Recommended resources for parents-to-be?

[journey1000miles]

What are your favorite "circumcision debate" resources to share with parents-to-be? I'm a childbirth educator in Phoenix and I'm working on my list of info to pass along to parents. Thanks for your suggestions!

[glongley]

Good for you for educating your clients about circumcision and the foreskin!

Have a look at some of the resources in this recent thread:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1241729

[Night_Nurse]

Can you show a video of an actual circ during your class? I think videos and/or photos are very powerful. In addition to providing links, I think reminded the parents-to-be that circ isn't recommended by the AAP and that you only need to wipe the visible outside is persuasive, too! Also, mention how circ rates are dropping and the rate is now about 50/50.


http://www.circumstitions.com/Itsaboy.html

http://oknocirc.blogspot.com/

http://www.coloradonocirc.org/

[texmati]

I dunno... our child birth educator showed a video in class, but insisted that we didn't really have to watch if we didn't want to.

Watching a child go through surgery is never fun. But I do believe most parents circ their kid because they feel that it's best for their kiddo. I'd have liked to see some in depth discussion about how circumcision hurts, side effects of the surgery, effects of not having the foreskin as an adult and care of an intact penis.

[beru]

I avoid anti circ urls. I am a skeptic and if I was someone with no info on the subject and was presented with such a link, I would automatically judge it as biased. I wouldn't completely dismiss the info but I would be distrustful and read it with a very critical eye.

So I like this link:
http://children.webmd.com/tc/circumc...why-it-is-done

[glongley]

Originally Posted by beru

I avoid anti circ urls. I am a skeptic and if I was someone with no info on the subject and was presented with such a link, I would automatically judge it as biased. I wouldn't completely dismiss the info but I would be distrustful and read it with a very critical eye.

So I like this link:
http://children.webmd.com/tc/circumc...why-it-is-done

Parents need to be skeptical of mainstream medical sources as well. Most often they emphasize the benefits of circumcision, minimize the risks, problematize the foreskin, omit the functions of the foreskin, and ignore the ethical issues. Parents reading only this information are getting a biased view that frames circumcision as the preferred "solution" to all the supposed problems that may occur from "lack of circumcision," and steers them away from giving full and informed consideration of NOT circumcising. Result: Consent is neither informed nor completely voluntary, and is therefore not valid.

[beru]

Originally Posted by glongley

Parents need to be skeptical of mainstream medical sources as well. Most often they emphasize the benefits of circumcision, minimize the risks, problematize the foreskin, omit the functions of the foreskin, and ignore the ethical issues. Parents reading only this information are getting a biased view that frames circumcision as the preferred "solution" to all the supposed problems that may occur from "lack of circumcision," and steers them away from giving full and informed consideration of NOT circumcising. Result: Consent is neither informed nor completely voluntary, and is therefore not valid.

I agree with you but for most of the people I would want to reach with my intact promoting resources, they are not coming at info from this perspective.