The gyno is never a "fun" place to be — no matter how friendly or reassuring your doc may be. The fact is, stripping down to nothing but a paper gown and baring your nethers under bright, flourescent lighting is awkward. And trying to "act natural" while your OB stares at your lady bits and inserts a cold, hard speculum is… well, NOT THE GREATEST FEELING, TBH.
A collective disdain for going to the gyno has basically united women for decades now. But there's also another part of the experience that we all seem to have in common: the unspoken need to hide our underwear out of view. Recently, the wife of an OB/GYN decided to ask him whether or not he's ever noticed this strange-but-true phenomenon at work, and the hilarious video of his response went viral on TikTok.
The clip was recently shared by TikToker Carlie Nolan
In addition to being the wife an OB/GYN, Nolan is also a SAHM of two, who runs the blog and podcast Carl Her Mommy.
She also commands an impressive social media following, where she frequently puts her husband William on the spot while asking him all sorts of gyno-related questions.
Often, she asks her husband (aka "Dr. William") FAQs she gets from followers …
They range from pregnancy dos and don'ts, like, "How much coffee is safe to drink while pregnant?"
@carlhermommy Coffee forever #obgyn #obgynwife #pregnancytok #pregnancy #pregnantlife #womenshealth #laboranddelivery #pregnancyfacts ♬ original sound – Carlie Nolan
But few of her videos have struck such a chord as the one she posted earlier this month …
@carlhermommy “Buried in the purse or something” I am dead #obgyn #obgynwife #womenshealth #pelvicexam #pregnancytok #gynecologist #papsmear #girlythings ♬ original sound – Carlie Nolan
… to humorous on-the-job stories, like, "What's the craziest thing somebody's ever brought into the delivery room?"
@carlhermommy MY QUEEN #obgyn #obgynwife #laboranddelivery #birthstory #unbelievable #momtok #pregnancytok #momhack #hosptialbirth ♬ original sound – Carlie Nolan
But none of Nolan's videos exploded like the one she shared about women's visits to the doctor
"William," she says in the clip, "did you know that women at the OB/GYN office will always hide their underwear before a pelvic exam?"
"No…," he replies with a grin. "But now that you mention it, you never see their underwear."
"I mean, I have seen underwear," he continues, "but most of the time it's like, buried in their purse of something."
@carlhermommy I should film his reaction to this #obgyn #womenshealth #doctortok #justgirlythings ♬ original sound – Carlie
Yep. Despite the fact that we're about to put all of our bits and bobs on display, most of us still feel the need to hide our underwear inside our tiny pile of clothes before our pelvic exam begins — lest our doctor see them and judge us.
(Gasp!)
Like it or not, most of us do this
In fact, most of the comments on Nolan's post were from women who admitted that they too hide their undies at the gyno — and have gone to great lengths to ensure they're unseen.
"This made me laugh!!" wrote one user. "I hide mine under my neatly folded shirt and pants."
"[Mine are] always folded discreetly inside my folded pants!" another woman added.
Someone else said she doesn't just hide them in her pants — she folds them up small enough to fit inside one of the pockets.
"It's like we’re born with the idea engraved in our minds!" another woman wrote.
A few people were surprised to learn this wasn't just "their" thing
"I didn’t realize we all did that!" admitted one woman. "Ha! Maybe next time I should put them on my head just to give my OB a shock."
"I am going to leave mine hanging on the door handle next time!" another user added.
Of course, the irony in all of this is pretty funny
"That’s like them leaving while you change," one woman pointed out. "Why? They already gonna see everything."
"I forgot to hide mine one time, and I asked one of the nurses to cover them during my exam, and my OB said, 'Logan I’ve seen a baby come out of you ….'"
LOL.
The truth is, the reason *why* we do it is kind of hard to explain
Some of us just do it out of modesty; others because we're low-key worried about what our underwear actually looks like. (To be fair, one TikToker said she once left hers out and got a "lecture" from her OB on why they weren't 100% cotton.)
But most of us are likely on auto-pilot when we fold our underwear up like a tiny piece of origami and shove it beneath our clothes. And whether or not that makes "sense" — especially when we're just minutes away from getting our hoo-ha's examined — is really besides the point … because you know we're going to keep on doing it!
