Why todays parents are saying no to circumcision

April 8, 6:13 PMDetroit Motherhood ExaminerRachael Isaacson

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I have one thing to ask before you continue on with this article. Open your mind, read the information without defenses. I have had my own personal journey with circumcision, my son is circumcised, and I will admit I thought the idea of not circumcising was just…weird. So I get the resistance to the culture shift, I really do.

We are the only country that routinely circumcises our infants at birth for non religious reasons. This is not the norm in other countries. In fact when speaking with a European friend of mine who was expecting a boy, she said she would not only not circumcise her son, but that she would never stand for it. When you live in a culture that does not routinely circumcise, the question becomes why would you.

So, do Europeans and their intact penises have mystery penis problems? Are they dirty? Do they have a higher rate of sexually transmitted diseases? The answer is no. Really? Are these not the main problems that we are trying to avoid? 

First let’s examine some of what is lost after a circumcision is performed in the United States (In the US, most hospital circumcisions are done to the Bris Periah standard of removing every ounce of foreskin and, in a large percentage of cases, some shaft skin).

Foreskin: The foreskin comprises around 50% of the movable skin system of the penis. In fact the average foreskin if spread out, would be about 15 square inches. The average adult foreskin has three to four feet of blood vessels and amazingly between 10,000 and 20,000 specialized erotogenic nerve endings of several types. All of this is removed.

Ridged Band: The ridged band is comprised of soft ridges near where the inner and outer foreskin meet. This is the primary erogenous zone in an intact male penis.

Meissner's Corpuscles: Meissner’s Corpuscles are thousands of coiled fine touch receptors. This is arguably the most important sensory component of the foreskin.

Other losses include:

• Gliding Action
• Frenulum
• Dartos Fascia
• Immunological System
• Lymphatic Vessels
• Estrogen Receptors
• Apocrine Glands
• Sebaceous Glands
• Langerhans Cells
• Natural Glans Coloration
• Length and Circumference
• Dorsal Nerves

So while the adult penis "works" when circumcised, it is arguable that it doesn't come close to the experience it is designed for.  I was always under the impression just a little extra "flap" of skin was removed -- such an old myth. 

One of the first defenses to circumcision I always here is that a cut penis is cleaner.  In reality the opposite is true in infancy.  The intact infant penis does not retract so care is so much easier.  You just wipe and go!  And when the boy is older and the foreskin separates from the glans I am positive they can learn to pull back the foreskin and rinse.  We teach our girls proper hygiene and our boys are just as capable.  In fact world wide female circumcision is a much more practiced procedure.  And the main reason cultures site is that a circumcised vagina is cleaner.  Things that make you go hmmm... 

Let's tackle sexually transmitted diseases.  This is a big one and I will to be brief and clear.  The study done in Africa regarding circumcision and HIV has caused much undeserved buzz.  The study says circumcision decreased the transmission of HIV.  While this may be true, the study was never finished.  Time for the circumcised group to heal was not factored into the equation, and they stopped mid study to circumcise the control group. 

Just pause to really think about whether routine infant circumcision decreases STD's in the united states.  We have the highest rates of circumcision and we do not have lower rates of sexually transmitted diseases.  Also, why don't countries that do not routinely circumcise, and are on the same level socially as America, have much higher HIV rates than us?  The data is out there, and it just does not support this theory.  

This just barely scratches the surface but my hope is it will give you pause -- and prompt some investigation into the issue on your own.  Here is a great article on what can happen when a circumcision goes wrong.  Is it worth the risk?

For more information visit:

http://www.cirp.org/

http://www.nocirc.org/

http://www.noharmm.org/home.htm

http://www.stopcirc.com/index.html

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/health-disparities/default.htm

http://www.norm.org/lost.html