The Reason Behind My Anger

I don't think I will ever understand. I don't think I will ever stop getting angry when i click on these things even though I KNOW BETTER!!!!

See here is the thing. I never used to be how I am now. Crazy, weird, hippie, rebel, against the grain. I used to be like everyone else. I went to my OB's office. I got induced when they said I needed too. I didn't ask questions, I didn't ask more then what they told me. That made me excited that I got to meet my son early! I had my ultra sounds, I got my epidural and pitocin and the cocktail of drugs that made my baby be born sleepy and poor at nursing. AND TO THINK I WAS OK WITH ALL THAT!

The next day after having my son the doctor came into our room and asked if we were going to circumcise. I looked at my hubby and said "I don't know...?" and he said yea and there you have it we signed the papers. I didn't know better and there I was saying I wasn't sure and my intuition was halting me to think but put on the spot I let my husband decide. They said they would have it done the next day before we went home.

We woke up in the night to the nurse saying that Koebe was hungry and needed to eat. I saw a pacifier in his cradle and asked why it was open when i said we are NOT going to use one of those....

"Well the doctor went ahead and did his circ in the middle of the night because they were slow. They like to give them to the babies when they are in pain" Something about that didnt feel right but there you have it. They took my son in the middle of the night and cut off his foreskin when he should have been sleeping peacefully with his mother being protected. I DIDNT PROTECT AND I WAS SO IGNORANT AND DIDNT KNOW ANY BETTER! I LISTENED TO THE DOCTORS AND I BELIEVED EVERYTHING THEY SAID.......

Did you watch that video? Did you even start it? I bet you couldn't watch long. And if you circd you probably didnt even have the balls to look. But you should because this is what you put your son through. This is what i put my first son through. ITS HEART WRENCHING...... SO THEN WHY THE HECK CAN YOU CONSENT TO THIS? I totally get people who don't know better. They think it's what you're supposed to do; that it has to be done. ****BUT PEOPLE WHO KNOW BETTER AND STILL DONT DO BETTER?!***** SHAME ON YOU! YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT THE RISKS AND INFO AND DID IT.... FOR WHY? Not because its cleaner, it is not. Not because it looks better, because let's face it that is a joke.
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Why on earth would anyone want to inflict pain on their infant. I don't care if they cant remember having it done 10 years later. Your child still had to feel the worst pain of their life at only one day old. My son is "just fine" but guess what...He could still be perfect. (well i think he is perfect but NO his body is no longer intact) His right to his own body was taken from him. You know what? We are one of the lucky ones. Lots of boys are not so lucky. Lots of little boys get botched circumcisions. They have issues like adhesions where their mother has to rip the skin down that tries to re-grow. There are other issues like skin bridges, erectile dysfunction later in life and even outcomes as bad as staph infections and death. out of five friends that I can think of off the top of my head that circd, All but one have adhesion issues, one sons is completely botched (the one that doesn't have adhesion issues, lucky him!) one screamed and was inconsolable for days, and one had to be done twice. Get a grip people this is genital mutilation. I will personally see in my life time that this becomes illegal! Out of all my informed friends who left their sons intact do you want to know how many have issues? NONE!

 

I was wrong and you were too if you consented to this barbaric procedure. Its time people start admitting it. I understand that having this attitude may not change minds but my goodness living with the regret is awful. Having these triggers is awful and watching people go ahead and ignore the fact that their childs has rights is down right infuriating! That is ABUSE. CHILD/SEXUAL/PHYSICAL ABUSE. This is not a choice to be made by the parent but a choice to be made by the owner of the body: THE HUMAN BEING.

 

On the bright happy side. I have recieved message after message from mothers and friends that have thanked me for speaking out. Thanked be because now they are aware of what circ really is and they will leave their sons intact. I have friends who had girls and say they are so glad because before they knew me they probably would have cut. I have friends who didnt listen to me and went ahead and did it again then came back to say they wished they would have listened. Those people are the reason that i am able to fight this fight. The fight protecting those who have rights and cannot speak. I cant save them all but i will never give up. If i have in some way helped you come to the choice to leave your son intact i would love to know.

