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"The foreskin protects the glans throughout life." - American Academy of Pediatrics
With more and more males growing up intact, it's circumcised males who are beginning to feel "different." Many circumcised men have reported that they have been teased because they didn't have a foreskin.
Yes. Circumcision is extremely painful -- and traumatic -- for a baby. Just being strapped down is frightening for a baby. The often repeated statement that babies can't feel pain is not true. Babies are as sensitive to pain as anyone else. Most babies scream frantically when their foreskins are cut off. Some defecate. Some lapse into a coma. The reason some babies don't cry when they are circumcised is that they can't cry because they are in a state of shock. Most babies are circumcised without any anesthetic. Anesthetics injected into the penis don't always work. Being stuck with a needle in the penis is itself painful for a baby, just as it would be for anyone else. Babies are rarely given pain medication right after they are circumcised or during the week to ten days it takes the wound to heal. Pain medication is not always effective and is never 100% effective.
Yes. Like any other surgery, circumcision has risks. They include:
Circumcision may have risks and complications not yet recognized or understood.
"Nature is a possessive mistress, and whatever mistakes she makes about the structure of the less essential organs such as the brain and stomach,in which she is not much interested, you can be sure that she knows best of the genital organs. - Sir James Spence
"Routine circumcision is not a medical issue or a social issue. It is a sexual issue and a human rights issue." - Frederick Hodges
Most parents don't know what is actually done to a baby when he is circumcised. The baby is placed spread-eagle on his back on a board and his arms and legs are strapped down so that he can't move. His genitals are scrubbed and covered with antiseptic. His foreskin is torn from his glans and slit lengthwise so that the circumcision instrument can be inserted. Then his foreskin is cut off.
Most parents who see what is done to a baby when he is circumcised and how he reacts decide against circumcision and let their baby keep his foreskin intact.
More and more parents -- including Jewish parents -- are questioning the wisdom of subjecting their baby to the pain and risks of circumcision and its life-long consequences. More and more parents are wondering if they have the right to consent to the irreversible amputation of a healthy, normal, sensitive, functional part of their baby's penis -- an amputation that experts regard not just as "unnecessary," but as contraindicated. More and more parents are becoming truly informed and, as a result, more and more parents are deciding against circumcision and are keeping their baby boys intact.
"The best reason to let a baby keep his foreskin intact is that it's almost a certainty that he will be glad you did." - John A. Erickson
"Many parents today realize that if they had been given accurate information about circumcision they would never have let anyone circumcise their baby. I am one of those parents, and that is why I do the work I do, and why I have written this pamphlet." - Marilyn Fayre Milos, R.N.
* To cover and bond with the synechia so as to permit the development of the mucosal surface of the glans and inner foreskin.
* To protect the glans of the infant boy from feces and ammonia in diapers.
* To protect the glans penis from friction and abrasion thoughout life.
* To keep the glans moisturized and soft with emollient oils.
* To lubricate the glans.
* To coat the glans with a waxy protective substance.
* To provide sufficient skin to cover an erection by unfolding.
* To provide an aid to masturbation and foreplay.
* To serve as an aid to penetration.
* To reduce friction and chaffing during intercourse.
* To serve as erogenous tissue because of its rich supply of erogenous receptors.
* To contact and stimulate the G-spot of the female partner.
In the U.S. there is a myth that the natural human penis is a self-destructing time-bomb, ready to go off at any time in an explosion of disease, filth, and horrible stenches, an inevitable disaster which only immediate surgery at birth can prevent. Can this be true? Why and how did this practice of routine infant circumcision begin in the United States?
Non-religious circumcision was introduced into this country on a very small scale in the 1860s for a single purpose-to stop masturbation. Circumcision was used as a deliberate surgical intervention to debilitate and desensitize the penis.
During the Victorian era, physicians began to believe that all sexual activity was dangerous to physical and emotional health. Masturbation was viewed as the most dangerous form of sexuality and was named as the cause of every known disease, from blindness to nervousness, insanity, venereal disease, tuberculosis, and death. With every credible American doctor and medical association issuing dire warnings about masturbation, any step taken towards its eradication and prevention was deemed justified.
By the turn of the century, circumcision had become a panacea. Amputation of the foreskin was "scientifically proven" to cure and prevent diseases ranging from insanity to epilepsy, malnutrition, hip-joint disease, paralysis, eczema, tuberculosis, headache, hysteria, alcoholism, criminality, and heart disease.
In 1928, the American Medical Association published an editorial in its journal calling for the routine circumcision of all male infants at birth. The primary justification for routine circumcision was the prevention of masturbation.
