A regular visit to the gynaecologist is necessary for every woman even if it is just for an ordinary check-up.

Ensuring that your reproductive health system is functioning well is very important. If you are a first-time visitor to a gynaecologist, this can be a little bit awkward because the process can be quite invasive.

Here are important tips when visiting a gynaecologist:

1. Take a Shower

Personal hygiene is critical when seeing a doctor, who is going to examine the most private part of your body.

Some women will prefer shaving or waxing their pubic hair to make everything clean and 'presentable'.

2. Reschedule when on your menses

Experts’ advice to women is to reschedule a gynaecologist’s appointment when on their periods.

This is because if you do a pap smear (a test carried out on a sample of cells from the cervix to check for abnormalities that may be indicative of cervical cancer) during your menstrual cycle, the blood can make the results inaccurate.

At the same time, hormonal changes during your period can make a breast exam really uncomfortable and vaginal bleeding makes a pelvic exam messy.

3. Let someone you trust accompany you

Mostly if it is your first time, ask someone you trust to tag along. This will allow you to be more comfortable and with the recent cases of gynaecologist’s taking advantage of women, this will provide some sort of security.

Hospitals also avail female nurses who can be inside the room when going through the tests.

4. Drink a lot of Water

Make sure you are well hydrated before going to the gynaecologist. This is because your doctor will probably need to do a dipstick urine test and. A full bladder will allow you to urinate faster.

Dipstick test is a basic diagnostic tool used to determine pathological changes in a patient's urine in standard urinalysis.