Genital Integrity, because everyone loves their intact goods

Every boy born in the U.S and a few selected other countries more often than not have lost their choice to keep their most sensitive body part intact. Routine circumcision is a big business and many don't understand that.

"Neonatal circumcision is the most frequently performed routine operation in the US. Doctors are collecting as much as $240 million yearly to perform 1.2 million needless operations on 1.2 million normal penises."

Why do parents agree to this surgery? The answer to me is incredibly simple. They want what is best for their child, and trust that their physicians wouldn't be keeping information from them, and maybe many really are just ignorant and believe it's best. When you take an oath to do no harm you have a moral obligation to get all the information, facts etc. so you can provide all the essential information to families.

We live in 2016 and have a vast amount of knowledge at our fingertips.

Why is routine circumcision preformed?

"Circumcision makes it simpler to wash the penis. Washing beneath the foreskin of an uncircumcised penis is generally easy, however. Decreased risk of urinary tract infections. The overall risk of urinary tract infections in males is low, but these infections are more common in uncircumcised males. "

In an era where personal hygiene wasn't an option or even common sense, circumcision is understandable! However most in the world don't suffer from this problem, and especially not the highest circumcising first world countries.

Okay so decreased risk in urinary tract infections...that sounds reasonable until you see the numbers we are dealing with.

"Why does the intact foreskin lead to an increased rate of UTI during infancy? It is known that there is bacterial colonization of the foreskin during the first 6 months of life that may be an important risk factor for the development of UTIs. Colonization decreases after the first 6 months of life, probably because the foreskin often becomes retractable around that age. It is known that uropathogens adhere to and readily colonize the mucosal surface of the foreskin but not the keratinized shaft skin. Bacteremia associated with UTI occurs during the first 6 months of life and is inversely related to age. Although the incidence of bacteremia associated with UTI is 2% to 10% during the first 6 months, it is significantly increased (21%) during the first month of life. Of interest is that the majority with UTIs are found to have normal radiographic evaluations. It is estimated that 10 of 1000 (1%) uncircumcised male infants will develop a UTI during the first year of life compared with 1 of 1000 (0.1%) circumcised male infants. "

10 out of 1000 uncircumcised males will develop a UTI during the first year of their life! That's 1% ! and this is still a routine procedure? It doesn't make sense to me, why not take each case by case instead of trying to wipe out foreskin? I'm not saying circumcision is a bad thing, I believe there are times when it really is a medical procedure that is needed but that certainly isn't the case with routine medical circumcision.

I am not saying I am against circumcision. I mean I love tattoos, piercings and all sorts of unique forms of individuality including a consenting desicion to remove skin off the penis is cool, if that is what you want. Consenting is the key word.

So moving on..what is the foreskin and why is it great?

"This illustration represents an average normal adult human penis. The head of the penis (glans) has a covering, called the foreskin (prepuce). This covering folds in on itself, forming a double layer. The foreskin is not a`flap' of skin on the end of the penis, and it is not`useless' or`redundant' skin."

The foreskin has twelve known functions.

They are:

to cover and bond with the synechia so as to permit the development of the mucosal surface of the glans and inner foreskin.
to protect the infant's glans from feces and ammonia in diapers.
to protect the glans penis from friction and abrasion throughout life.
to keep the glans moisturized and soft with emollient oils.
to lubricate the glans.
to coat the glans with a waxy protective substance.
to provide sufficient skin to cover an erection by unfolding.
to provide an aid to masturbation and foreplay.
to serve as an aid to penetration.
to reduce friction and chafing during intercourse.
to serve as erogenous tissue because of its rich supply of erogenous receptors.
to contact and stimulate the G-spot of the female partner.

That's quite a lot of functions to take away from a child, just because they have a 1% chance of catching something. Now I understand you may not care about the sexual side of removing the foreskin, but I am almost sure your child as an adult would.

Effects of penile reduction surgery (circumcision) on sexual intercourse

Although still pleasurable for the man, intercourse without the participation of the prepuce lacks the gliding mechanism. The only source of stimulation is the glans rubbing against the wall of the vagina. The sensations from the specialised receptors of the frenar band, frenulum and inner foreskin layer are missing.

"With intravaginal containment of the normal penis, the male's mobile sheath is placed within the woman's vaginal sheath. It is impossible to imagine a better mechanical arrangement for non-abrasive stimulation of the male and female genitalia than this slick 'sheath within a sheath.' Circumcision destroys this one sheath within a sheath . . . I would hazard a guess, that dyspareunia [painful intercourse] is more common in the women whose husband is circumcised . . . one would be foolish to discount the circumcised male's immobile penile skin sheath as an ancillary item contributing to vaginal, abrasive discomfort . . . The male with a penis already moderately obtunded by circumcision may be less apt to use a condom, which he feels may further decrease his genital sensitivity . . . because most American males lack a facile prepuce, the period of foreplay and dalliance may be abbreviated in the rush to the intra-vaginal method of penile stimulation. Both these factors conceivably could be of significance in increasing the rate of venereal disease, including AIDS . . . "

Does circumcising a baby have any more side affects?

"circumcision interferes with breastfeeding. Dixon et. al., conducted a study on circumcision pain and behavioral consequences with and without anesthesia. The Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale (BNAS), a series of stimuli designed to elicit measured response from infants was used, and researchers found that all neurological and behavioral aspects of an infant circumcised at birth were impacted - including breastfeeding. They state, "Behavioral differences were still evident on the day following the procedure. This report adds to the growing body of data that indicate that circumcision is a painful procedure that disrupts the course of behavioral recovery following birth."

Marshall et. al., performed a study on how circumcision effects mother-infant interaction. This study also used the BNAS and was double blind (neither the researchers nor the nursing mothers knew when boys were circumcised). One group of babies were circumcised at two days and the other at three weeks. Results showed significant behavior changes in infants after circumcision in 90% of cases, and that circumcision also has a "brief and transitory effect on mother-infant interactions observed during hospital feeding sessions." (12) Approximately half of babies circumcised became more aggressive in movements, agitated, and fussy ('colicky') after being cut. The other half of babies subjected to genital cutting became subdued, drowsy, withdrawn and 'sleepy.' When mothers were given their infants post circumcision, results showed that women attempted to nurse their baby 62% of the time. While breastfeeding, baby's eyes were closed 71% of the time while nursing (rather than looking at mom while breastfeeding as was common while intact), 91% of babies had negative or neutral facial expressions while breastfeeding, 8% did little vocalizing, 13% were clinging to mom, and 40% refused to nurse."

To end this off I want to say this is NOT about blaming parents who have made a choice to circumcise, it is about sharing information so people can make a more informed choice.

I encourage you to do your own research.

Why do you think circumcision should or shouldn't be routine?

http://www.thewellspring.com/flex/myth-circumcision-is-neither-harmful-nor-painful/2617/circumcision-who-profits.cfm

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/circumcision/basics/why-its-done/prc-20013585

http://www.cirp.org/pages/anat/

http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/malecircumcision/neonatal_child_MC_UNAIDS.pdf

http://www.drmomma.org/2009/11/breastfeeding-circumcision.html

http://www.lalecheleague.org/llleaderweb/lv/lvoctnov00p94.html

http://www.thewholenetwork.org/consequences-of-circumcision/how-circumcision-affects-breastfeeding

http://www.thewholenetwork.org/research-circumcision.html#myths

https://www.facebook.com/intactamerica/home?ref=page_internal

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