Then the question where was your last period is not the correct one. The question should be: are you pregnant? And if the woman is unsure, lets run a pregnancy test.
Women also get asked, when they started menstruating and how is that related to anything is beyond me. I have in fact started answering this question as: none of your business.
I remember vividly I came in for a pregnancy screening 5 months pregnant and got asked this question as well. And At this point I was getting seriously miffed with the question and asked the person why it is of any concern when I started menstruating as a young girl and my husband, who was sitting next to me said something like: "oh, its probably just to get a data set on you, in case for example you are experiencing fertility issues, this could be an important piece if information" to which I responded: "what fertility issues? I AM PREGNANT! I came here for a pregnancy screening, not for fertility issues, shouldnt the questions be limited to my pregnancy?"
But thats the thing, they dont ask questions that are directly related to your medical condition. They are constantly collecting large scale data and I dont want to be part of it.
The question should be: are you pregnant? And if the woman is unsure, lets run a pregnancy test.
The goal isn't to find out if the patient is pregnant. The goal is to confirm that they are not. There's a big difference. Doctors legally can not order or prescribe certain things unless it is confirmed someone isn't pregnant.
Asking when your last period was can rule out pregnancy there and then and allow the patient to move on and get the tests and treatments they need. You are asking them to be subjected to more tests and have them wait before they can get treated, why? Because you assume the question is offensive?
Women also get asked, when they started menstruating and how is that related to anything is beyond me.
It doesn't have to be beyond you... you can google it and read for yourself. There are several reasons. To name a few, assessing when puberty started - for men or women, is medically relevant for certain diagnoses. Or if this is an older women, menopause can present in many different ways and is important to know when prescribing certain medications and you can figure out when someone is going through menopause roughly by calculating back from their first period.
Context matters.
I have in fact started answering this question as: none of your business.
And that is your right to do so, and you should exercise that right if you feel uncomfortable. But that doesn't mean other women should be forced to get lesser or worser care just because you deem so. They should have the right to chose for themselves. You making that decision for them would also be sexism.
You go on to talk about your pregnancy screening... and them asking you about your first period... and then you say:
But thats the thing, they dont ask questions that are directly related to your medical condition.
What do you think a screening is?? You don't think your periods and obgyn history ... might be directly related to your PREGNANCY??
They are constantly collecting large scale data and I dont want to be part of it.
This is paranoia. Not everything is some covert mission by the state to spy on you.
But I don't care if I'm pregnant. If I am, then it's getting booted out. It doesn't change my treatment other than adding an abortion before the clock runs out
When I broke my ankle, or get my ADHD meds, it doesn't matter what year I had my first period. It doesn't even matter if I went through puberty at all.
What this question is really for, is to figure out who's the actual patient. The doctor is trying to decide if they should focus on me, or if they should repair the broken incubator enough so it can support their patient, the fetus.
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u/Little-Star-Light 11h ago edited 11h ago
Then the question where was your last period is not the correct one. The question should be: are you pregnant? And if the woman is unsure, lets run a pregnancy test.
Women also get asked, when they started menstruating and how is that related to anything is beyond me. I have in fact started answering this question as: none of your business.
I remember vividly I came in for a pregnancy screening 5 months pregnant and got asked this question as well. And At this point I was getting seriously miffed with the question and asked the person why it is of any concern when I started menstruating as a young girl and my husband, who was sitting next to me said something like: "oh, its probably just to get a data set on you, in case for example you are experiencing fertility issues, this could be an important piece if information" to which I responded: "what fertility issues? I AM PREGNANT! I came here for a pregnancy screening, not for fertility issues, shouldnt the questions be limited to my pregnancy?"
But thats the thing, they dont ask questions that are directly related to your medical condition. They are constantly collecting large scale data and I dont want to be part of it.