 

I apologize for the anger and heat behind this post but this has got to stop. The cycle of abuse ends with me.

I was lucky enough to give birth to a second son. Born peacefully on his own time at 42 wks. He was born at home in the water. He was left intact. At 8 months old he is still breastfed and will also wean on his own time

 

When I know better, I do better. My wish is that others do the same.

50 REASONS WHY CIRCUMCISION IS **WRONG**

So, here are 50 reasons to leave your son's penis alone and not let a doctor cut it up.
VIA http://www.thewholenetwork.org/

1.) It's his.

2.) I've never met a man who wanted "less" penis when he was old enough to care. Men tend to like their penises just the way they are.

3.) You can change your mind. It's not possible to "un-circumcise", although there are men who have chosen to restore their foreskin later in life. If you're not sure, don't decide at all. It's a non-decision. :)

4.) There is no medical reason to do it routinely.

5.) Circumcision isn't the majority for newborns anymore. According to theNew York Times, the infant circumcision rate is down to 32%. That means 68% of your son's locker room will likely have natural penises. If you circumcise, he will probably ask you why he's different from his buddies.

6.) Natural penises are easier to take care of during the diaper-changing years. Just wipe it like a finger. No retracting, no mess or fuss. Compare that to having to care for an open wound in a diaper.

7.) You wouldn't cut your baby girl's genitals. In fact, it's illegal - even a "nick" is illegal. Male circumcision is a lot more involved than a nick!

8.) Many doctors and nurses refuse to perform the procedure because it violates the Hippocratic Oath - First, Do No Harm.

9.) It hurts. A lot. Really. Don't believe me? Watch a video. With the sound up, please. If you can't watch the whole thing, can you really ask your newborn to go through it?

10.) Babies can't be properly anesthetized. An older child or adult would begiven anesthesia and strong pain medication after any kind of operation, especially one on their genitals. Babies can't have proper pain medication.

11.) Did you know? Infant circumcision rates are less than 10% in the following counties: England, France, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, all of South and Central America, Japan, China, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Greece, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia and more.

Infant circumcision rates are higher than 10% in the following countries: USA, Israel, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Republic of Congo, Eritrea, and Kenya.

12.) Men with natural penises are less likely to experience Erectile Dysfunction as they age. Translation - your son will be less likely to need Viagra when he's 55.

13.) Female sexual partners of men with natural penises are more likely to achieve orgasm during sexual intercourse. They are also less likely to need lubricant.

14.) There are over 20,000 nerve endings in the foreskin. That's more than in the female clitoris.

15.) The foreskin protects the head of the penis.

16.) The foreskin provides lubrication during sexual intercourse. Men with natural penises are less likely to use lubrication during sex or masturbation (hey, THAT's why my brothers were always stealing my conditioner! Mom would have saved a fortune on bathroom supplies by leaving them natural...)

17.) No major medical organization on earth recommends routine circumcision of infants.

18.) It's easy to clean when he's older. Shower. Besides, by the time his foreskin is retractable, (average age, 10.4 years old), you will no longer be cleaning his penis. I hope.

19.) Circumcision does not prevent AIDS, or any other STD. Condoms do. Having sex with one, monogamous partner and avoiding IV drug use prevents AIDS. Why would you assume your baby's going to be a man-whore anyway?

20.) We don't chop off ears to prevent ear infections. We don't remove baby toenails to prevent fungal infections. We don't cut off legs anymore when a wound becomes infected. In the very unlikely event your son does develop an infection, we have antibiotics.

21.) Circumcision in the US began as a method to discourage masturbation, advocated by Kellogg, the cereal magnate, who also believed in the importance of daily cold enemas. Really - true story!! He stressed that circumcision should be done without anesthesia so boys would remember the pain every time they wanted to masturbate. How'd that work out?

22.) Natural penises only "look funny" to you if they are unfamiliar to you. Your son's generation will see them as normal.

23.) Women produce far more smegma than men, but we don't cut off their baby girl labia to keep things "clean."

24.) Your son will respect you for leaving the decision up to him, and for respecting his right to genital integrity.

25.) Complications of circumcision are NOT rare. Check out this thread on Babycenter.com (a mommy board, not a circumcision website) to read their stories.

