DENVER — One immigrant woman told of visiting five gynecologists in recent months, each of whom gasped audibly at her anatomy.
Another went to see a doctor, only to become the subject of a gawking crew of medical residents.
And a third said she had never visited a gynecologist, despite experiencing abdominal pain since age 10, when her genitals were cut in her native Gambia. “I feel ashamed,” said the woman, Mariama Bojang, 25. “The doctor has probably never seen anything like this. How am I supposed to explain it?”
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Dr. Nour said she received calls from flummoxed health professionals treating immigrant women whose jobs have brought them to places like Hawaii, North Dakota and Florida. She points them to a DVD about genital cutting. “The worst thing a health care provider can do is wince or cringe or ask an inappropriate question,” Dr. Nour said. “It deters a patient from returning.”
Ms. Bojang, the Gambian woman with abdominal pain, now lives in Tyler, Tex., about 100 miles east of Dallas. She came to the United States in 2010 to study political science and said she was now considering visiting a gynecologist, spurred by the support of people who oppose the tradition. “When I start talking about this topic, I get really emotional,” she said. “Everything comes back. Going to the doctor — I don’t want to have to explain everything from the beginning.”
A version of this article appears in print on February 6, 2015, on page A11 of the New York edition with the headline: Effects of Ancient Custom Present New Challenge to U.S. Doctors. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
