Should the gyn ask you how often you have sex;

My girlfriend is having a gyn appointment tomorrow. Sadly we are only a few months together and I cannot persuade her to join her yet... She told me though that last time her gyn asked quite a lot of questions.

First of all he asked if she is sexually active lately, which seems ok... and last but not least how often she had sex!

Do you consider this question as appropriate and what kind of info was he looking for medical wise?

Did any of you girls had similar experience and do you consider this question as normal?

Absolutely inappropriate. Asking about being sexually active - yes. Asking how many partners - yes. Asking if the partner(s) are male or female - yes. Asking if there's any problem - yes. End of sexual activity questions.

It depends on the situation. I have heard this question asked many times when I worked at the OB/GYN clinic. But it was always asked due to a bruised cervix, a tear, pain during intercourse or something like that. But not for a normal everyday pelvic.

Absolutely inappropriate. Asking about being sexually active - yes. Asking how many partners - yes. Asking if the partner(s) are male or female - yes. Asking if there's any problem - yes. End of sexual activity questions.

I agree. Asking the frequency is none of their business. Asking if sexually active is OK--MAYBE.

The fact is, I don't think asking how many partners or the sex of the partners is any of their business. If there is no questionable pathology and the answers to those questions do not help create a diagnosis, that falls under the category of things they DO NOT NEED to know. It's like the questions about having abuse or guns in the house or other personal questions I don't see as being relevant. I would always deny any of that even if it were true. They don't need to collect my data.

I have seen my ob-gyn for 25 years and he as no idea I occasionally see a couple of women and I won't tell him either.

I don't like it, but it's part of standard interview to determine risk. You have to admit that a truly monogamous couple is at much lower risk of STDs than you or I are, even if our risk is minimal.

So i guess from your answers that this is an out of line question, which is not excused by any medical reason. Then why could he have asked this; Is he near the pervert side or perhaps this question was ok many years ago; As my girlfriend told me he is aprox. 70 years old and quite famous as a gyn..

As I told you unfortunately I could not join here since we are only a few months together and I can not share my medical fetish yet... I will update you as soon as she comes back and shares hopefully all about it

I have heard doctors ask whether my partners were sexually active and how many partners they had, but have never heard a doctor ask how often they were having intercourse. With that said, I could see it being a legitimate questions if the patient was having issues with pain during intercourse, but not as a standard question.

I was asked if I was sexually active when I was a teen. I was even asked if I was sexually active by the doctor I go to now when I first started with her. I was just thinking about it and she hasn't asked in a long time. She changed the way she says it now. She will ask if I want or need to get on any type of birth control. That is the way she says it now. But I myself, my sister nor her girlfriend have ever been asked how often we have sex. We were talking about it last night. But like I said in an earlier post I had heard it many times when I worked at the OB/GYN clinic. But that was over a few years span and only asked if there were issues.

Tabotha said

. . . . that was over a few years span and only asked if there were issues.

That's how it should be.

They are not and should not be in the business of data collection.

I have been seeing the same pcp ( over 20 yrs) and gyno ( over 30 yrs) and both will ask me if I am having an active sex life then ask if there are any problems or concerns. I think they ask about " active" because I have a long history of depression and anxiety . I remember before I got pregnant for my last child my posed that question to me and when I replied that no I was no very interested his response was ok then dont you think its time you should try some medications . ( up to that point I had declined meds) He told me to give the meds at least a month and I should see a difference my libido . He was right ! Lol

Anyway I think a change in your sex drive , male or female is a good indicator that something else is going on . So to me it is a legit question but needs to be asked in a professional way -not how many times .

No doctor has ever asked me if I am sexually active or not. I seriously cannot ever recall any of them having done so. It's something I would surely remember.

I do wish one of them would, especially my endocrinologist. Reading the many replies here, I sometimes wonder if she is being somewhat amiss in not asking me. I go to her for an overactive thyroid and since that annoying lump of a gland seems to affect so much in the body, you'd wonder she should pay some attention to testosterone and what not - even though it's not secreted by the thyroid of course ...

I've been asked if I'm sexually active, which is fine. I've been asked how many partners I have, which I understand could be to decide it we needed to talk about protection, cervical cancer, etc. I think asking a guy if he has male partners is more relavent to the HIV issue than asking a female if she has female partners.

The only question I've had that's come close to "how often do you have sex" is when I was in high school and said I was sexaully active and I was asked if it was frequent or rare. I think that was to determine the type of birth control she'd recommend.

But I have to say, having had various medical problems, I'd never refuse to answer a question. There must be a reason they're asking me.