Thursday, November 4, 2010

Routine Infant Circumcision - Genital Mutilation?

Your child is strapped down, confined to a cold contraption.

Their once radiant, smiling, pink face is now turning a sickening shade of blue from screaming, tears streaming down their perfectly round cheeks, mouth open, the screams of pain and horror are sometimes inaudible.

A faceless stranger is hurting them.

Cutting them. Where is my mommy?

The pain wracking their little body is now building to a crescendo, sending their little muscles into spams as they struggle for breath.

Little drops of blood staining the gauze a deep shade of crimson red.

And then. It's over. They wrap them tight. They wipe away the incriminating tears and pass the child off, readying the room for the next child to have flesh cut off of them.

Your child is handed back to you in a small room. They are quiet. They look so sleepy. They hadn't been a 'brave' child. They weren't tired.

They are in shock. Their little hearts which have only just began beating are now struggling to KEEP beating. They show signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Their body limp. Exhausted. Spent.

Their body forever changed, physically as well as mentally. Some of their first sensations having been confusion, fear, suffering, pain.

And you know. It's all your fault.

_______________________________________

This is the daily way of life in American hospitals. Doctors who have sworn to do no harm, cutting on helpless children, ignorantly lining their pockets with the money of new parents (since insurance does not cover 'non-medical elective surgery'), who think the decision to cut on a helpless being is their own. Which it is not. The patient is the child. The child has not 'elected', NOR consented. Every human being has the right to genital integrity.

It's SURGERY. Would you force an unconsenting adult into a chair to be cut with little to no anesthetic? Then not inform them how to properly care for the wound? Well, it happens every day to unsuspecting, trusting children (and parents).

______________________________________

We should first look at the function and necessity of the prepuce, also known as the foreskin.

The prepuce is the primary, erogenous tissue necessary for normal sexual function. A retractable, double-layered fold of skin and mucous membrane that covers and lubricates the glans (head of the) penis and protects the urinary meatus ('pee hole' for you non-medical-term types) when the penis is not erect. The outside of the foreskin is a continuation of the skin on the shaft of the penis, but the inner foreskin is a mucous membrane like the inside of the eyelid or the mouth. The end of the prepuce contains nerve endings called Meissner's corpuscles which house the 5 most sensitive areas of the penis. The fold of the prepuce maintains sub-preputial wetness, which mixes with exfoliated skin to form smegma, containing antibacterial enzymes.

After circumcision the glans becomes keratinizated (calloused). The skin becomes thicker and the glans becomes less sensitive, dry and changes colour. It gets worse over time, older males often feeling very little in the glans.

______________________________________

What are the reasons some parents feel the need to mutilate their children? (Mutilate is not a 'strong word' for circumcision'. Please see the definition of mutilate first. Lets call things what they are, shall we.)

1. To be like his daddy and other boys. Most boys ARE.

Wrong. America (in our constant strive to stand out and be different) holds the majority in circumcised males. 80% of the Earth's male population are intact. Americans are catching on, however. Routine infant circumcision rates are down. In the years to come it will be circumcised males in the minority.

If you want him to be like his daddy, teach him to be like his daddy. But sons are not and should not be exact replicas of their fathers. They are their own person.

2. For health/cleanliness reasons.

Many, if not most, American physicians are ignorant of proper care of the foreskin. The prepuce of the penis is held to the head of the penis like a nail to a finger. You do not retract it unless you'd like to invite disease. You don't retract your nail to clean under it, do you?

Your son should be the only one who retracts his penis to clean it when he is ready.

Your job as a parent is to only 'clean what is seen'. If your Pediatrician or their staff is unaware of how to properly care for a intact penis, it is your job to stick up for your child and politely inform them.

Well, you may ask, what about cancer? The incidence of penile cancer in America is 0.8 in 100,000. And then only being fatal 0.3 in 0.8. The cancer rarely originating in the prepuce. The part of the penis removed during circumcision.

Okay, okay, hippie... But what about HIV!? In the most recent study, a total of 2585 males over the age of 15 were administered questionnaires and provided specimens for HIV testing. 916 (35.4%) of them said they were circumcised. HIV prevalence among circumcised males was 10.7% and among uncircumcised males was 12.1%. A 0.9% difference is not medically significant enough to permanently scar an infant.

The American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Circumcision declared: "...there are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period." No Government Organization in the world recommends routine infant circumcision. If routine infant circumcision had health benefits, don't you think it would be recommended by government appointed professionals?

