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Monthly Archives: March 2011
The Accidental Intactivist « The Mommypotamus–a followup post
Heather,
I became concerned as I read your blog about the misrepresentation of current research surrounding circumcision and the promotion of false information.
I am a student nurse midwife currently in my second year of graduate school. I am in full support of the education and informed consent of parents regarding controversial topics such as circumcision, immunizations, the administration of erythromycin eye ointment, and Vitamin K injections at birth (to list a few). But, I also have an appreciation for understanding and accurately interpreting the available data on the subject. Now, while I support leaving the penis intact (and will most likely do this for my own son), I do believe that the “Intactivist” community often and regularly presents false or misinterpreted information on the subject (and trust me, I have visited and read through MANY of their sites.)I recently presented a review of the current research on circumcision in class in addition to developing a website on circumcision. I would encourage you and your readers to go to that website, as it presents unbiased information about circumcision as well as a summary of the current research surrounding it. http://www.wix.com/froggyrn/understandingcircumcision
There are a few things I do want to address though in this post that I feel are important to correct:
First, DO NOT assume that male circumcision is equivalent to female mutilation. There are four types of female mutilation and ALL of them involve the removal of female genital organs including the clitorus, labia minora, labia majora, and/or the vaginal opening itself. There is NO documented benefit to female mutilation and there are MANY strongly documented long-term risks associated with it. The WHO (World Health Organization) does a good job describing and addressing this subject: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/
Male circumcision involves only the removal of the foreskin, which is a functioning human body part but is NOT equivalent to the genital organs removed in a female circumcision. There ARE documented medical benefits to male circumcision (medical treatment for phimosis, paraphimosis, and balanitis; prevention of penile cancer and sexually transmitted diseases, and prevention of phimosis) though some of these are small; and the RISKS associated with circumcision are extremely rare (1 in 500 is the most recent report) and most commonly associated with untrained medical providers.
It is now well documented that babies feel pain and many STRONG studies (randomized controlled trials, considered LEVEL I evidence) support this. A recent COCHRANE review (2009) of these studies supported that oral sucrose and topical analgesics (such as EMLA cream) are NOT sufficient in preventing pain. Local nerve blocks have shown to be the most effective.
I don’t think the argument that babies remember pain & suffer long-term psychological effects is an appropriate argument to make the case against circumcisions. I work at Childrens Medical Center in Dallas on a surgical floor and MANY babies and children undergo surgery every day. These children are AMAZING in their ability to come through this, especially with great support systems. Now, “unnecessary pain”? That’s an argument. But, not the pain itself. PAIN is a part of life and should not be avoided, instead it should be seen as something to investigate. Not all pain is bad. During labor, pain is involved in the body working to move the baby through the birth canal. Sadly, our society has taught us that pain is bad and should be avoided and now most women want to go through labor pain free and I’m afraid we have lost something natural and beautiful and we have developed a culture of WEAK women who do not trust in the strength of their own body to do this amazing act of giving birth. (Okay, I’ll get off my soap box now).
Another thing. The evidence is VERY strong for circumcision preventing the transmission of HIV, herpes, Chlamydia, HPV, trichomonas, and even bacterial vaginosis. In the past 5 years, there were 3 LARGE randomized controlled trials conducted in Africa. These trials found that circumcision reduced the transmission of HIV in heterosexual men by 50-60%. More information on these trials can be found on my website. These trials were stopped early to offer circumcision to men in the control group because it would have been UNETHICAL to continue to withhold it from them. Now, do these trials mean I should circumcise my son? Maybe not. But should it be considered as a public health measure to help prevent the spread of HIV among men? Espcially since most HIV in the US is among African American men and the route of transmission is changing from homosexual males to heterosexual males with rates similar to Africa?
Just some things to think about.
And the human rights issue is something you should be careful with. If we argue the right of the baby to make this decision himself, should this also apply to vaccinations? When arguing that paretns should wait until the child is older, please consider – a child who chooses to be circumcised as an older child or adult faces a HIGHER risk for complications and FEWER protective effects (according the best current data).
I hope I haven’t come across as too strong in my arguments or judgmental in any way.
I just want an accurate interpretation of the evidence to be presented to your readers. And I don’t think women should be made to feel guilty for choosing to circumcise their son because they were misinformed, under-informed, or just held the belief that this was the right thing to do.And finally, as a fellow Christian, I would caution you to beware of taking scripture out of context. That verse in 1 Corinthians is not a command against circumcision. It is a command against Jews & Gentiles attempting to change their physical appearance in order to be accepted by their Christian brothers who “looked” differently. The covenant of circumcision is no longer active since Christ came and died to establish a new covenant with us; but it doesn’t mean someone is “sinning” if they have their son circumcised.
I appreciate what you are doing with your blog and hope you will continue. I hope you will take my comments into consideration and check out my website.
God bless,
Sara
via mommypotamus.com
I am receiving comment notifications on the post now, and I really enjoyed this post written by a nurse. She is evidently choosing to not circumcise her own sons, but presents helpful information for both sides of the discussion.
Dr Dre – Kush (Twa Official Freestyle)
via youtube.com
#thingsblackfolksscaredof is trending on Twitter, so I (@AshleyAEubanks) tweeted:
“#thingsblackfolksscaredof success”
One guy tweeted back:
“@AshleyAEubanks Check this video out — Dr Dre – Kush (Twa Official Freestyle) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbzm2JjJP40”
So I did. As I told him:
“@YaboyTwa It was going so fast I had to Google the lyrics 
nice rhythm and flow; not sure how it relates to my tweet though ”
He may tweet back and explain things to me, but if he doesn’t, can you readers explain things to me?
If you could be any crayon in the Crayola 64 count box, which one would you be and why?
If you could be any crayon in the Crayola 64 count box, which one would you be and why?
If you were given a brand new yacht, what would you name it?
Paycheck. And then I’d sell it and put that money in my bank so the boat’s name would be true.
When was the last time you gave flowers?
I cannot remember for sure, but I want to say it was the Rose Ceremony at Job Corps. We had to get a single red rose off of the stage and take it to an important person in our lives during our graduation ceremony. I gave mine to my Granny because she is the matriarch of our family.
