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  • Business Down Below: Berlin’s inclusive gynaecologist

Berlin

Business Down Below: Berlin’s inclusive gynaecologist

An inclusive gynaecology practice has opened up in Charlottenburg, the first of its kind in Berlin.

Photo: Obenrum & Untenrum

In orderly Charlottenburg, you might be surprised to walk past a light-flooded gallery exhibiting fleshy kaleidoscopic vulva photography. You might be even more surprised when you go in and realise that the gallery is not just a gallery, but actually the front room of a gynaecology practice. Obenrum & Untenrum (“up there and down below”) opened its doors in March this year. Bit cryptic, you say? Well, that’s the point. The name is a play on the fact that in the medical profession, there’s a real aversion to saying ‘vulva’ – “as if it’s a dirty word”, the practice’s founder Dr Helen Sange explains.

Photo: Obenrum & Untenrum

More importantly, however, the practice is bilingual – English and German – and has a culture of active inclusivity, offering their services explicitly to people anywhere on the gender spectrum, from cis to trans to transitioning to non-binary. The full range of gynaecological and obstetric medicine is covered, as well as sexual and hormonal therapy. A three-person team of native English speakers, they aim to make every patient feel “welcome and seen and cared for” – a lost art at many doctors’. While your pronouns won’t be assumed, payment unfortunately will be. It’s a private practice, which means that your insurance won’t cover the costs, but it might be a price worth paying.

  • Obenrum & Untenrum, Goethestr. 70, Charlottenburg, details.