Routine Infant Circumcision

[ZombieHorde]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-996933161812115219&q=circumcision&ei=EtlFSJbhEYjkqgP39sSzDA&hl=en

[depakid]

1. Here we go again with the emotional zealotry

Anti-Vaccine thread, anyone?

[CTyankee]

2. How about a breast feeding thread? n/t

[depakid]

4. Breast feeding is another wierd issue for Americans

Tit aversion.

BabyTalk Magazine Cover Controversy

Okay, this settles it - women really are each other's own worst enemies. It seems that BabyTalk magazine featured, on its August cover, a photo of a breastfeeding infant. All you can see is the smiling baby's face and the sideview of a boob. It's tissue, people, and less titillating (pardon the pun) than the amount of t&a you see on your average beach. For now, you can see the "offending" cover on the magazine's homepage. Go look. Then come back.

Done? Wondering what the big deal is? According to this article, "the magazine has received more than 700 letters — more than for any article in years." Also, "in a poll of more than 4,000 readers, a quarter of responses to the cover were negative, calling the photo — a baby and part of a woman's breast, in profile — inappropriate."

Among the gems of comments the magazine received, according to the piece (keep in mind this was a special issue on breastfeeding, in a magazine for new mothers):

# "I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine"
# "I immediately turned the magazine face down"
# "Gross"
# "'I shredded it,' said Gayle Ash, of Belton, Texas, in a telephone interview. 'A breast is a breast — it's a sexual thing. He didn't need to see that.'"
# "I don't want my son or husband to accidentally see a breast they didn't want to see."
# "'Men are very visual. When they see a woman's breast, they see a breast — regardless of what it's being used for."
# "'Gross, I am sick of seeing a baby attached to a boob,' wrote Lauren, a mother of a 4-month-old."

http://womenshealthnews.blogspot.com/2006/07/babytalk-magazine-cover-controversy.html

[CTyankee]

6. Very strange, indeed. n/t

[trotsky]

10. "A breast is a breast — it's a sexual thing."

LMAO

Yup, Gawd made breasts to make men horny. It's only an afterthought that they're RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SOLE SOURCE OF NUTRITION FOR A BABY.

"I don't want my son or husband to accidentally see a breast they didn't want to see."

Trust me, lady, there probably aren't too many that your husband and son don't want to see. :)

[Orrex]

12. I'm tired of that same old "they're for milk" meme

I mean, at most, the average pair of breasts is going to be lactating for, say, two to five years. But they hang around just daring men to ogle them for the entire remainder of the adult woman's life. And you're trying to tell me that their primary purpose is milk production. Come on!




(BTW: For the :sarcasm: impaired, that's :sarcasm:)

[depakid]

13. Here's the magazine cover that got the 'Muricans so whacked

[Orrex]

15. That's a great pic--the look on the baby's face is priceless!

It would be hysterial IMO if they'd somehow staged the shot, so that the apparent "breast" in the photo is actually the side of a pointed-down knee, or something.

But even if it is an evil, corrupting breast, it's still a great pic!

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

19. That's the same look I have when I see boobs.

[ZombieHorde]

3. Therer is nothing wrong with parents seeing what is being done to their babies.

[depakid]

5. You're playing the aborted fetus game

Like the anti-abortion crowd.

Emotion trumping reason.

[ZombieHorde]

7. Woman choose to get abortions, babies are forced into circumcision.

Emotion trumping reason.

To me, the most reasonable stance is to let every person choose for themselves the fate of their genitals.

[depakid]

8. Whatever. I think I'll stick with the science

on decisions such as these.

[ZombieHorde]

9. What science says that it is better to get circumcised as a baby instead of a teenager?

[Beregond2]

11. I don't know about the science,

but speaking as someone who was circumsized as an adult, I wish it had been done when I was a baby!

[ZombieHorde]

16. Were you tougher as a baby?

In my observations, men are generally much tougher than babies.

[Orrex]

14. So parents have no authority to make decisions on their children's behalf?

To me, the most reasonable stance is to let every person choose for themselves the fate of their genitals.

Hell, why stop there? Let the infant decide what to eat, what to wear, when to sleep, when to see a doctor, and everything else. Who the hell do parents think they are, deciding things about their children?

[ZombieHorde]

17. The choice is not for babies, that is my point.

There is no reason why circumcision can not wait until later.

[Orrex]

18. There's a great reason not to wait

Two primary benefits of doing the circumcision so early are:

1. The child will have no memory of the event.
2. The little guy won't be grabbing his little guy while it's healing

If you wait until the child is even three years old, both of those benefits go out the window.


Of course, if the child hasn't been circumcised and later chooses to undergo the procedure, then that's certainly his business. But that's separate from the issue that I was addressing.

[chicagomd]

20. OOOOOOOOOO....a circ thread!

My favorite topic!

DISCLAIMER: I do not perform circumcisions and I still have everything I was born with, minus my appendix. I also do not have any male children so I don't really have a pony in this race.

Infant circumcision is, in my professional opinion, an optional, cosmetic procedure that should be done only at the request of parents who have had the risks and benefits explained to them in full. In my experiences most parents decide for cultural reasons to have the circumcisions done, and the obstetricians usually just say "sure thing", and the foreskins go a-flyin'.

If you want a little more objective information, try this:
http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~7/FKOEbeSE50S7

I do take issue with this part of the linked article:
"Studies suggest that circumcision helps decrease the risk of acquiring some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes simplex, and HIV. It is important to note, however, that many circumcised men acquire these diseases. Circumcision may lower the risk of acquiring a STD, but it does not eliminate it."

The best HIV study does show a decrease in transmission in circumcised males. However, there is an issue with extrapolating that data, which was collected in sub-Saharan Africa, to the world population at large. If you are going to be having unprotected sex in Africa and you do not have access to condoms, circumcision might be a good idea, but how many people in the USA are really going to find themselves in that situation?

My advise to parents is to do it if they want, but to make sure they have had ample time to discuss the procedure with the performing physician. And please don't let anyone tell you "babies don't feel it", because that is a bunch of horse shit.

I will say that if you are going to have your child circumcised, it is better to do so soon after birth. This is because if it is done when older often times it will require general anesthesia, which carries a number of risks in and of itself.