u/ldnsrrow

I am not asking for medical advice.

Just had a Dr's appt for my 2 children. We walked in and my 4 year old daughter was chatting away as she usually does.

I felt slightly uncomfortable with how the Dr pulled her towards him and was patting her back as she was speaking to him, but just put it down to me overanalysing it and that it was harmless. When he rolled himself up to assess her she did look up at me and say she was scared but I reassured her that it's OK, the Dr just needs to check your sore throat. He assessed her and diagnosed her, it was all fine.

Then he began assessing my 6 month old. He needed to check her tonsils so he splayed his legs open in front of me and pulled her legs and bottom half up onto his lap with her essentially straddling his waist whilst her head was on my lap. He checked her throat and I quickly lifted her back to me. Again, I felt uncomfortable as he didn't explain what he was going to do. I was caught off guard as I'm used to the Dr's checking my kid's (I have 5) throats whilst they're on me but by asking me to hold their forehead and arms down.

My 4 year old was in the background saying "that's my baby sister....she was in my mummy's tummy!" Then the Dr turned to her and said "oh? And how did she get in there?" My daughter laughed and looked confused so I asked her to come and sit next to me as we'll be leaving now. I asked him if my baby needs any medication, thanked him, and I got up and took my kids out.

I did mention to the receptionist that I found it inappropriate but now I'm wondering if I'm overreacting?

Edit to add: his response to her confusion was "So you don't know everything then, do you?" Which made it feel less like him trying to make a badly-landed joke.

Just had a Dr's appt for my 2 children. We walked in and my 4 year old daughter was chatting away as she usually does.

I felt slightly uncomfortable with how much the Dr was patting my 4 year old's back as she was speaking to him, but just put it down to me overanalysing and that it was harmless. He assessed her and diagnosed her, it was all fine.

Then he began assessing my 6 month old. He needed to check her tonsils so he splayed his legs open in front of me and pulled her legs and bottom half up onto his lap whilst her head was on my lap. He checked her throat and I quickly lifted her back to me. Again, I felt uncomfortable but caught off guard as I'm used to the Dr's checking my kid's throats whilst they're on me but by asking me to hold their forehead and arms down.

My 4 year old was in the background saying "that's my baby sister....she was in my mummy's tummy!" Then the Dr turned to her and said "oh? And how did she get in there?"

I feel like such an idiot because again, I froze! I was so taken aback, I didn't even confront him by saying that's inappropriate. All I did was usher my daughter to come and sit next to me because we'll be leaving now. I feel like I didn't wanna bring too much attention to it, to make my little girl even more confused or feel bad? But at the same time I wish I said something to the Dr!

All I did was ask if my baby needs any medication and I got up and took my kids out.

I did mention to the receptionist that I found it inappropriate but now I'm wondering if I'm overreacting?

EDIT: The comments are making me feel a bit silly 😆 ... but I can't shake the icky feeling that I had during the appointment... and it wasn't about him being a man like many suggested. If a female Dr had asked my 4 year old how'd a baby get into my tummy and then stared at her until she responded with confusion and then said "well you don't know everything then if you dont know that", I'd still find that weird and inappropriate. Especially after bringing her close and patting and rubbing her back at the start of the appt. It's not a gender thing for me.

Maybe like others are saying, it wasn't inappropriate, but I think I personally find that over-familiarity a bit uncomfortable from a stranger. Saying that, I won't go down the complaint route but maybe some casual feedback so that if the surgery get similar feedback from others they can decide whether it's a questionable pattern or not. Also, I appreciate the NHS and it's health workers so much! I'm not trying to cause unnecessary issues for a GP, I've just never left an appointment feeling so uncomfortable before so wanted to get some outside feedback. Thanks everyone for your input.