26.) Most hospital circumcisions are performed by Obstetricians and Gynecologists, whose specialty is female reproduction, not male.

27.) Circumcision is not usually performed in a sterile operating room, but in a dirty nursery or a side room in hospitals without nurseries.

28.) Circumcision makes money for doctors. A doctor who performs circumcisions makes an extra $20,000-160,000 per year on the operations. That's why they offer circumcision at hospitals - for cash. They'll ask you if you want your son circumcised multiple times at the hospital: they want the money.

29.) Less than 1% of intact men will ever "need" to be circumcised, just as the vast majority of women will never need a hysterectomy or mastectomy.

30.) Penile cancer causes 300 deaths a year, almost exclusively in men over the age of 70. Infant circumcision causes over 500 deaths a yearworldwide. Circumcision does not prevent penile cancer.

31.) Babies with natural penises are more likely to breastfeed successfully. Infant circumcision interferes with breastfeeding and hinders breastfeeding success. Isn't breastfeeding hard enough?

32.) Fathers don't spend time comparing penises with their sons. If your son does notice that his penis is different from Dad's (other than size and hair), you can simply explain that Daddy had an operation when he was a baby. My dad lost half of his ring finger in an accident, but I was never bothered by having all of my fingers.

33.) Your grandfather (or great-grandfather) probably wasn't circumcised, unless you are of Jewish or Muslim descent. It's a relatively new thing in the USA.

34.) Most circumcised penises have scars. If you've ever seen a circumcised penis, you have probably seen circumcision scars and didn't know what they were. Curious? Click here for pictures (adult eyes please, extremely graphic).

35.) When erect, natural penises don't look very different from circumcised ones (adult eyes please)

36.) Babies have died following complications of circumcision.

37.) Babies have had the glans (head) of their penis accidentally amputated during circumcision.

38.) Female circumcision was legal in the United States until 1996. It was practiced in the USA as recently as the 1979 to prevent masturbation.

39.) Your health insurance may not cover the procedure. Medicaid does not cover it in 16 states, and many major insurance companies also do not reimburse for the surgery, since it is cosmetic. If your insurance doesn't cover it, it probably also does not cover any complications.

40.) Babies are strapped down on a circumstraint to have the procedure done. That is the most unnatural, terrifying position for a baby, who previously was all curled up and safe inside Mama's body.

41.) If you believe in evolution, why are men born with foreskins? If you believe in God, why did he give men foreskins? Did they screw up?

42.) If you are Christian, your religion actually *forbids* circumcision. Your son's body is a temple, and Jesus was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices - including the foreskin. See this link for more info.

43.) If you are Jewish, you should know that there is considerable debate about the religious necessity of circumcision.

44.) If you do believe that your religion requires the sacrifice of the foreskin, your son can choose to sacrifice his foreskin in the name of religion when he is old enough to make the decision himself.

45.) The foreskin is fused to the head of an infant's penis, just like your fingernail is fused to your finger. Have you ever pulled back your fingernail all the way? Owwwwwwwwwwwww.

46.) Circumcision makes penises smaller. Who wants a smaller penis?

47.) "My partner should make the decision, he has a penis/she looks at penises" is a dumb reason to abdicate responsibility for a decision. You are your baby's parent, penis or not, and you have a responsibility to protect your child from harm. Victims of FGM (aka female circumcision) are the most vocal supporters and perpetrators of the abuse. Call on your inner Mama or Papa-bear and stand up for your baby's rights. Make your partner watch a video with the sound on and convince YOU why they want this done to their precious child.

48.) You have seen an uncircumcised penis, and you probably didn't even notice. Take a look below at the (safe for kids) picture!

49.) He'll be in good company. Check out this (in my opinion, mouth-watering) gallery of famous intact men! From Elvis, James Dean, Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jude Law and sooo many others.

50.) It's his. I know, I said it already. but it's really the first and last reason - and perhaps the only one you really need. It's his body, and unless medically necessary, it should be his choice. You wouldn't give him a nose job without his permission, you wouldn't tattoo your infant. This is the same thing. If you really look at your motives, why would you want to take the risks? Leave the decision where it belongs - in your son's hands.