Doctors Re-Examine Circumcision

At 23 years old, I ended up with my very first problem ever with my foreskin. It was damaged by unsafe levels of pool chemicals while I was a lifeguard. Needless to say, I encountered a LOT of bias from doctors going so far as to threaten me that if i "don't cut off what doesn't belong there" I'm going to die of penile cancer. This book reassured me of how lucky and truly special I am to have been spared the knife in modern-day America. My problem is clearing up, and I am SOO thankful to remain intact! This book is a must read for all expecting parents!

With books like this one, I learned there are no medical reasons to consent to circumcision when I gave birth. Why cut my babies? Previously, like most young parents, I had assumed that "Doctor Knows Best" so when I first read this book and discovered a controversy amongst doctors themselves about a taken-for-granted surgery, I deepened my life long investigation into the consequences of circumcision. I recommend this book for parents who place their trust in obstetricians and pediatricians, indeed for all people who care about the future -- it is an alarming wake up call to a culture asleep at the wheel of creation. What are we doing when we hurt baby boys for no good reason? In studying the warring cultures of the world, one thing we consistently have in common is the genital mutilation of our children (amongst other things). If we truly want to co-create a peaceful world, let's begin with our babies. Maybe after all, these good doctors, Thomas Ritter and George Denniston, do know what is best.

A must read for anybody considering circumcision. I was a parent believing that circumcision was the "RIGHT thing to do". I did not know that at the birth of my twin sons in 1997, that no medical orginzation in the world recommended circumcission. I was told that circumcision is your choice and was recommended by my doctors. Never did those doctors tell me what this book reveals. It is an easy to read source of information for any parent thinking of circumcising or to simply to educate yourself about the implications of circumcission. This book contains documented and well supported information about why you would not want to circumcise. I have not circumcisied my third son.

This book should be required reading for all expecting parents and their doctors. This book makes it clear that routine circumcision has NO medical benefit. Because it has no medical benefit, NO medical organization in the world recommends it. For example, circumcision does not prevent urinary track infection (urinary track infections are lower in Europe where circumcision is virtually unheard of) and many studies have shown circumcision to increase the rate of HIV infection and the rate of transmitting HIV/AIDS to the female partner (UNAIDS calls using circumcision to prevent AIDS playing Russian Roulette).Circumcision was started as a "cure" for masturbation. Since then it has been a procedure in search of a disease. To little attention is paid to the life long harm done to the child. For example, circumcision is now believed to be a contributing factor in male sexual dysfunction since the procedure removes highly sensitive sexual tissue and the unprotected glans becomes desensitized through a hardening of the skin in a process called keritinization. Also, the foreskin protects the infant from infections since it keeps feces away from the urethra. In addition, the foreskin has major immunological functions including secreting a chemical called lysozyme (an ingredient in mother's milk) that has been show to kill HIV, the virus that causes aids. This fact alone may explain why the AIDS rate in the USA is three to twelve times higher than any western European country.Routine infant circumcision not only is medically unnecessary, it is harmful. It is only a matter of time before the procedure will be outlawed. Until that happens this book will give parents the information they need to protect their sons from this destructive practice.

After reading this book, I learned that although infant circumcision was once considered a necessary evil of having a male child, research now shows infant circumcision is not only unnecessary, it is harmful. Any parent or parent-to-be should read this book for the latest information available on infant circumcision. The book is written by physicians for parents wanting to make informed decisions for their sons. I wish I had had this information long ago.