first foley, I didn't know exactly where the urine came out. I knew we had a "pee hole and a baby hole" though! :woot:

I was also surprised at how low into the lady parts that opening was in some older women. :o

A Lady's Guide To Getting To Know Your Genitals [NSFW] | Lifehacker Australia

I had a 15 y/o maternity patient on her second child; she thought that her foley was draining "that fluid the baby swam in"

I had a 15 y/o maternity patient on her second child; she thought that her foley was draining "that fluid the baby swam in"

guessing that this 15 year old was deficient in a lot more knowledge than just basic anatomy :-(

+ Add a Comment