3. My religion recommends it.

With all due respect to all religions; how utterly barbaric. We did away with blood sacrifices and the lashing of ones self, but kept cutting our children? It reminds me of a hazing ritual for college sororities. Except the child may not want to be a practitioner of said religion later on in life. Why not wait and let them choose for themselves?

I am sure there are other reasons (which can easily be repudiated, or put down to simple ignorance and/or neglect) for parents to wish a chopping off of the prepuce of the penis on their son. But the ones above are the most common.

_________________________________________

Reasons to reject routine infant circumcision:

1. It is tantamount to torture. Circumcision pain is described in this research study by Howard Stang and his colleagues from the Department of Pediatrics, Group Health Inc., and the University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development: "There is no doubt that circumcisions are painful for the baby. Indeed, circumcision has become a model for the analysis of pain and stress responses in the newborn." They report that the infant will "cry vigorously, tremble, and in some cases become mildly cyanotic [having blueness or lividness of the skin, caused by a deficiency of oxygen] because of prolonged crying."

Excessive crying can itself cause harm. In a rare case, an infant cried vehemently for about ninety minutes and ruptured his stomach.

Often, no anesthetic is used. Shouldn't this be illegal?

2. It is dangerous, carrying several serious and frequently seen complications. One of the greatest causes of death for children in the United States is circumcision. More babies die from routine infant circumcision than from choking, car accidents, SIDS or suffocation in the neonatal period.

Common complications include blood loss (Losing just 1 ounce of blood results in hemorrhage, and losing only 2.3 ounces is enough to put a heart-healthy baby into cardiac arrest.), hemorrhaging, infection, scarring and death. Other complications include concealed penis, urinary fistulas, chordee, cysts, lymphedema, ulceration of the glans, necrosis of all or part of the penis, hypospadias, epispadias and impotence.

3. It is not recommended by any health organisation. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) states "To make an informed choice, parents of all male infants should be given accurate and unbiased information and be provided the opportunity to discuss this decision. If a decision for circumcision is made, procedural analgesia should be provided... The medical attendant should avoid exaggeration of either risks or benefits of this procedure... There is no data sufficient enough to recommend routine neonatal circumcision."

However, parents are not informed, they are given biased, exaggerated information and their children are routinely not given procedural analgesia. Since routine neonatal circumcision is classified as a non-medically indicated elective cosmetic surgery, insurance does not pay for it. Parents pay out of pocket.

(These are just a few, common reasons. For a more detailed list please see 20 Reasons I Did Not Circumcise My Son.)

_________________________________________

Let me put it this way. Have you ever seen someone discipline your child or spank your child? Were you furious? What if that person cut your child with a knife? Without anesthetic? Would you be furious? Knowing you told them to do it?

Would you ever take a knife and cut on your baby? Then why would you let someone else do it?

Circumcision is genital mutilation and is a human rights violation.

_________________________________________

Thanks for reading. I am definitely open to rational, constructive comments discussion and debate. I welcome all opinions, however, rude, degrading or demeaning comments will be deleted with prejudice.

PS - I am not here to do your research for you, provide you with hundreds of links to hundreds of studies, nor am I here to try and make your mind up for you. If your children are your LIFE (as they should be) then you should always be well informed on all subjects of their lives. It's your job to protect your children, doing your own research and making up your own mind.

PPS - Yes, I am a mother of a intact son. Before he was born my instincts told me that I would be doing him a disservice if I let someone cut on his perfectly formed body. My own research backed me up on this and when he was born, feeling his skin on mine sealed the deal. No one would ever cause him pain for money or unsubstantiated, exaggerated facts while I am around.


28 comments:

  1. Bookmarking! It is amazing to me that people are still willing to do this to their sons--and their future daughters-in-law. Well worded article (even if the title is going to throw people off as soon as they see it). Maybe you could touch a bit on primosis and the future sexual benefits of having foreskin?

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great post! It always makes me cry to think about defenseless babies being put thru this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I get so choked up I hate when I talk to people about it, especially pregnant mommies who still say they are going to do this to their newborn son. WHY??????????????? I don't know.
    ~Mom to 4 intact happy boys!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for posting Paula, Lisa and Life Is Precious.

    @Paula - I did think about posting on the future benefits of an intact penis, but as this post was for new parents, I did not think they would be interested in hearing about future sexual pleasures of their unborn child. :D

    I did, however explain about how the prepuce contains nerve endings called Meissner's corpuscles which house the 5 most sensitive areas of the penis.

