What happens during a pelvic exam?

To have a pelvic exam, you lie on your back on an examining table and put your feet in these things called stirrups. The doctor uses an instrument called
a speculum to gently open your vagina and take a look at your cervix. If you’re over 21 years old and sexually active, she’ll use two swabs to obtain samples for a Pap smear, which tests for cell changes that may indicate cervical cancer. Next the speculum is removed and the doctor inserts a gloved, lubricated finger in your vagina. With her other hand on your abdomen, she feels your uterus, cervix, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. The whole pelvic exam takes only about two minutes, and with a sensitive doctor well versed in teenage health, it should not hurt, although you may feel slightly uncomfortable. Some girls do not handle a vaginal exam well; for them, the doctor can perform a rectoabdominal exam instead, with the gloved finger inserted in the anus rather than the vagina.