I went to a movie and dinner with a friend from out of town tonight. Natasha has 3 teenagers, all born at home in water. At one point, she said how “lucky” she felt that she has never experienced the induction/cesarean madness that so many North American women have to endure. That statement of hers led to me asking her “Well, how did you get so smart, at your young age, to know to do it at home the very first time?” Her reply was that she had been working in a job with a young woman who had announced one day that her friend had just had a water birth. When Natasha heard that she thought, “Yeah, that’s how I’ll do it, too, when I have a baby.” She had never thought about it before and she didn’t need any more information than that to start her on the path to a homebirth when she became pregnant. I wonder if the woman who inspired Natasha even knows what a difference she made in the life of another woman? We never know when we share our stories, films, photos, and books about birth with others where that information lands and who is moved by it. The smallest thing can make a difference if someone is ready to receive the information.

Natasha and I got onto the subject of “children who challenged us”, as well. We both had first babies who demanded to be fed constantly and did not fit any pictures of the nice content babies in the ads. We both received all the unwelcome input from others that we were “spoiling”, etc. We both dropped our pre-pregnancy weight quickly from walking the floor, jiggling and trying to soothe fretful infants. After sharing our “war stories” in that regard, we both agreed about the gift of those high needs babies. It was a path to a compassionate heart for other women who have hard to manage children. There’s a real humility that comes from having an infant that has a harder time adjusting to life than others and, finally realizing, they might be your greatest teacher.

From there, the conversation went to her son’s intact foreskin. She told me that he came home from high school recently really shaken up to learn that one of his friend’s was cut as a baby. Her son was astounded that anyone could think that was a good idea. Even though his father’s generation includes many cut men, her son was sickened to think that someone as young as him could be treated that way.
She told me that the little handout I gave her when her son was born, “Care of the Intact Penis”, was kept on a shelf in her kitchen for years and the kids liked her to read it to them when they were little. It got lots of giggles but I guess it gave them a firm grounding in appreciating intact male genitalia, too.

There’s such a comfortable, warm feeling in hanging out with a woman who has been through birthing, breastfeeding, and so many other twists and turns of life with me. Over the years since her first pregnancy, we have kept an eye out for each other’s well being. She makes a point of us “having a date” whenever she comes to Vancouver and I’m grateful that she makes an effort to insure that we see each other face to face. When we were deciding on a restaurant, I told her we should go for Thai food because she had introduced me to a wonderful Thai restaurant and I never go there unless she’s with me. She said “Oh, it’s our restaurant then.” I liked that a lot.

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I loved this little photo of a Japanese boy protesting male genital mutilation.  One intactivist said that circumcision should only be allowed on the eighth day after death but I like this little guy’s view better.  Gloria

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Here’s the new url for the College of Physicians & Surgeons of B.C. policy statement on male genital mutilation.

https://www.cpsbc.ca/files/u6/Circumcision-Infant-Male.pdf

They’ve changed their website and I found it awkward to locate the document now. It’s a strongly worded statement against male genital mutilation. Gloria

Quote from the document:
“Circumcision removes the prepuce that covers and protects the head or the glans of the penis. The prepuce is composed of an outer skin and an inner mucosa that is rich in specialized sensory nerve endings and erogenous tissue. Circumcision is painful, and puts the patient at risk for complications ranging from minor, as in mild local infections, to more serious such as injury to the penis, meatal stenosis, urinary retention, urinary tract infection and, rarely, even haemorrhage leading to death.”

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I wanted to post this tongue in cheek opinion before it is taken down from Medical News Today.  I love the names he has created for his characters.  Gloria
Penis Amputation Also Reduces The Risk Of HIV

posted by PJ on 30 Oct 2009 at 5:47 am
Penis Amputation Reduces the Risk of HIV

In light of the circumcision studies in Africa showing that a larger foreskin increases the risk of HIV, the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Centers for Disease Control are considering whether or not to promote penile amputation surgery to reduce the risk of HIV in men and women by nearly 100 percent. Dr. Peter Kilmarx of the CDC said that any step that could thwart the spread of H.I.V. must be given serious consideration.

New studies are presently being undertaken by D.R. Quack, M.D. and U.R. Kidding, M.D. to see how easy it would be to implement penile amputation surgery in Africa. These studies are being funded by the National Institute of Wealth, with U.S. taxpayer dollars.

Ima Schmuck, Ph.D. is planning to take doctors to Africa to teach Africans how to perform penile amputations, as part of Operation Fool’em.

When the CDC and the AAP issue their statements later this year, amputation of the infant’s penis will be a “voluntary” choice of the child’s parents. The AAP in 1999 stated that parents should determine what is in the best interests of the child, in procedures that are not essential to the child’s current well-being. This includes penis amputation.