    It is true, though. Later on in life the intact penis works with the female organ in lubrication. The intact penis is also more sensitive, so they don't have to be as... ahem... rough.

    ReplyDelete
  5. what a wonderful post. im a proud mama of two intact boys, and a very proud girlfriend to a hot, intact man. ;)

    as far as your comment about some parents not wanting to know about their kids future sex lives.. i wonder if they think about that when they say things like "i want my son to have a pretty penis." and "im doing this for my sons future wife." which are two of the dumbest statements ever.

    and something i thought you'd appreciate: i was sitting with my tattoo artist while my friend was worked on. he was talking about how the prince albert piercing was invented because of the jews doing something called "crowning". it was a bunch of tiny gold studs piercing all around the head of the penis. he said "it was to regain sensitivity. cutting off the foreskin kills 70% of feeling. do you ever wonder why circed guys need to f*** all of the time? because we cant feel anything. i am amazed that i can still perform. we have to have sex alot because since we dont have the quality, it has to be about quantity for us." i seriously never thought about that before. i LOVE getting raw, honest feedback from circed men who wish they werent.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you so much for this post! You got it spot-on. The cut father of an intact son, I'm one of those guys pro-circ people say don't exist. I absolutely hate that I was cut without reason, without anesthetic, without mercy. I hate seeing a prominent scar every time I use the toilet. I hate having lost so much sensation by my mid-30s. I hate having to undergo the process of restoration (but happy with its effects).

    The bottom line is that nobody has the *right* to cut you without your consent or without acute medical cause (in the case of an inability to consent for yourself). Nobody. Amputating healthy erogenous tissue from a non-consenting minor is clearly not a medical decision, not a parental decision and NOT ethical.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great post! FYI it's (unbelievably) still covered by insurance in most U.S. states, 34 last time I checked. What an embarrassment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Insurance does not cover this procedure because it is an elective surgery.

      Delete
  8. I will start by saying I am the mother of a circumcised son. Your description was nothing like what his circumcision was. My son was born with hypospadias, a condition where the urethral opening of the penis is somehwere other than the tip. It can range from being at the base of the penis to somwhere dispositioned on the tip, to somewhere on the shaft, and anything inbetween. My son's was partially down the tip of his penis, covered by the foreskin. When he would urinate, it would spray from his Penis, much of the moisture trapped under his foreskin. I refused to agree to a circumcision at the hospital and instead followed up with a Pediatric Urologist a few weeks later. One that had a reputation for being against routine circumcision. I met with this doctor, he talked to me for a long time about my son's penis, about the different options for corrective surgery to restore full function to the urethra, and about removing his foreskin so that his urethra would be exposed the way it was. This was the least-invasive option in our case that involved the lowest potential for extensive nerve, structural, or functional damage to my son's penis while still allowing him to void without trouble or assistance from somesort of medical equipment. I didn't like the idea of making this choice for his penis, however, if left alone his penis would get a lot worse long before he would be able to make a decision for it. So I took some time, did my own research on it and eventually agreed to have my son's foreskin removed by the Pediatric Urologist. He WAS anesthesised locally and tested several times for effectiveness before it began. I was in the room the entire time stroking his hair and talking to him. He did not cry once. He was given pain medication before the procedure, and some for home. I was given full care instructions and signs to watch for. Later on, the doctor wrote a letter to me and cc'ed my pediatrician, explaining the course of treatment I'd chosen, how much he admired my insistence on fully understanding the options available, and questioning even the doctor while being an advocate for my son. He even wrote on that he sees a lot of parents and he just knew I was going to be an exceptional mother from his short time with me. And me being 4 weeks post partum cried at the letter. ha! I have done much research since as well and still believe that I made the right decision with my son and his penis.

    All I'm trying to say is that it isn't an absolute. Many people who parent in my line of babywearing, breastfeeding, anti cry it out circle of mommy friends are appalled to see my son is circumcised. I have gotten much criticism about it, often harsh and rude. When the fact is, i DID trouble myself with all of those concerns, I sat next to my son while he had it done, never leaving his side and I know exactly what did and did not happen to him. I did not blindly hand him over to a doctor to be cut and come back to me screaming. I could not and would not have done that.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I will start by saying I am the mother of a circumcised boy. I am not a monster or mutilator, or violator of human rights. I am not pro-circumcision. My son was born with hypospadias, a condition where the urethral opening is somewhere other than the center tip of the penis. It can be anywhere on the penis, at the base, along the shaft, on the tip but not centralized, and anywhere in between. My son’s urethral opening was partially down the tip of his penis, covered by his foreskin. When he was born, I did not have him circumcised at birth. The hospital offered but I had not planned on it, and being told his penis would likely need some reconstruction, I did not want any routine procedures done without further researching their necessity. I took my son home and when he would urinate, it created a spray instead of a stream. Most of the time a diaper did nothing to contain this as it just went out the top or sides of his diaper. Urine also got trapped underneath his foreskin frequently. Now I realize that is not the case in a typical penis, but in this case, it did happen and did create a constant moisture and urinary tract infection.

