WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for May, 1997: Re: My hymen never ruptured!

Re: My hymen never ruptured!

From: D. Ashley Hill, M.D. (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 1 May 1997 18:53:43 -0500 (CDT)

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At Thu, 1 May 1997, anonymous@obgyn.net wrote: Am I technically STILL a virgin, after all these years? Is >penetration always supposed to be this difficult at first? Why did my
>hymen never rupture?

My understanding of the virginity concept is that you lose it once vaginal sexual intercourse occurs, regardless of the condition of your hymen. I gave a volunteer talk at a middle school last year and took anonymous questions. An 8th grade student asked me "if my boyfriend and I have anal intercourse, will I still be a virgin"? Technically, I would say yes, since she has not had vaginal intercourse, but her question sure brings up a whole bunch of other issues.

The hymen is a thin, elastic membrane that covers the opening of the vagina. It actually "breaks" in lots of young girls due to bike riding, gymnastics, etc, and if they have never had intercourse, they are still "virgins" despite the broken hymen. In your case a more likely situation is that you have prominent hymenal remnants or some type of constriction band around the opening of the vagina, and that's what is causing the difficulty in penetration. If severe enough treatment can consist of vaginal dilators (although there's an old saying that one's husband's penis is the best dilator of all), or even outpatient, minor surgery to trim away the abnormal area.

Your first Ob/Gyn experience was negative, but I assure you the overwhelming majority of us are fairly normal, nice people who will take your situation seriously and try to help. I'll bet that getting a good pelvic exam will be very reassuring to you, and may lead to an effective treatment for the discomfort.

Best wishes,

Ashley

--
Ashley Hill
D. Ashley Hill, M.D.
Assistant Director, Department of Ob/Gyn
Florida Hospital Family Practice Residency
Orlando, FL
dahmd@gate.net

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Previous message: Melanie: "Pelvic Pain after childbirth"
In reply to: anonymous@obgyn.net: "My hymen never ruptured!"
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