Genital Integrity Awareness Week

Tomorrow, in case you didn't know, marks the end of Genital Integrity Awareness Week.   I know.  It seems like every week has a 'cause' these days, but this one is near and dear to me so I'm going to hop up on a soapbox temporarily. So if circumcision is a touchy subject for you, please move along for the time being.  You won't hurt my feelings.

Ok.

Waaaaaaaaay back when I was pregnant with the Little O, I posted a bit about my views on circumcision.   Now, almost 3 years later, I am SO happy to report that we are 100% glad we left our son intact.  Of course I realize that this subject is really sensitive and different people feel differently because of culture, religion, or tradition and I am in no way trying to make you feel bad about circ-ing or not circ-ing or what have you.

These are my opinions. 

BUT.  (And its a Big BUT.)


Be educated.  Get the facts before you perform what is widely considered needless cosmetic surgery on a helpless newborn.  (Hi!  Welcome to the world!  We're going to cut part of your penis off!  Don't you just LOVE it here!?!?)

O's grandad, sweet man that he is, brought up the "but isn't it supposed to be healthier to be circumcised?" argument with me recently when Otto was taking a bath at their house.  My answer?  NO.  It is not healthier.  In fact, the list of possible risks of circumcision goes on and on and can include infection, mutilation, loss of sexual pleasure, disfigurement and the complete loss of your baby's trust right from the beginning.  And circumcision does not prevent STD's....CONDOMS do.   Sure, the foreskin can become infected or ill- just like ANY OTHER BODY PART.  Would you cut off your little girl's breast because one day she might get breast cancer? Or your ears just to ward of ear infections?  The foreskin HAS A PURPOSE just like every other body part. 

I'm also happy to report that we have already met several local little boys, even here in the conservative mid- west, who are also intact, so Little O will hardly be the only one in school, etc.  And he will know that the reason he looks the way he does is because we did not want to hurt him, because we loved and love him JUST the way he was made. 


WARNING: THIS VIDEO IS GRAPHIC AND COULD BE DISTURBING.




I have friends who circ'd their boys and now regret it.  I also have friends who absolutely do not understand why you wouldn't circ a boy.  To each their own, I suppose.  But it really angers me when parents condone a painful medical procedure on a helpless newborn (how can a baby give consent?)  because "its what you do."

/Rant

Touchy Subject

As mentioned in the previous post, we recently had our 20week ultrasound and found out that aside from looking normal and healthy (huzzah!), our baby is a boy. That day, laying on my back in the ultrasound room looking at pictures of my *gulp* son, I (with my neurotic, over-active brain) immediately started to think about all the decisions and work that lay ahead of us. One of the first things that popped into my head, for whatever reason, was circumcision.

I know that this is a touchy subject for a lot of people. One that carries weight because of religion, tradition, family history, or personal ethics. It's something that the Husband and I had never really discussed at length and I began to worry that our views may differ.

For the record, I am anti-circumcision. In my mind, the way that nature made you is just FINE and its silly to perform what is at best cosmetic surgery and at worst genital mutilation on a helpless, trusting infant. I just don't think that a baby's first days in the world should be colored by pain. Especially pain in such a sensitive area. Also, from the research I've read, there is no medical reason for this procedure- the myths of better hygiene and decreased risk of disease are just that- myths. (For more information see here, here, and/or here). Also the "he should look the way his father looks" argument doesn't really hold weight for me. How hard is it to explain that "when your father was a baby this was something they did but by the time you came along, we knew better?" Not that difficult, I'd wager.

Turns out, my worrying was for nada. As it turns out, the Husband and I are totally on the same page. Yay! He agrees that circumcision is an unnecessary procedure and sees no reason to perform it on our son. Good gravy, I love this man.

Whew. Now we can move on the the Very Important Question of What Music the Baby Will Listen To. This will be a much more hotly contested issue, I can assure you. Stay tuned.