    I did some research before choosing a Pediatric Urologist to consult for his hypospadias. I visited a Pediatric Urologist a few weeks later. I sought out one who had been in practice over 20 years and had a reputation for being against routine circumcision. Because my son’s urethral opening was placed lower down on the tip of his penis, urethral opening became adhered to the foreskin, trapping his urine in his urethra.

    The doctor met with me after examining my son, explained the condition, the kind that my son has, the options for correction, the risks involved with correction, the risks involved with lack of treatment, and all of the other zillion questions I had. He spent a significant amount of time with me. He even said how impressed and glad he was to see my concern over making the right choice and my concern over my son’s penis. He recommended that I have his foreskin removed so his urethral opening would be exposed and his urine could stream instead of spray. It was the least invasive option available and he felt would actually help us to avoid a more invasive procedure with higher risks for nerve or structural damage. It would also free up the bacteria that breeds in the urethra from hypospadias. He let me know I could come back in with any questions I had, and encouraged me to think about it and make the decision I was comfortable with.

    ReplyDelete
  10. continued from above... I didn't realize there was a max word limit...

    I did go through with the circumcision. It was nothing like the horrifying story that is told of so many circumcisions. He was not whisked away screaming, he laid on a heated table. I sat next to him, stroking his hair and talking to him, never once leaving his side. The doctor encouraged and supported me to do so. He was locally anesthesised and given a nerve block and pain medication. He did not cry at all. He looked up at me and cooed throughout. He did great with recovery and follow up appointments and his urine no longer sprayed or got trapped in his urethra and under his foreskin. We have foregone any additional procedures to re-route the urethra as his function is fine and there is no obstruction or other non-cosmetic indication for this. A few weeks later I received a letter from the Urologist which he cc’ed to my son’s pediatrician for his chart. The letter explained the diagnosis, the course of treatment, and future care or cause for concern. i.e. return to the Urologist not the ped if we run into future problems with urinary tract infections or issues. He also included a few paragraphs regarding how pleased he was to meet me and how refreshing it was to meet a parent so concerned about researching and making the right decision while avoiding unnecessary routine procedures at all costs. He wrote on to say “I have dealt with a lot of parents and I have no doubt you are going to be exceptional at this and your son is lucky to have you.” I was only a few months post-partum and cried reading that. Ha! It was very refreshing to know a doctor who cared so much about his patients, their parents, and the support he offered was wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Okay... 3 of 3 continued from above....

    I have been called many names for having my son circumcised. I have been judged and looked down upon by mothers who I considered friends because circumcision is not what we do or believe in. But it is not an absolute. I realize there are very few legitimate medical indications for circumcision, but I do believe there are some. I stand by my decision. I am glad I did not send him for a routine procedure while I was in a different room thinking of him sobbing. I did not like the idea of making a choice like I had to for my son’s penis, but if I did nothing, a lot of worse things could’ve happened to his penis before he’d have a choice at all.

    If I am blessed with another son, would I have him circumcised? Absolutely NOT. I have received criticism from both sides of this debate for that decision. The idea that them "not matching" would be somehow a problem is absurd. I don't even know what any of my siblings' genitals look like but it certainly would not be a problem to me that they don't match. And on the other hand, I am told that I must regret my first son's circumcision if I would not circumcise a future child. And the answer to that is no, I do not regret it. The reasons for not regretting it are as stated above. But I do know that absent those reasons, he would not be circumcised and neither would any other child of mine.

    Being the parent of a child who was circumcised does not make me a mother who enjoys seeing a child in pain. It does not make me a monster or a mutilator or a violator of human rights. I'm just like many who are against circumcision, I love my child intensely, I was terribly troubled with having to make a decision for his penis, and I researched endlessly hypospadias, circumcision, the indication for this procedure, etc. and came to a conclusion that my decision was in the best interest of my son.
    Melissa

    ReplyDelete
  12. Melissa, thank you so much for posting! Comments like yours are brave (and welcome!). I'm not going to judge anyone who has had their son circumcised for medical necessity. I just can't STAND it when someone doesn't get all the facts before they change their child's life.