During World Wars I and II, many soldiers were forcibly circumcised by military doctors under threat of court martial. Returning WWII veterans were now conditioned to believe that circumcision was the correct thing to do. They were told it was hygienic, that it prevented disease, and that conformity was necessary. Young parents did not object when their newborn boys were automatically circumcised after being delivered in hospitals, though in reality they had no choice. Hospitals did not require anyone's consent to perform this surgery.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, this abusive situation was reformed. Hospitals and doctors were required to obtain informed consent from patients for any medical or surgical procedure. Circumcision now required consent before a doctor was legally allowed to amputate, but since a baby is unable to give his consent, parents were assumed to have the power to give consent on behalf of the baby.
By the early 1970s, over 90% of newborn boys were automatically circumcised. In 1971, the American Academy of Pediatrics reviewed the medical literature on circumcision and determined that circumcision, after all, was not medically valid. The circumcision rate began to fall dramatically. New medical excuses continue to be invented for the surgery, but all have been disproved by European studies.
The intact penis of an infant or child needs no special care. A child's foreskin should never be retracted by force. During the first few years of life, the foreskin and glans are connected by a common membrane called the synechia (just as the fingernail is attached to the finger). This connective tissue dissolves naturally - a process that should never be hurried.
The foreskin can be retracted when its inside surface separates from the glans and the opening widens. This usually happens by age 18. Even if the glans and foreskin separate naturally in infancy, the foreskin still may not be retractable because the opening in an infant's foreskin may be just large enough for the passage of urine.
The first person to retract a child's foreskin should be the child himself. Once a boy discovers that his foreskin is retractable (a wondrous discovery for an intact child), he can easily learn to care for himself. A simple explanation of "how to" may be helpful:
Gently slip the foreskin back. Rinse the head of your penis and the inside fold of your foreskin with warm water. Slip your foreskin back in place over the glans.
The foreskin is easy to care for and the intact penis is easy to keep clean. The foreskin usually does not fully retract for several years and should never be forced. When the foreskin is fully retractable, boys should be taught the importance of washing underneath the foreskin every day.
Gently rinsing the genital area while bathing is sufficient. Harsh soap and excessive washing can irritate the penis, which can lead to inflammation of the glans (balanitis).
Abnormalities or diseases of the foreskin can be treated conservatively, if and when they occur, on a case-by-case basis.
Probably the most common abnormality of the penis is "phimosis", or tight foreskin. (This is not the same as the natural attachment of the foreskin to the glans in very young children, which is completely normal.) The foreskin can normally be retracted by adolescence.
If retraction is not possible, a number of newer treatments are available which do not involve circumcision: Steroid creams, stretching, and preputioplasty. Some of these treatments have only been published recently, and not all doctors are aware of them.
If your son has a serious problem with his foreskin, such as a severe infection (balanitis xerotica obliterans) or gangrene, perhaps related to diabetes, removal of the affected area may be a medically advisable option.
Many problems of the uncircumcised penis are linked to improper hygiene and care. One example is prematurley retracting the foreskin, which can cause scar tissue and tightness later (which, incidentally, is why some people are circumcised beyond childhood).
The foreskin actually serves for cleanliness in infants, as it keeps out urine and feces. Hygiene is a matter of whether you bathe or not, not whether you're circumcised or not.
Blood-Sport Memorial: A Spiritual Service for the Yearly Human Rights Commemoration in Memory of Circumcised Children & All Victims of Genital Mutilation, Mary Gibson Dunne. Based on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Eastern Orthodox Christian Observance of Remembering Slaughtered Children. $27.95 plus $4.50 domestic, $6 international S/H. Ecumenics International Press, POB 144, Sloatsburg, NY 10974.
Childbirth Picture Book, Fran P. Hosken, drawings by Marcia L. Williams. One sample book: $3 plus $1 USA, $4 air worldwide S/H. Please specify English, French, Spanish or Arabic. Women's International Network News, 187 Grant Street, Lexington, MA 02173.
Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy, Edward Wallerstein. 1980. Springer Publishing, New York. (out of print)
Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma, Ronald Goldman, Ph.D. 1996. $18.95. Circumcision Resource Center, POB 232, Boston, MA 02133. Master/Visa orders, call 888-445-5199. Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma, Rosemary Romberg. 1985. Bergan & Garvey, S. Hadley, MA. (out of print) Circumcision: The Rest of the Story, Peggy O'Mara, ed. 1993. Mothering, POB 1690, Santa Fe, NM 87504. Circumcision Exposed : Rethinking a Medical and Cultural Tradition - Billy Ray Boyd; Paperback
Circumcision: What Every Parent Should Know, Anne Briggs. 1985. Birth & Parenting Publications, 876 Chapel Hill Road, Charlottesville, VA 22901. Circumcision: What It Does, Billy Ray Boyd. 1990. C. Olssen, POB 5100, Santa Cruz, CA 95063. Cutting The Rose: Female Genital Mutilation: The Practice and its Prevention, Efua Dorkenoo. 1994. Minority Rights Publications, 379 Brixton Road, London SW9 7DE England. Deeper Into Circumcision: An Invitation to Awareness & Guide to Resources for Researchers, Parents, Restorers, Activists and the MerelyCurious, John A. Erickson. 1998. Updated continually. $25. John A. Erickson, Dept. N.1664 Beach Blvd. #216, Biloxi, MS 39531-5351. Female Genital Mutilation: A Public Health Issue Also in Italy, Proceedings of the 1994 International Symposium on Female Genital Mutilation, May 3rd, 1994, Padua, Italy, Pia Grassivaro Gallo and Franco Viviani, eds. 1995. UNIPRESS, via Cesare Battisti 231, 35121 Padova, Italy. Female Genital Mutilation: Proposals for Change, Efua Dorkenoo and Scilla Elworthy. $5.95. The Minority Rights Group International, 379-381 Brixton road, London SW9 7DE, England. Foreskin: A Closer Look, Bud Berkeley. 1993. $9.95. Alyson Publications, Inc., 40 Plympton Street, Boston, MA 02118. The Hosken Report: Genital and Sexual Mutilation of Females, 4th Ed., Fran P. Hosken. 1993. Women's International Network News, 187 Grant Street, Lexington, MA 02173. The International Human Rights Challenge of Genital Mutilation & the United Nations: Initiating a Global Dialogue on the Trasncultural, Multireligious, & Interdisciplinary Dimensions of Appropriating Equitable Human Rights, Anastasios Zavales. $34.95 plus $4.50 domestic, $6 international S/H. Ecumenics International Press, POB 144, Sloatsburg, NY 10974-0144. Jewish Women Speak Out, Kayla Weiner, Ph.D., and Arinna Moon, M.A., ed. $18.95 plus $3 S/H. Miriam Pollack, Dept. N, 11 Miraflores Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901. [Miriam Pollack, the keynote speaker at the Fourth International Symposium on Sexual Mutilations, is a contributor to this book.] The Joy of Being a Boy!, Elizabeth Noble with Leo Sorger, M.D.. 1994. $7. NOCIRC or New Life Images, 448 Pleasant Lake Avenue, Harwich, MA 02645. The Joy of Uncircumcising!, 2nd Ed., Jim Bigelow, Ph.D. 1995. $19.95 plus $2 S/H (plus $1.45 tax in CA). UNCIRC, POB 52138, Pacific Grove, CA 93950. Natural Man, Photographs by Sherwin Carlquist. $20 plus $2 S/H ($10 will be donated to NOCIRC). Sherwin Carlquist, Dept. N, 4539 Via Huerto, Santa Barbara, CA 93110-2323. Prisoners of Ritual: An Odyssey Into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein. 1989. Now available in German. $22 S/H. Lightfoot Associates, 4040 Via Del Vireo, Tucson, AZ 85718. Say No To Circumcision!, 2nd Ed., Thomas J. Ritter, M.D., & George C. Denniston, M.D. 1996. $9.95 plus $3 S/H. NOCIRC, POB 2512, San Anselmo, CA 94979-2512. Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy, George C. Denniston and Marilyn Fayre Milos, editors (Plenum, 1997). Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Sexual Mutilations, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1997. $79.50 plus $3 S/H. Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective, Ronald Goldman, Ph.D. 1997, $11.95 plus $3 S/H. CRC, POB 232, Boston, MA 02133 or call toll-free 1-888-445-5199. Stop Female Genital Mutilation: Women Speak - Facts and Actions, Fran P. Hosken. $15 ppd. Airmail overseas add $5. WIN NEWS, 187 Grant Street, Lexington, MA 02173. Taking A Bath?, Lynda B. Ukemenam. $12.99 plus $2 S/H. Lynda B. Ukemenam, Dept. N., St. Candid House, Inc., People Against Genital Mutilation Foundation, 230 Mount Vernon Place, Suite 3P, Newark, NJ 07106. To Mutilate in the Name of Jehovah or Allah: Legitimization of Male and Female Circumcision, Sami A. Aldeeb. 1994. $8 ppd. NOHARMM, Dept. N, POB 460795, San Francisco, CA 94146. Visions and discussions on genital mutilation of girls: an international survey, Jacqueline Smith. Updated translation of 1992 study by the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights and published for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Defense for Children International. Free. DVL-Informatiebalie, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Posbus 20061, 2500 EB The Hague, The Netherlands.
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