Reasons to not choose circumcision
Circumcision comes with medical and health risks, even when an experienced doctor does the operation:
- Short-term problems include bleeding after the operation and another trip to the hospital.
- Long-term problems include issues with the urethra and urination and concerns about the appearance of the penis.
- Meatal stenosis happens when the opening at the end of the penis narrows. This condition is almost always seen in males who have been circumcised It is a common complication after circumcision occurs in 9%-10% of circumcised males
- In some cases, these problems can lead to damage to the urethra, a buried or trapped penis, gangrene, loss of the penis, or even death.
Doctors, parents & men who have been affected by circumcision harm say that parents MUST understand the physical and ethical reasons for not choosing circumcision:
- Children should be able to make informed decisions about their own bodies. They can do this only when they’re older.
- The foreskin is a natural part of the body. It’s rich in nerve endings and has a big role in sexual sensation, play and functioning, especially in adolescence and adulthood.
- The foreskin protects the opening of the urethra, which is very delicate early in life.
It doesn’t make sense for our society to make all forms of female circumcision illegal but still allow male circumcision without a medical reason.
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One of the most common questions asked by parents with regards to circumcision is “Will circumcision hurt my baby?” In this article, we will be exploring neonatal circumcision.
All too often we get a question from a concerned mother.
Her husband wants her son circumcised against her wishes. there can be many reasons why.
Does this sound like a thought you have had?
“I’m currently very pregnant and my husband wants the baby circumcised and I don’t.”
Listen to other mothers’ stories of the impact circumcision had on their children.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand, and state health departments have all concluded the risks of circumcision performed for non-medical reasons, including preventing future diseases, outweigh any supposed benefits.
This means circumcision in healthy boys can cause more problems than it is supposed to prevent.
Internationally, most major paediatric medical and surgical colleges don’t recommend circumcision.
The only major western country where circumcision is very common is the United States.
Circumcision is uncommon in the United Kingdom, most of Europe and Asia, South America and Central America.
Should we circumcise our son just because his dad is?
Is your husband in favour of it because he wants his son’s penis to look like his?.
This might sound strange, but this is a frequent reason given by fathers who are for the procedure.
Of course, there is no “compromise” between the desires of the two parents in this scenario making a middle ground resolution impossible.
The only true ‘compromise’ then is to consider the wishes of the child.
As the baby cannot consent, the best interests of the child can only be discovered when they are old enough to consent. – What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
Variability in penile appearance and penile findings: a prospective study – Robert S. Van Howe
“There are significant variations of appearance in circumcised boys; clinical findings are much more common in these boys than previously reported in retrospective studies. The circumcised penis requires more care than the intact penis during the first 3 years of life.
Parents should be instructed to retract and clean any skin covering the glans in circumcised boys, to prevent adhesions forming and debris from accumulating. Penile inflammation (balanitis) may be more common in circumcised boys; preputial stenosis (phimosis) affects circumcised and intact boys with equal frequency.
The revision of circumcision for purely cosmetic reasons should be discouraged on both medical and ethical grounds.”
“Not just ‘it’s tradition’ — your kids are going to live in the future and won’t accept your ancient excuses. (Dr Ariana)
-Dr Armin Ariana is a sexologist, psychosexual therapist and sexual health counsellor.
5 FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE DECIDING ON CIRCUMCISION
Cutting the foreskin off is hardly in the best interests of the child, and here are some of the reasons why:
1. Cutting a baby can lead to trauma.
The common myth that has long been proven false is that circumcision doesn’t hurt a baby at birth and shortly after. There is no basis for this.
At birth, the foreskin is stuck to the glans and cannot be pulled back without causing pain and damage.
Never force the foreskin to retract. It causes the foreskin to tear and create scar tissue that can’t stretch.
“He won’t remember it” – Vanessa Feltz
Using a scalpel on any part of a baby has the potential to embed them with psychological trauma even if they are unable to remember.
The child does not know the difference between abuse and surgery and there is no guarantee that the boy will appreciate having a circumcision forced upon him. Some people grow up content with circumcision, however, there are many who are resentful or regretful of decisions made by their parents.
If you would like to learn more about the psychological harm, then click here for Dr Menage’s comprehensive article.
fMRI reveals neural activity overlap between adult and infant pain
“This study provides the first demonstration that many of the brain regions that encode pain in adults are also active in full-term newborn infants within the first 7 days of life. This strongly supports the hypothesis that infants are able to experience both sensory and affective aspects of pain, and emphasizes the importance of effective clinical pain management.”