    I applaud you for getting all the facts and actually speaking with your son's pediatrician and then actually BEING there for the procedure.

    Your son is lucky to have you for a mom and I'm sure he's thriving.

    Reasons like "Oh, I didn't really give it much thought..." aggravate me to no end! Which is why I wrote this blog. For people like that.

    Medical necessity is one thing; daily routine circumcision is another. If its not warranted (or wanted by the infant!) then leave it alone.

    Thanks again for sharing your story!

    (Also a thanks to GenitalIntegrityNYC, TD and bensgypsymama for posting!)

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Melissa: your son rightly received an injection of lidocaine. No adult American man around you, born last century was done under lidocaine. Anesthesia is still often not used today. You don't know how many times I read in the 1970s and 80s that babies cannot feel pain when they are circed. This is a blatant lie.

    @Crystal: 50 years ago in the midwest, the world of my youth, having a penis that looked odd was silently deemed to be a huge social disability. Doctors circumcised, often without the mother's consent, simply because it was feared that cut boys would bully any boy they saw in the locker room with a Weird Dick. It was further believed that girls would not date a guy whose penis was not properly bald. Worst of all, I've been told 5-10x that "no woman will ever give a BJ to an uncircumcised man." There are two unspoken provisos here: (1) BJ is every American male's birthright, and (2) it is unthinkable for a woman to inspect and clean her man before getting down to busines with him.

    Snobbery and the fear of nonconformity, are the most powerful human motivators I know of. Somehow, the tip of the American penis got caught in this infernal machine of the emotions.

    ReplyDelete
  14. @RD - You're right, the need to fit it is a powerful motivator.

    I suppose I just like to put the well-being of my child above the social pressure to conform. As do many other parents I know. I am SO grateful we live in a world of information.

    "it is unthinkable for a woman to inspect and clean her man before getting down to busines with him" Again, absolutely right. It's a man's job to keep his 'area' clean for HER if he would like the privilege that is a BJ. ;)

    (No way am I getting down on a dirty man, un-circed or not. It's not hard to retract, wipe, replace.)

    ReplyDelete
  15. @ Crystal - I agree that I do not like that people mindlessly send their children in for circumcisions. I remember asking one of the nurses at the hospital where I delivered why they do it right away the day of or after a child is born and she said the likliehood of a person never coming back in to get it done is much higher if they don't do it while they're already there. Which obviously translates to "we have the highest possibility for financial gain if we do it this way." It always amazes me the reasons people do give for circumcision while not being able to back up their view. Because you can't believe both that your child won't feel the pain and "I don't want to go with because I don't want to hear his cries."

    With my son's procedure, it was purposely done as humanely as possible, with adequate anesthetic and pain relief, and every effort to keep as much of the foreskin and nerve endings as possible... quite the opposite of 'routine' circumcisions. I was lucky to find a doctor passionate enough to be agreeable to this plan. And to not only allow me to be there but wanted me to be there. I am glad I don't have to envision what it was like for him, I was right there offering comfort.

    My insurance covered the added costs of having a pediatric urologist because of his hypospadias, where as routine circumcision would not be covered by my insurance, they did not object at all to covering my son's. I know that I'm lucky that this was the only surgery he did need, as I have met other parents of children with hypospadias who required multiple reconstructive surgeries to reroute and maintain the function of the urethra, some of them even requiring long-term catheters. My son's case was not that severe, which I am so so thankful for.

    Thank you for your accepting response of my story. I often find myself not fitting into either "group" on the circ issue as I am anti-circ with a circumcised son, I guess on the surface it seems pretty hypocritical. I just think it is important to know that not all parents of circumcised children are lacking compassion. I'd rather have the opportunity to defend my choice with actual basis than just putting up the guard of "my child, my business." I mean, ultimately it was a choice I ended up making for him and yes I am his only mother and legally able to make the choice, but I don't believe it is only my business. Like you, I think genital integrity, especially for our tiny human beings, is EVERYBODY'S business.

    ReplyDelete
  16. To the lady who researched and saw medical necessity, chose with full information and who will explain this to her son, GO GIRL, YOU ROCK! More parents should be like you, Melissa.

