Circumcision Myths: Part I
he feels PAIN. I think my own little angel still has memories of having blood drawn from his heel. He hates it when anything is held on his foot (for example, a blanket, or even a sock) and especially his heel, because, I believe, he remembers the heating packs they used to make the blood draw easier, and he associates that with the pain.
Still, for anyone who is not convinced that circumcision is painful for the infant, studies have shown that newborns who are circumcised without analgesia have increased heart rate, bloodcortisole, oxygen saturation and cortisol levels, which are indicative of stress related to pain. Furthermore, boys circumcised without analgesia also show behavioral changes indicating that they experience pain, including crying, changes in sleep patterns, and changes in the mother-child interaction. (This last point was reason enough for me to not want to circumcise our son. Why would I want to do anything that would potentially harm the attachment I was you'reng to form with him?)
If you're STILL not convinced that circumcision is painful, then ask any man you know if he would be willing to have a part of his penis cut off without any analgesia. He will tell you how painful it would be!
*****Stay tuned for Part II!*****
The following websites provided information for this article. More information about circumcision can be found at:
http://www.medicinenet.com/Circumcision_...
http://www.cirp.org/pages/anat/
http://www.cirp.org/pages/gcdcirc.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/gcd/DOC/en...
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/archives/mar...
http://www.circumstitions.com/Cancer.html
Latest Articles