2. Risk of infection.
With all surgeries, there is a risk of infection. This makes unnecessary procedures even more worthy of criticism. Ironically, the risk of infection in later life is an often-cited reason used by those who promote the procedure.
3. Non-reversible loss of nerve endings.
The foreskin is the double-layered fold of smooth muscle tissue, blood vessels, neurons, skin, and mucous membrane part of the penis that covers and protects the glans penis and the urinary meatus.
The nature of the prepuce or foreskin, which is amputated and destroyed by circumcision, must be considered and fully understood in any discussion of male circumcision.
It is possible to restore the foreskin aesthetic by stretching, the erogenous nerves are lost forever. It’s not a haircut. It’s a permanent alteration to their future sex life with the mechanics of sex completely changed.
4. Resentment
“Few parts of the human anatomy can compare to the incredibly multifaceted nature of the human foreskin. At times dismissed as “just skin,” the adult foreskin is, in fact, a highly vascularized and densely innervated bilayer tissue, with a surface area of up to 90 cm, and potentially larger” Purpura et al. (2018)
There is no guaranteed way of knowing how a child who has had their genitals modified will react. Whilst easier to explain away in circumcising cultures where the practice is the norm, the disregard for consent has been known to fuel family anger towards parents, doctors and the society that allowed for these practices, similar to the way some girls who suffer FGM feel.
5. Death.
Each year boys die of circumcision related complications. A fully sourced list of all of the problems and losses that can accompany a circumcision can be found here. 1.3% of all male neonatal deaths in the USA are caused directly or indirectly from circumcision. The article exploring this is located on the fully cited CIRP library.
Do you regret that you had your child circumcised?
In conclusion, many men live their lives content with circumcision, but not all of them do. Many parents who express concern before circumcision and have doubts can find the greatest fears realised after they see the results of this completely unnecessary procedure.
Even if you disagree, the choices that you make for your children can have lifelong consequences, and there is no undoing circumcision we encourage you to think about who the body belongs to.
So why risk your son’s physical and psychological health?
Circumcision Myth vs Fact
“Circumcision is cleaner”
The best way to stay clean and healthy is to wash with warm water and avoid aggressive soaps in sensitive regions. Intact care is simple – Wipe what you can see, never retract the foreskin of a child.
This is true if a child has their foreskin or if you have had it removed. There is no substitute for washing. Stay hygienic to stay healthy
If you are still undecided on whether or not circumcision will hurt your baby we urge you to be cautious. The potential benefits do not outweigh the costs.
To read some of the first-hand stories and experiences of men who have contacted us, you can read our anonymous archive or the messages written to the BBC by circumcised men who have been affected.
“I was circumcised and I want my foreskin back,” (Elwyn Moir)
“I was circumcised and am deeply affected by it” (anon)
On the TV show This Morning
In response to Vanessa Feltz who tended to be in favour of the circumcision, Philip Schofield commented:
“It’s a funny old thing though isn’t it really because earlier on you said ‘don’t smoke around the baby’ but what we’ll do is chop the end of its willy off…”
– Philip Schofield
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A very educative read here.
Superb website you have here but I was wanting to know if you knew of any community forums that cover the same topics talked about in this article?
I’d really like to be a part of group where I can get suggestions from other
knowledgeable people that share the same interest.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks!
https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/
https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/
Are two forums that would be best for you to learn more about the topic at hand.
I have worn a intactivist Tee about for three years. I see women looking at it more than men and I have women saying they didn’t circumcise, and agree. Men are cowards when it comes to talking about this and its only how big theirs is that gets thrown out. Rather sad, isn’t it?
I was referred to a urologist by my G.P. as I have foreskin adhesion. That consultation must have been the fastest in history. I lay on the couch and pulled down my pants and after only seconds he said “Circumcision” and walked back to his desk. I readjusted my clothing and returned to find a Consent Form and a pen waiting. I signed it, as I thought that surgery must be the only solution.
It was only in the following days I started to look into what this surgery would mean and the possible problems that may follow. The the letter arrived, I was worried and did not know where to turn. So many questions and nobody to discuss it with. I made the decision to cancel, and I did.
My foreskin has been a problem all my life, I knew my foreskin tightness could be a problem when it came to intercourse and the fear made an erection impossible with many failed attempts. Eventually it happened… but that ended in marrying the wrong person. Sex was the enjoyable part of the relationship… but nothing else! I have been divorced for 26 years and not a relationship since. The foreskin adhesion crept up on me before I realised what was happening. I am now 73, and although I love women’s company, I keep a distance from any possibility of a sexual nature.. what’s the point, I now have E.D.
I just wish that I had felt able to discuss “Men’s Issues”.