Client planning on circ..what to tell them.

Why shouldn't I circumcise my son?

The history of circ http://www.sexuallymutilatedchild.org/shorthis.htm
Anatomy and function of foreskin http://www.noharmm.org/anatomy.htm
Care http://www.tornwing.com/peacefulbegi...ysgenitals.htm
Compare female genital mutilation and circ http://www.noharmm.org/comparison.htm
Complications http://www.circumcisionquotes.com/complications.html
http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...cumcision.html

Graphic play by play. http://www.usask.ca/medicine/family/...iles/frame.htm
http://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/plastibell/
http://www.stopcirc.com/ilearned.html
http://www.noharmm.org/separated.htm
Video http://www.circumcisionquotes.com/video.html

Of all the graphic stuff above, watch the video first. Then, if you aren't crying or otherwise physically ill and still think circ is good, click on the other links. There IS good info on the other links, but you probably won't need to read it.

If babies weren't meant to have foreskins, they wouldn't be born with them. God doesn't make mistakes. It's NOT MY PENIS. If he wants to be circ'ed at an age when he can grasp the concept and make the decision, then that is fine. But, IT'S NOT MY PENIS. There is evidence to suggest that anesthesia doesn't even work during the procedure. 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 an 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 for the wound to heal. Pain medication is not always effective and is never 100% effective. The AAP no longer recommends routine circ'ing because it is not essential to the child's well being. There is no evidence that circ'ing reduces the risk of penile cancer, UTI's, STD transmission, prostate cancer, HIV, or that it is cleaner. A circ'ed penis is likely less clean than an intact one. Just as the vagina secretes fluids to clean itself, the penis does too, only with no foreskin, it has no place to go but get rubbed off onto clothing. The foreskin protects the glans of the penis from chaffing, infection, etc. The percentage of circ'ed and uncirce'd is nearing 50/50. To do it so they won't be teased is ridiculous. Also performing cosmetic surgery so they look like their dads is crap. Did you inspect your moms vagina to make sure it looked the same as yours? Some say it's too hard to clean. CRAP. Can you wash your finger? That's how you wash an intact penis. The foreskin keeps the crap out (literally, feces, urine, bacteria), so it is just skin to clean. You clean an intact penis just like you would clean a finger. NEVER RETRACT THE FORESKIN, it will do it on its own. Any doctor that tries should be charged with assault. DO NOT LET THEM. They don't know what they are doing if they are trying to retract it.

I just wanted to comment more from the role-of-the-doula angle. I find it a tough one... as a childbirth educator, I would see my role differently. As a friend, I don't mind expressing my views - strongly, lol. But as a doula we have part of our role in theory to support the couple in having the experience *they* are looking for. So I struggle whenever 'what they are looking for' is not what I believe is best!

There are roles for advocates and even activists in wider society, and I think in some relationships. I just think in the doula relationship you have to tread especially carefully. Anything that feels like a sermon on the subject of circ, pain meds, whatever, risks damaging your trust relationship with them, in theory. A woman who feels judged by her doula (over any choices) is going to be a very different emotional space in labor.

I realized over time that I do want to be an activist on certain issues important to me - but not with my doula clients. Sometimes it's just about how info is presented. So we have links on our website to books and sites, and I hand out a recommended reading list - many of the birth and baby books I urge them to read include anti-circ info.

But personally, I don't look at someone's birth plan and see they've mentioned circ and hold a converstion about it in our prenatal session. To me it's not the best time for it. I did it one or two times early on, once just gently asking a couple what their reasons were for planning to circ, and I didn't realize both are Jewish, he got very defensive, I felt quite awkward. It affected the relationship we had, kwim?

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Thank you, this is exactly what I wanted to say, just wasn't good at finding the words.