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obgyn

Pap smears aren't exactly a picnic.

Ah, the Pap smear. Most women's least favorite routine medical procedure, when your doctor uses tools that look like torture devices to take a sample from your cervix to screen for cervical cancer. While the procedure is important (we'll get into why in a moment), it's also a less-than-pleasant experience for reasons that are difficult to explain to someone who's never had one. It's not like you can just show someone a video of the procedure, considering the sensitive nature of it. And the basic description of "Imagine someone prying open one of your private orifices with a cold, pinchy tool and then scraping around in there for a bit," doesn't quite cover it.

A nurse has done the impossible, however, with a video that hilariously depicts what a Pap smear and pelvic exam feel like. Using a padded envelope, a pair of tongs, a whisk, and a pepper grinder, she shows the steps of a Pap smear in a way that everyone who has ever had one can feel while they watch. It's disturbingly accurate, with only one small detail missing.

Watch:

A repost of the video has been shared over 1 million times, with women everywhere howling about the accuracy. The only thing missing? The lubricating jelly. If you know, you know.

"And they basically want you hanging halfway off the table… “scoot down some more?” Ma’am. I’m already in hip thrust position, how much further down can I go?😩😂"

"'Just relax and let your legs fall open.' *as you are clenching and shaking*🥴"

"My body was tense the whole time watching this. I just don’t believe they’ve made any advancements on Pap smears and I don’t understand why!!!! there HAS to be other ways. Somebody lyin!!!"

"💀You forgot the super cold lube. 🥶"

"It was the turn of the tongs that got me. 😂🤣 I felt that."

Commenters also commiserated over the ironic reality of having a doctor be all up close and personal in your business, yet feeling compelled to hide your underwear from them.

"Did we all fold our undies and then IMMEDIATELY hide them because GAWD FORBID they see that whilst canoeing through our lady bits!?"

"All this while your clothes are folded neatly on the chair in the corner of the room with your underwear hidden in your pants."

"You can explore my birth canal but I won’t dare let u catch a glimpse of my panties… girl math. 🤣"

"Then they step out so you can dress … like umm 🙄 you just seen all I had to offer lol."

But the video also prompted some awareness over the importance of cervical cancer screenings. After all, they're not spelunking into your birth canal for nothing.

"Please go for them ladies, my wife has just finished extensive chemo and radiotherapy," shared one commenter. "A smear was the first step in finding the disease. PLEASE, go! So many women put off this vital appointment. 😪"

What happens during a Pap smear? Why is it important?

According to the National Cancer Institute, a Pap smear is "a procedure in which a small brush is used to gently remove cells from the surface of the cervix and the area around it so they can be checked under a microscope for cervical cancer or cell changes that may lead to cervical cancer. A Pap smear may also help find other conditions, such as infections or inflammation."

metal speculumA speculum allows doctors to access the cervix.Photo credit: Canva

However, this description doesn't mention the speculum, which is what's used to hold open the vagina so the doctor can access the cervix. Sometimes metal, sometimes plastic, the speculum is about as comfortable as it looks and the reason many women choose to put off their Pap smear appointments. The procedure only takes a few minutes, though, and it's more uncomfortable than it is painful—definitely worth some temporary discomfort to screen for cancers and other pelvic health problems.

Pap smears are able to detect cervical changes before they become cancerous, which is why they've been the gold standard for cancer screenings. The current recommendation is that anyone with a cervix who's between 21 and 30 years old should get a Pap smear at least once every three years, and 30 to 65-year-olds should get one every five years.

We may not love them, but Pap smears are a part of good health maintenance. Let's just hope that they find screening method that's not quite as uncomfortably invasive in the future.

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Every December, something very special (and very adorable) is tucked inside the holiday stockings at one California hospital — BABIES!

Image via Nikyah Pfeiffer, used with permission.

Since the 1930s, Redlands Community Hospital has been swaddling December babies in cozy stockings sewn by local volunteers as a special gift to the parents.


The Linen Committee — a group of hospital auxiliary volunteers who mainly took care of sheets and towels — first started the project. By the 1960s, it had really taken off, and a full-fledged sewing committee was needed just to make the stockings.

Today, the yearly tradition is undertaken with the help of the Redlands Sewing Center and a strong community of people who want to keep the tradition alive.

"We accept all volunteers that are willing to come and help us out," says Sue Carlson, event coordinator at Redlands Sewing Center. "We don’t even ask them to bring their own machines. They use our store machines, so they just come down."

"Last year, we had a customer that came in just to buy something," she adds, "and we showed her what was going on, and she sat down for like an hour and donated some time. ... To me, that’s what it’s about."

Image via Sue Carlson, used with permission.

Seeing people come together to make these stockings is an amazing thing. But what's even more amazing is seeing the heartwarming reactions to stocking-clad babies.

"We don’t really announce it," Nikyah Pfeiffer, marketing manager at Redlands Community Hospital, says. "It’s more of a pleasant surprise that we like to give to our patients."