The benefits of penis amputation include curing masturbation that can lead to blindness, the elimination of the need for penile hygiene, as well as the prevention of phimosis, gangrene of the penis, cancer of the penis, and STDs. Penile amputation eliminates smegma in men and reduces cervical cancer in women. It helps prevent unintended pregnancy, reduces the incidence of rape, and decreases the incidence of penis envy in young girls. The risks are minor and rare, mainly bleeding and infection. Penile amputation is the new HIV vaccine, contributing to public health.

Penis amputation eliminates the need for Viagra and similar products that can have side effects. It allows for more skin to be available for skin grafts and Oprah’s skin care products. It eliminates the need of men to undergo non-surgical and surgical foreskin restoration to improve their sexual experience and that of their female partners.

Critics of penis amputation point out that this surgery does not respect the body integrity rights and the personal choice of male infants. However, in light of the high HIV risk among both heterosexuals and homosexuals, this surgery prevents the activity that contributes to this epidemic. It eliminates the need for behavioral modification and the use of condoms. It must be stressed, however, that men will still need to be strongly cautioned to not use dirty medical equipment when injecting illegal drugs, after they’ve undergone penile amputation.

Abram L. Bobbitt, 99, recently revealed that God told him to practice penile amputation on his sons and on subsequent generations as a religious ritual. Bobbitt resides in the Alzheimer’s wing of a nursing home. The staff attempted to explain to him that penile amputation would result in no more future generations, to which he responded that it would be the new green job that helps the environment. He encourages people to throw a party after the penis amputation ceremony and serve good foods for this joyous event.

The AAP is expected to encourage the use of anesthesia for those who undergo penile amputation. Such anesthesia includes sugar water or wine, and calm music played during the penile amputation surgery. (end of opinion letter)
Read the news article that this opinion was posted about:
Foreskin Surface Area And HIV Acquisition: Size Matters

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News has broken today about a horrific case in British Columbia. The parents of this boy suffered severe injuries in a car accident and their lives and the lives of their children were turned upside down as a result. The father, who once worked as a computer programmer, has been in trouble numerous times with the law since the accident and has turned to some bizarre religious ideas.

I have requested that the B.C. Civil Liberties Assoc take up this case as a perfect example of why we need equal protection for boys under Canada’s laws. If the father had been seeking to cut the genitals of his daughter, the authorities would have been alerted. Because this was a boy, no one called child protection until it was too late. Here are links to the court findings and press report as well as my request to the BCCLA.

Dear BCCLA,
I represent a group of consumers in Vancouver who campaign for the end of male circumcision. As you probably know we have laws in Canada to protect girls from genital mutilation but we ignore the rights of boys in this regard.

Now, we have this sad case of a father cutting his son’s genitals on a kitchen cutting board. From reading the judge’s remarks, it appears that the father was brain injured in a car accident and his actions have arisen out of a combination of his injury and some strange religious thinking.

We would like to see the B.C. Civil Liberties Assoc. take up this case as an example of the need to protect boys from genital cutting. Of course, many people do not like to step on the toes of Jews in this matter. However, there are many Jews who are now changing their minds about circumcision and keeping their sons intact and many Jewish doctors are refusing to do the operation. The religions that would do cutting of girls’ genitals are not allowed to partake of the practice in Canada.

One of Canada’s leading medical ethicists, Margaret Somerville, has called male circumcision “criminal assault”.

This is the link to Madame Justice Allen’s findings in the case:
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/09/13/2009BCSC1397.htm
To read the press on the story go to:
http://tinyurl.com/ygw4n4o

I’d appreciate hearing your views on this and would be willing to help in whatever way you need to link you to legal counsel who have represented boys/families in these cases or provide other resources.

Thank you for considering this case.

Gloria Lemay
NOCIRC Canada

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This was sent to me by a nurse friend.  It’s off an online email list for nurses.
Gloria Lemay, Vancouver BC
 

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Another set of sucrose questions:
 

1)     What is the strength of the sucrose you are using for pain tx
during circs?   25%
 

2)      Do you solely apply the sucrose to a pacifier or do you
administer a prescribed amount?  sucking and sweet are synergistic, so
we do use a pacifier
 

3)     For those using pacifiers, how do you deal with breastfeeding
moms who are adamantly against them?  we tell them it is only during the
procedure and then we throw it away
 

4)     Do any of you use breast milk in lieu of sucrose? Haven’t,  but could
 

5)   Where do you get your sucrose?  Toot Sweet 1 mL twist off single use
vials from Hawaii Medical www.hawaiimedical.com
 

Thanks in advance for your answers! I appreciate each one of you! Feel
free to contact me off-list.
 

Another nurse answers:
I would imagine you can use a gloved finger for the baby to suck instead
of a pacifier.>>

Is it any wonder that we have such low rates of successful breastfeeding in the United States?  Right at the beginning of life we are inflicting pain, comforting with white sugar, and putting latex/rubber into the mouths of these little baby boys.  Nurses who want to end the insanity can join Nurses for the Rights of the Child and get support for being a conscientious objector.

