"I remember being circumcised at birth" - Page 3

[whozeyermamma]

As for remembering birth my DD was once talking with me about when she was born and said, "And that's when they pulled me out." Previous to this we had always talked about moms pushing the baby out, that was the only way we ever described it. I said, "No I pushed you out, right?" (I was testing her.) She insisted, "no they pulled me out."

My OB used the vacuum and did, indeed, literally pull her out as I was too numb from the (stupid) epidural. She had a really bad conehead and what my lactation consultant thinks was a jaw problem from the stress of being pulled too hard.

So, I say they can probably "remember" birth and if they can remember that, they can certainly remember circ ...

[Unconventional1]

My husband remembers the sensations of his circ. He could describe it vividly even before we started talking about having children, so when we got to the topic when I was planning to get pregnant he was already completely against it. He is also angry about the side effects he has, which are fairly numerous- but still considered "normal".

[brant31]

Originally Posted by hakunangovi 

Some years ago there was a lady in California who was attempting to write a thesis on this. She had collected stories from parents whose little boys had verbalised a memory of their own circumcisions. I thought her name was Rosemary Kimmel - does that ring a bell with anyone? We corresponded a few times, and I believe that she, unfortunately, ran out of money to fund her project.

Well, among early intactivists there is both a Rosemary and a Kimmel, but different people. As has been noted, Rosemary Romberg wrote Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma. And Tina Kimmel is a PhD health statistician with the State of California. She is a good friend of mine and we just got together 2 weeks ago. Could that have been your correspondent?

[hakunangovi]

Brant,  you are correct - it was Tina Kimmel.  Old age must be catching up!!  How is she doing, and is she still involved in the inactivist movement?  I was very sorry that she was having difficulty with her project, as this is an absolutely fascinating sidebar to the topic of circmcision.  Did she ever manage to get anywhere with it in the end?

[Dan Bollinger]

I have a "snapshot" of my circumcision three days after birth. We know that some people recall their birth and other early events. And we know that the more traumatic the event, the more permanent the memory. So it is supported by science. A survery of circumcised men showed that 20% had some sort of early recollection of their circumcision. However, even if not remembered, it can cause permanent changes in the brain, which is also supported by scientific studies. More importantly, whether remembered or not it is still an avoidable birth trauma, and, to me, a gross human rights violation, too.

[mare54]

I am in total agreement with you on the human rights violation!  I asked my husband if he would have wanted to be circumcised, and he said NO, but nobody asked him.  I think that's the point, isn't it?  Cutting at a baby boy's genitals at birth is just criminal in my opinion, and if people actually read the history of this practice, I don't see how they could disagree (yet it is a hot subject for debate).  How do we really know the impact of such a traumatic experience on a baby boy's brain?  And what about the research today on the benefits for men and their partners,  of not circumcising?

[mare54]

We had a girl, so we didn't have to be concerned about circumcision, but my husband agrees if we had a boy, he was with me on NO circ! Most men with a circ have sexual issues related to their alteration at birth, but many don't recognize them.  The reason is because they don't know sex to be any other way.  The ironic thing is that a huge number of women who have "sexual difficulties"..... don't actually have sexual difficulties, except where the effects of circumcision created them! How's that for being lied to for so many years? When you hear that a circ doesn't cause any problems, well, that's the lie.  I am just finishing an amazing book, "Sex, the Way Nature Intended it."  I recommend this book to all women and men because it is a wealth of information!