"Unbiased" links, please

[mom2cash]

I have several pregnant mama friends struggling with convincing their DH's not to circumcise. Could you please give me the most unbiased and factual links, peer-reviewed, and lots of them? I know for a fact that at least two of the friends' husbands would react negatively to websites like Doctors Opposing Circumcision just because of the title. I know this can be a sensitive subject for men that are circ'd and are struggling with the whole wanting their son to be like them, not wanting to feel that something that was done to them was wrong and unneccessary, etc. So, I want to be sensitive to that in order for them to actually read and possibly internalize some information. Thanks for any links, ladies!

[Quirky]

http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/

[glongley]

Not sure what people want to hear when they ask for "unbiased" links.

Sure, information that comes from a source that says its against circumcision, will be thought to be biased. Anti-circ literature may sound biased against circumcision - but that is because it tells you everything you AREN'T hearing from the mainstream sources, which means those sources are biased in favor of circumcision to begin with..

Medical organization position statements and mainstream parent information handouts are biased in that they overemphasize the medical issues, downplay the complications, omit the the sexual functions of the foreskin, and ignore the ethical issues.

If a person thinks unbiased means having lists of equal lengths of pros and cons of circumcision, or reasons to circ and reasons not to circ - think again. The foreskin is a normal body part with important functions. Having a foreskin is the default position! There is no compelling medical need to amputate it at birth. The diseases or problems that circ is said to prevent are uncommon, treatable, or preventable by much less damaging measures.

These husbands need to come up with a compelling reason why a boy HAS to be circumcised (all refutable), not someone else having to prove why a boy SHOULDN'T be circumcised. Anyone insisting on circumcision, needs to see a video of one, and commit to doing research on the functions of the foreskin - or they don't get a say.

Sorry for sounding pissy about this - but there were too many circs in the nursery where I work today.

Gillian

[calngavinsmom]

Hi there. Good for you for helping out your friends. Here is a good link from the Canadian Pediatric Society:
http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/preg...rcumcision.htm

Take care!

[JenniferLS]

Mom2cash

I'm SOOOO glad you posted this question! I was JUST ABOUT to post a question like this, until I saw yours. I am three months pregnant, and I just have a feeling it might be a boy. I already have one boy and one girl, and sadly and regretfully, we had our boy circumcised when he was a newborn. I only became enlightened to the truth about six months ago, and went through unbelievable and painful guilt. But, I never had the courage to talk to my husband about this, who was circ'd and felt very confident about our decision to circ our son. Now that we might be faced with this decision again, I had to bring it up to my husband, and he was less than thrilled about the fact that I'm even questioning it. But he agreed to look at some literature...unfotunately, he thinks everything from this site is completely "biased." We have had painful debates about homebirths and using a midwife...and all the info I showed him was from this site, and he just felt like it was biased and "over the top." Fortunately, I almost have him accepting and in agreement with using a midwife at a birthing center as a "compromise."

OK...sorry to ramble, but any other links will be helpful.

Thanks so much!
Jennifer

[tutucrazy]

Any site that speaks FACTs is good. The facts speak for themselves. Circ is risky, harmful, and unnecessary.

www.intactamerica.org
www.circumstitions.com
www.cirp.org (this is a great one)
www.nocirc.org
www.norm.org (this is great to show how many men want their foreskins back)

[hakunangovi]

Quite a few years ago an article was published in Men's Health magazine entitled "Separated at birth". I do not have a direct link, but you can view it here:
www.noharmm.org/separated.htm

[beru]

I have been collecting links that are not from nocirc, noharmm, etc. or mothering...

Comprehensive article by a british mom living in NY
http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2008...re-than-a-Snip

General overview from a UK health site
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/menshealt...rcumcision.htm

Fox news "sexpert":
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445429,00.html

A pediatrician answers "Should I have my new baby circumcised?"
It is wishy washy but I feel the subtext is that this ped is against it.
http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/weekl...022002_ask.htm

Dr. Dean Edell. He is firmly anticirc. (This is definitely biased-in the right direction. But it is a "good link because it has a mainstream url.)
http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/408/9985.html

No excuse for circumcision pain:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_759.html

Position statement of the Amerian Society for Pain Management Nursing
http://www.aspmn.org/pdfs/Pediatric%20Circumcision.pdf

"Uncircumcised" penis care:
http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/...ageS652P0.html

Direct link to the AAPs policy
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org...rics;103/3/686

(As of today, these links are working.)

[Night_Nurse]

From pediatrician Dr. Sears:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/1/t012000.asp
(Sometimes you get a newsletter prompt and you have to say no to the offer to get to the article).

The late, great Dr. Spock also spoke out about circ. He once supported it but in the late 1980's came out against it. I believe you can find info if you google him in a Redbook magazine article. You can even find mention of Dr. Spock and his circ stance on a Disney Family website that discusses circ info:

http://family.go.com/parentpedia/bab...umcision-care/

(they also have another "parenting expert" on there who talks about pain of circ).

From what I can gather this link was written by a college student with "pros" and "cons" of circ, although it seems very anti-circ to me. Maybe it will help address some fears/issues but it's not from a doctor or medical organization (but still very good IMO):
http://www.homiegfunk.com/RIC2.htm

And if nothing else works, search online for circumcision complication photos. Sometimes seeing what complications could arise after non-essential surgery is enough to make a parent opt out. Especially seeing how your baby could lose his entire penis from complications .
Good luck!

[Marnica]

Have your hubby watch a video of it being done...this is what did it for me and my DH. I don't see how any person with a heart could watch that and then knowingly put their child throught that experience...even if they thought it was beneficial medically (which it is NOT!)

[Greg B]

Any site can be argued to be biased. You need to read them and judge for yourself. But don't let your husband put you on the defensive. You are arguing for the normal, the default, the decision that keeps options open. If he is arguing for something different, he needs to come up with sites and references more than you do.

Best wishes

[Fyrestorm]

Originally Posted by Greg B

Any site can be argued to be biased. You need to read them and judge for yourself. But don't let your husband put you on the defensive. You are arguing for the normal, the default, the decision that keeps options open. If he is arguing for something different, he needs to come up with sites and references more than you do.

Best wishes

ITA! It's you DH that wants to have a surgical procedure preformed on your brand new healthy newborn. I would require that he prove to you that it's a necessary surgery - not the other way around.

[rclaz]

I showed DH all sorts of links and "proof" that circumcising your son offered no medical or safety benefits. What finally did it:
1. Report from AAP, NOT advocating it
2. Watching 2 videos online, one emotional and one instrutional about circ
3. I posed an argument to him that went something like this. "If you keep coming down to aesthetics, and you force us to circumcise b/c of that...okay so we do it and he has no foreskin. What if his penis is small, skinny, curved, he has long hanging balls, a button penis, etc. How will you protect him from locker room ridicule or from women rejecting him? What if his ears stick out, or his nose is big, or he has bad acne? What about ANYTHING that might affect his physical attractiveness? Are you going to teach him to let it overcome him, feel bad about himself, or hate himself b/c of it? Or do you plan, in general, to teach him to feel proud of himself as a WHOLE person, to have self confidence and self esteem?"