Welcome to guest blogger Jenn D'Jamoos CCCE, Co-Director of Intact Michigan. Jenn will be presenting the upcoming seminar 'The Circumcision Decision' on Mon. June 25 at Live With Awareness in downtown Rochester. Her passion is to support families to discover fact based information to make an informed decision whether or not to choose circumcision.
I’m not going to lie. I was a nervous wreck when we found out we were expecting. I had several friends who all seemed to be navigating parenthood fairly well, but nobody I was really close to that shared with me all of the nervous discussions between couples in those last few weeks before the baby arrives. I would have liked to know how to handle talks about vaccination, circumcision, breastfeeding, co-sleeping and all the really emotionally charged topics that new parents face today.
When it comes to these sometimes volatile subjects, I discovered that most family and friends fall into one of two camps: they don’t want to offend you by offering their perspective OR they really don’t care if they offend you by offering their opinion! This made it difficult for me to get some honest-to-goodness objective information because frankly, you don’t know what you don’t know. How was I supposed to know that there were risks to formula feeding? Nobody told me that. How was I supposed to know that circumcision had no proven benefits? Nobody told me that either. Vaccination? Don’t even get me started. To make a truly informed decision on behalf of my children, I needed more information than I was getting from my doctors and BabyCenter, but I didn’t realize this until well after we had our first child, a daughter.
Becoming a mother does this funny thing to you. It makes you super protective of the little people you give birth to. It’s called ‘finding your mama bear.’ Some mama’s find it when they are pregnant, others find it when they are in labor or giving birth, and yet others find it in the first days, weeks and months of their new life with baby. I realized at some point after having our daughter that protecting my children meant becoming an informed healthcare consumer; and that meant I would become a voracious learner.
Becoming a mother again would give me another chance to put in my due diligence and this time, no stone was left unturned. So, after we discovered that we were expecting a boy, I delved into the topic of circumcision. What do you suppose I discovered? Well, the long and short of it is . . . it’s terribly painful, it carries great risks and it takes away the most sensitive part of a boy’s/man’s body. I could not fathom doing this to my son. Alas, I needed to have “the talk” with my husband. I approached him gently, praying that he would be receptive. He asked if I could give him some time to look into the subject himself and I encouraged him to do so. Some weeks went by and I nervously awaited his answer. I knew in my heart that he would choose to keep our son intact, but I was still anxious to hear it from him. He finally came to me and said that because it isn’t medically necessary we would not need to circumcise our boy. PHEW! That was easier than I thought.
For most parents, though, this decision isn’t that easy. There is a lot of pressure from friends, family and even medical professionals to cut their baby boy. But if you look at this topic from a worldly perspective, it doesn’t happen in Europe, or China, or Japan, or Central or South America. It doesn’t happen in Russia or Iceland or India. There are very few cultures that practice circumcision, but the ones that do have found ways to justify it. It’s basically a solution looking for a problem.
There are many, many resources on the subject of circumcision and nowadays all you have to do to find a stimulating conversation about it is to hop on Facebook or any of the boards at a multitude of different parenting sites. But, if you are a fan of science, you might be interested to know that there was a study done just a few years ago that revealed what exactly is taken from a boy/man when he is circumcised. I understand that circumcision is a choice but this study made me understand why more and more parents are simply choosing to leave the choice to their son. One other thing that I found comforting during my quest for the whole story about circumcision . . . there are doctors who are opposed to it, as well as nurses and lawyers. These are all great places to begin your quest for knowledge.
There is so much more than this to know about circumcision. Trust me when I tell you that YOUR inner mama bear is definitely hungry for the whole story!
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Join other families this Monday, June 25 at 'The Circumcision Decision' seminar presented by Live With Awareness, located within Health & Healing Chiropractic, 226 Walnut Blvd, downtown Rochester. Receive fact based information to help you with this timely and important parenting decision. Click here to find a Calendar of Events with more info and how to register.
Some of what will be discussed:
-The Intact Penis - proper care
-History of Circumcision
-Medical Ethics and Informed Consent
-Circ methods, pain relief, risks, benefits
-Weighing out Pros and Cons
-Grieving and Loss
and MORE
.......An OPTIONAL video of a circumcision will be shown during class.
What this blog post and this class has intended to be is to provide fact based information for families swimming in a sea of confusion and myths and opinions. The class is not intended to make any one choose to circ - or - not to circ. We support families to do extensive research about circumcision before making this very important decision. The opportunity to watch a circ video in class is given so that families choosing this medical procedure understands what their child will experience. If we were all to come from a place of awareness and compassion, I suspect we could support each other tremendously during these important life decisions. As I don't want to silence anyones speech, I also wonder if we have reached our limit on discussion - knowing that to 'agree to disagree' might be the outcome here. Aren't we all just trying to do the best we can for our families? If we can cut through the fear and judgement and get to facts and evidence based information - the outcome will probably be what we all want..............feeling confident and prepared to make the best circ decision for your family.
http://circleaks.org/index.php?title=Jake_H._Waskett
You SHOULDNT tell people what to do. What gives you any right in any matter to do so. And to tell me to educate myself about how to keep a "normal" penis clean?! Im not trying to be rude in any way, but really, it people choice on what web site, to go to. and to cut or not to cut.You have your opinions as well as others. And yeah as a P.A I have NO education in any matter how to keep a my sons uncut penis or any orifice clean (insert sarcasm here). Maybe you should go look up the word opinion, you can educate yourself there!
Yes it can be defined as stimulus in the course of attaining sexual stimulation (your accusations about circ.org). BUT it also is defined as devotion to object, idea, etc eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect or devotion. The definitions continue to include "fixation, mania, obsession, preoccupation & prepossession" (by way of editorial comment, i find that all these adjectives seem applicable to your discussion). You have referenced http://norm.org/lost.html as a standard supporting the cessation of circumcision. If I chose, I could say that their fixation is no more than an opposing sexual fetish, for those who gain pleasure with all that excess, lubricated skin sliding sensually back & forth. No accusation here, just ruminating!
http://arclaw.org/resources
Its best too. Some people need the last word to feel like they "changed the world" in some matter. People need to let this TOPIC GO! Like I said before YOUR CHILD, YOUR CHOICE! No matter what article or book you post; its all a waste of some persons' time. Because parents minds have been made up and who "are you" to tell them they are right or wrong. It shouldnt matter.
What people need to let go is circumcision. As a 6,000 year old Bronze Age sacrificial ritual and method of enslavement it should be history, not contemporary medical practice. Any parent who is pro-circumcision has been severely manipulated, defrauded, and robbed. As it has no benefit circumcision is not a medical practice (Dr. James Snyder). The only valid 'circumcision decision' is that of 'uncircumcision' i.e. foreskin restoration.
Circumcision or tattoos or any other parental preference belongs in the realm of irrevocable and irreparable Child abuse!
And, I don't want some European, Scandinavian, Geisha girl -- I like normal corn fed mid western girls (to put it nicely). Most US women don't want to see the disaster of an uncirc'd unit. BTW, you are wrong, circumcision is not child abuse. Child abuse is telling your son that you didn't circumcise him because you were trying to make a statement with him -- get over your holier than thou attitude.
Busybodies.
*I wasn't sure if Patch would let that word go through.
Ergo, self-serving bunk delivered as news.