2011-09-11 Psychology Today - Myths about Circumcision You Likely Believe

[Minuteman]

http://liveweb.archive.org/http://ww...likely-believe

Excerpts:

Myth 1: They just cut off a flap of skin.

Reality check: Not true. The foreskin is half of the penis's skin, not just a flap. In an adult man, the foreskin is 15 square inches of skin.
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Myth 2: It doesn't hurt the baby.

Reality check: Wrong. In 1997, doctors in Canada did a study to see what type of anesthesia was most effective in relieving the pain of circumcision. As with any study, they needed a control group that received no anesthesia. The doctors quickly realized that the babies who were not anesthetized were in so much pain that it would be unethical to continue with the study.
...
Myth 3: My doctor uses anesthesia.

Reality check: Not necessarily. Most newborns do not receive adequate anesthesia. Only 45% of doctors who do circumcisions use any anesthesia at all.
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Myth 4: Even if it is painful, the baby won't remember it.

Reality check: The body is a historical repository and remembers everything. The pain of circumcision causes a rewiring of the baby's brain so that he is more sensitive to pain later (Taddio 1997, Anand 2000).
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Myth 5: My baby slept right through it.

Reality check: Not possible without total anesthesia, which is not available.
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Myth 6: It doesn't cause the baby long-term harm.

Reality check: Incorrect. Removal of healthy tissue from a non-consenting patient is, in itself, harm (more on this point later). Circumcision has an array of risks and side effects.

Acknowledgment: Originally posted by Matt at Mensactivism.org, here - http://news.mensactivism.org/node/17212

[Mincan]

Looks like its going to be a great series! Share far and wide!

[w.o.f.]

bookmarked. thanks for the pointer!

[intact]

simple logical boring plain painful truth noone wants to read.
but its not the truth that hurts, its the circ.