And, finally, here’s what one baby thinks about the idea of amputating his foreskin: 

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For some reason, Washington, D.C. has one of the highest rates of circumcision of newborn males in North America.   Danelle Frisbie, a birth worker in Washington, D.C. started this conversation on her Facebook page:

Danelle Frisbie loves hearing from moms who say, “My 2nd/3rd/4th sons are intact - I became wiser as I got older” but hopes to someday hear the same for son #1.

K. S. my first son is intact!

C.C. All 3 of my boys are!

K.K. Both of my boys are intact!

S.G.  I only have girls, but they’re intact too.

E.P.D.  If we are ever blessed with a son, he will remain intact!

S. E. My only son is intact. I couldn’t imagine anyone doing that to my baby. People would ask me when I found out I was having a boy “Are you going to have him circumcised?”  My answer…”Over my dead body!”

V. L.  My first son is intact! In fact, ALL of my husband’s boys are intact.

J. T.  All of my sons are intact, and my grandsons will be intact, too! My 21-year-old has already assured me that none of his sons will be cut, and my 10-year-old son has marched with me at the intactivist demonstrations in D.C. I’m hoping that by the time the 10-year-old is old enough to be a dad, circumcision will be unthinkable.

D. F.   J., LET’S HOPE this will be true when the time comes for your 10-yr-old to become a father.

And thanks everyone for sharing!!

C. W. A.  My first (and only) son is intact. =)

Michelle Richardson:  I’m so happy for you all. Reading this makes me feel so incredibly sad and downright ANGRY that my first son was circ’d. At least I questioned it and told the nurses I didn’t think it was a good idea. Instead if properly informing me or my severely sleep deprived husband (been up for three days) they drugged me and did it anyways. I’d about chewed her a new ass when she opened his diaper to show me his new raw and bloody penis and his entire body was completely swollen and purple. That moment will haunt me to my grave. I gave birth to the rest of my babies at home and now have two intact sons and 5 children who will go on to have intact sons (hopefully, with me as an intactivist they will).

D. F.  Oh, Michelle, I cannot even imagine the horror of that sight. Your poor, poor little man. Thank you so very much for all you do today - so no other mother and her son have to endure the same.

Michelle Richardson:  And, that’s why I do this. I do not want another mother to go through unrelenting guilt, knowing that her son had been sexually tortured and raped and skinned alive or another child to endure the agony of the knife against his most sensitive sexual organs when no one is saving him from the pain. My son has expressed a sincere desire to sue, “because he doesn’t want her to do this to another baby”. There isn’t a “consent form” in any of the records. He is 9 right now. When he is able, I will help him win!

Michelle Richardson:  I’d like to add: After my other boys were born I’d have sweaty nightmares that he had been taken to have his penis reduced only to wake up in relief that he was still intact. Those dreams lasted for four months (something about postpartum hormones). I’d snuggle them tight thanking God that my baby boy didn’t go through this insane cultural practice.  If I could, I’d have 5 more boys just to populate America with more intact boys! But I have a strong feeling my children will carry on the legacy of not only keeping their children intact but to teach them to teach their children the value of being intact….

J. S.  All my children are intact !

J. J.  My first 17 years old and second 2 are both intact

J. M. My first and only boy intact and perfect!!

J. C.   Michelle, I hope your circ’ed son makes his case and wins. Bless his heart.

M. M. makes me want to adopt 20 baby boys and start to restore ASAP.

L. W. T.  My first is intact as well as my 2nd!! I’m so thankful for obsessively reading while pregnant.

D. F.  Michelle, - I hope he wins his case as well. He CERTAINLY deserves it (and much more).

L.   - I, too, am so thankful for obsessively researching before pregnancy. It is true - the MORE you know about circumcision, the WORSE it is.

S. M. K.  My first son is intact. We had made that decision when I first got pregnant with our first baby 10 years ago.

V. D.   number 1 is intact!

J. M.  Michelle, - and any other mother who had a similar experience : my heart goes out to you - we all have to keep bringing this issue to light so other baby boys aren’t brutalized like this anymore!!!! So barbaric and tragic, I strongly believe it’s why so many young men act out violently in their early puberty, as a result of coming to terms with their own first interpersonal contact between their sexual organs and another human being. Sad sad sad!!!!

W. N.  I am one of those moms. My oldest is 14, and when he was born, I didn’t even know to question the practice. The good news is, he’s so miffed that it happened to him that he is now an outspoken advocate against it!

Gloria Lemay:  what amazing brave voices. Everyone brings something to this movement to end male genital mutilation. Thanks for sharing everyone. www.nocirc.org