    As a man who had phimosis that was, back then, treated with circumcision, I researched it, too, for my son. I learned that even with phimosis there would be far less radical treatment done nowadays. He remained as nature intended on the basis that a simple procedure done later if necessary, and with his involvement and consent was far better than an assumptive and barbaric cut.

    He has never required any interference with his foreskin. Well, except from his girlfriend and partner, of course! It works, he assures me, according to design.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I don't know anyone who opposes circumcision for a genuine medical need. It's rare, but can happen. While I would absolutely love to see an end of all non-medical circumcisions, the absolute minimum would be to give those poor babies what Melissa's baby got, every effort to ensure that he felt no pain and was not at all traumatized. Few babies receive this care and concern. Most are amputated with no or inadequate pain relief, all under the belief that they won't remember the pain! Hogwash! This vicious assault on a newborn is recorded deep into his psyche, and molds his first impressions of life outside the womb. The societal violence we see could very easily stem from this. Studies have shown that violent births contribute to violence later in life. Here is an excellent article on this subject: http://www.natural-pregnancy-mentor.com/birth-and-the-origins-of-violence.html.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This is very touching. I love the opening, you give words to the innocent little boy, and did it from their perceptive.

    I want to link to my blog so that parent's can read more info if they chose to.

    http://hotparentingtopics.blogspot.com/2010/09/why-i-didnt-circumcise-my-son-long.html#comments

    ReplyDelete
  19. It's very likely for a girl to get yeast infections multiple times in her life, potential UTIs and ovarian cysts which - while are all unpleasant, annoying, and/or painful - does not give ANYONE the right to perform removal of ovaries, uteruses (sp?), vaginas, or labia when they are born. There is NO WAY that it makes any sense to continue this senseless act of VIOLENCE against helpless newborn males. There is no justification. It makes my heart ache so much to know that right now, in thousand of hospitals across our country, there are newborn babies being strapped down and having a body part painfully removed. That right now, those little boys do not have the protection and comfort of their mothers' arms and breasts, and instead are either in shock, or screaming their poor little hearts out. FOR WHAT? Mothers PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reallllly think about what would be done to your son if your "personal choice" is to have him circumsized. Does he not have a personal choice when it comes to his body? They are all born with it for a reason. Let's say all boys were born without a foreskin and that that would be the norm. Suddenly, the rare one in a million boy is born with some strange, unexplainable skin around his penis that causes him harm. Doctors and parents are baffled. Perhaps when the child is older and can withstand serious anesthesia and painkillers, they may perform the surgery to save his life, or even, prevent him from a horrible future sex life. But folks, it's the opposite. All males are born WITH a foreskin, and it actually improves their sex life, and protects their penis. How is it that in our society, people are quicker to stop declawing their cats (about time!) than to stop MUTILATING their own son??? I just don't get it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. @Melissa, my post does not apply to you of course.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I agree completely. When I birthed my beautiful son at our local community hospital, I could hear the screams of baby boys being cut in a little room next to the nurses' station. I held my perfect, precious son close and cried for their pain. I wanted to run into that room and throw myself in the way of that knife. More than that, I wanted to walk into their mothers' room and scream, WHY ARE YOU LETTING THEM HURT YOUR BABY? I wish I had. I am still haunted by that sound, knowing I stayed in my bed, when maybe, just maybe, I could have saved them. Next time, I will. I would run to the rescue of a child being beaten in a store. I will run to the rescue of those babies if I ever go in that ward again.

    ReplyDelete
  22. My son is almost four months, still uncut. I couldn't do it but have felt pressure to do it so he would be "normal". It makes me extremely uncomfortable thinking of hurting my baby, when he cries I feel like someone is sitting on my chest. I have been putting off making a final decision on this after talking to his doctor, who said it wasn't necessary. I just never wanted him to feel bad about himself because of something I didn't want to do. I think I came across this post for a reason, I am his mother and I feel like I can't and won't hurt him to make him "normal" for other people. Thank you, I feel so much better about not having to put him through pain for no reason. We aren't a normal family, we think for ourselves and follow our hearts, I'm following mine. I WILL NOT HURT MY BABY!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Normal is with his penis as God intended it, unmutilated. Keep resisting. IT is meant to be the way it came out of your womb. Anything else is human interference, tribal marking and ignorance.

      Keep resisting. He will thank you for it. A penis is not a fashion statement, it is a wonderfully sensitive part of his body.

      Keep resisting. Well done for resisting so far. Thank you for your bravery

      Delete