Of course, some parents do know about the tradition — it's hard to keep something this adorable a secret from year to year — but that doesn't take away any of the magic.

That's because the tradition means a lot to the families. "I think it makes them feel like they’re a part of something bigger than just having their baby born in a hospital," Pfeiffer says. "It helps bring a sense of community, and they’re always grateful that they had their baby here."

Unfortunately, the tradition was paused for a while in the 1990s but then brought back by Sylvia Terifay, a longtime volunteer and coordinator for the stocking tradition, in 2005 with the help of the Redlands Sewing Center. She passed away this year, and the community is dedicated now more than ever to continue the tradition in her honor.

One thing that will never disappear is the lasting effect Redlands Community Hospital has had on families over generations.

Wrapping babies in holidays stockings isn't the only way the hospital is working to build up the sense of community either.

Image via Nikyah Pfeiffer, used with permission.

Since the early 1900s, the hospital has had another tradition — Baby Day — that takes place every five years. On this day, the families of the babies born at Redlands Community Hospital gather for one big group picture.

The hospital hangs Baby Day photos in a hallway dedicated to the history of the community,and it has become a landmark of sorts with local families.

"They bring their children and their grandchildren back to the hospital to show them their particular picture," says Pfeiffer. "It’s just a generational thing that’s really great to see because you don’t get that type of connection very much with hospitals anymore."

Image via Nikyah Pfeiffer, used with permission.

These traditions have managed to forge a powerful bond between the hospital and its community that has lasted for decades.

And this bond will continue for generations to come.

After all, who's going to get tired of seeing a newborn snuggled into a holiday stocking?

Um, no one.

More

A mom's heartbreaking letter to the doctor who never 'told her the truth' about her baby.

'[Our prenatal specialist] repeatedly suggested we abort. He said her and our quality of life would be horrible. He was so unbelievably wrong.'

Courtney Williams Baker lives in Sanford, Florida, with her three daughters.

Courtney and her daughters. All photos used with permission.

Her youngest, Emersyn Faith, has Down syndrome.

Courtney said that before Emersyn was born, her doctor recommended that she abort the baby.


"[Our prenatal specialist] repeatedly suggested we abort," Baker said in a post. "He said her and our quality of life would be horrible. He was so unbelievably wrong."

So the mother of 15-month-old Emersyn penned a heartfelt and powerful note to that doctor.

She explained that her life has only improved since having Emersyn. She also shared the letter with the Parker Myles Facebook page in hopes it might offer strength to other parents going through similar situations:

This took so long to write because I understand how important it is. I wanted it to be perfect. Just like Emmy.Open...

Posted by Courtney Williams Baker on Wednesday, April 27, 2016

The full text of the letter reads:

"Dear Doctor,

A friend recently told me of when her prenatal specialist would see her child during her sonograms, he would comment, 'He’s perfect.' Once her son was born with Down syndrome, she visited that same doctor. He looked at her little boy and said, 'I told you. He’s perfect.'

Her story tore me apart. While I was so grateful for my friend’s experience, it filled me with such sorrow because of what I should have had. I wish you would have been that doctor.

I came to you during the most difficult time in my life. I was terrified, anxious and in complete despair. I didn’t know the truth yet about my baby, and that’s what I desperately needed from you. But instead of support and encouragement, you suggested we terminate our child. I told you her name, and you asked us again if we understood how low our quality of life would be with a child with Down syndrome. You suggested we reconsider our decision to continue the pregnancy.

From that first visit, we dreaded our appointments. The most difficult time in my life was made nearly unbearable because you never told me the truth.

My child was perfect.

I’m not angry. I’m not bitter. I’m really just sad. I’m sad the tiny beating hearts you see every day don’t fill you with a perpetual awe. I’m sad the intricate details and the miracle of those sweet little fingers and toes, lungs and eyes and ears don’t always give you pause. I’m sad you were so very wrong to say a baby with Down syndrome would decrease our quality of life. And I’m heartbroken you might have said that to a mommy even today. But I’m mostly sad you’ll never have the privilege of knowing my daughter, Emersyn.

Because, you see, Emersyn has not only added to our quality of life, she’s touched the hearts of thousands. She’s given us a purpose and a joy that is impossible to express. She’s given us bigger smiles, more laughter and sweeter kisses than we’ve ever known. She’s opened our eyes to true beauty and pure love.

So my prayer is that no other mommy will have to go through what I did. My prayer is that you, too, will now see true beauty and pure love with every sonogram. And my prayer is when you see that next baby with Down syndrome lovingly tucked in her mother’s womb, you will look at that mommy and see me then tell her the truth: 'Your child is absolutely perfect.'"















Baker told ABC it was incredibly therapeutic to send the letter.

"Every action, from opening and closing the mailbox to raising the red flag, was closure for me," Baker told ABC.

Emersyn shows off her new outfit. Photo by Courtney Baker, used with permission.

"I have no idea how the doctor might have reacted to my letter," Baker said, "but I do have faith that God can work any miracle, and he can change any heart."