The post I hoped I'd never have to make

[allisonrose]

The damn ped retracted my 7 month old. : I've talked to this ped in the past about not retracting and her stance was something about they should be retracting by age 2 so I figured I had time. She claims that she barely put any pressure on the foreskin and my son didn't react at all. I pushed her hand away too late. I figured it was an unfortunate occurance but that things were fine. Then changing his diaper I saw that his foreskin was reddened around the edge.

I feel horrible.

His diaper will never come off in the presence of this ped again. We are moving soon and will be changing peds regardless of this incident. I will be crystal clear with the new ped/doc that no one will retract my son's penis and will state my preference for a no touch policy.

But what do I do now?

[Dev]

So sorry for your son's misfortune. How far did she retract? Just enough to expose the meatus or the entire glans? The greater degree of retraction is the worst.
I would file a ltr. of complaint with her, the Dir. of her clinic, and the state licensing board describing what she did & why it is harmful. Filing complaints eventually help protect other boys from harmful forced retraction of their prepuces. It wouldn't hurt to include med. orgs. literature on why physicians should not forcibly retract.

[allisonrose]

I think she exposed most of the glans. It's a blur because I was shocked at what she did.

Do we have reliable sources claiming no retraction? Hubby thinks I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.

I'm mostly asking about what I need to do for my son. The ped defended her actions and, while I may be interested in dropping off a stack of literature on not retracting, I'm not sure about filing a complaint.

[Dev]

Dear allisonrose:

I’m no expert, but common sense tells me that since your son did not scream in pain at the time of retraction then less damage was done. The soreness / redness is the result of retracting his prepuce which should not have been done by the ignorant physician. Heck, I bet she does it all the time to intact boys, whether they scream in pain or not. As long as he’s not in pain when he urinates or is not bleeding, he should heal in a few days. Watch for signs of infection. I have read that some moms suggest warm baths with baking soda to help with the healing and to sooth any soreness your son may be experiencing. Above all, don’t blame yourself, you knew better and had already informed the ignorant doctor.

Please educate the ill-informed incompetent doctor who injured your son. I would suggest a follow-up letter written and signed by you and your husband addressed to her and the admin. or the clinic she is affiliated with in addition to filing one with the State Licensing Board. Explain what occurred and why it is damaging. Also ask Atty. John Geisheker from DOC org. (link below) to send a letter of complaint and education on the development of the prepuce in children and the harm of forced retractions. He does it for free; however, I sent him a small donation to DOC as sincere gratitude after he sent a letter at my request to a pediatrician who forcibly retracted a 4 yr. old boy I work with in my job, causing crying, pain, and swelling of the boy's penis. Your doctor will keep on doing forced retractions unless she suffers ramifications. Help protect other intact little boys in her practice.

The two reputable links below advise that forced retraction is damaging. Fight back mama with both fists clenched ! Best Wishes.

* (the AAP link below incorrectly states " Most boys will be able to retract their foreskins by the time they are 5 years old" This is incorrect! The average age by more reputable European studies says the average age of full retraction for boys is age 10).

http://www.aap.org/publiced/br_uncircumcised.htm
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...etraction.html

[mommyminer]

I agree with the previous posts. Furthermore, the AAP has a statement about the care of the intact penis. The statements reiterates the fact that the only person to retract the foreskin for the first time is the boy himself.

[pixiekisses]

I don't get this.
I mean, I understand what happened, and I agree totally with Dev (PP).
But, is it really normal for a ped. to touch a babys penis? What do they do to girls?
That's the part I don't get. We have boys, all intact of course (because here, nobody gets circed basically, except some jews I guess, maybe some other religion, but it's rare, almost everybody is intact, I've never seen a circed boy/man to say it that way), but the boys have never been touched on their privats by any ped. Neither has the girls. Why do they do that? I mean, what reason do they give for this? I would be livid if someone touched my childs privats, ped. or not. (If it wasn't for a medical reason, that we agreed on and had talked over already, something that had to be done.)

[lrlittle]

Yes! Everytime I read something like this I wonder why the doctor has taken off the baby's diaper in the first place. Was there something wrong in that area that she was checking out?

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Dr's routinely do under the diaper checks. They check girls for labial adhesions and boys for hernia's or undecended testicles.

There are some helpful tips here http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=764732 on how to help him heal.

[mysticmomma]

Change your vernacular. Do not MANIPULATE my sons penis or prepuce at all.

ETA: we always offer to move anything they need moved.

[Gentle~Mommy :)]

Why was the Dr. messing around with his penis? I have 2 sons, I don't think the doctor has even glanced at them never mind touch them. I'd me angry!

[Lula's Mom]

Aw, poor baby. If you're nursing, put some breastmilk on it and that will soothe and heal it.

[tutucrazy]

I'm so sorry momma and baby!!! My son was a victim too. I know how mad and upset you are. I hope you will take some steps to try to educate the doctor. Mail her some stuff or have DOC mail her some stuff. Retracting by 2?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? That is so incorrect and NUTS!

I don't know what makes me more mad, people who circ boys or doctors who mistreat intact boys. :

[allisonrose]

My son seems to be doing okay. No abnormal fussing about a wet diaper. He was a bit cranky earlier but it was more likely sleepiness since the appointment fell while he wanted to be napping. I squirted some bm on him at the most recent diaper change and will plan on a bath tomorrow.

Unfortunately I didn't have many choices for peds in my area when he was born. I choose to have a ped in town rather than travel 20 minutes to a crunchier area. (Although I don't know if that would have been any guarantee against ignorance since I heard about one of those peds talking about circ vs uncirc by race.)

I hope at least one mama reads this post and realizes how important it is to clearly instruct anyone to keep their hands off.

[jenP]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

Dr's routinely do under the diaper checks. They check girls for labial adhesions and boys for hernia's or undecended testicles.

Yeah, labial adhesions. I think that's a crock when doctors want you to put hormone cream on a little baby's labia because of adhesions. Kind of like when they think you should circumcise a little boy because of adhesions. They all resolve at puberty, if not earlier. If they can pee they are fine, I think.

Jen