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"OH MY GOD!! When I read [these] I ran upstairs to my baby's crib and held
him for a long time. When he was born I chose to have him circumcised. I
never realized how much pain the baby goes through. If I had known this at
the time, I never in a million years would have had my son circumcised." -- Mikayla
"In tears. I just checked out this site: http://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/plastibell/ This is what was done to my son. I just can't stop
crying now. Why in the world did I consent to this? I am so angry with myself right now. I can't believe that i let the doctor torture my baby!! I am angry at the doctors for not telling me how harmful this could be and for voluntarily torturing babies like this just to make a buck. I wish I could go back in time and change it all." --Becky H. (6/2004)
"Ok I'm sorry, y'all, but ... I really did not need to hear those graphic details. I did research circumcision before my son was done. I thought I had reasearched it well. I now know that I didnt get alot of the information out there. But I just can't handle hearing the graphic details and picturing what it did to my lil' boy." --Jess
"I have 3 children 2 of which are boys. They both are circumsised. I have just recently seen what a
circ is and all about. I did not realize how awful it is. I am feeling like such a failure as a mother right now like I let my boys down and made them go through that awful procedure for no reason. No one ever explained it to me. I guess I should have known better or asked about it more. Every man that I know of in my family has been circed. I new some people did not but I never knew the reasons why. I am feeling so very terrible right now." --Kate S.
"I agree that someone should be there And, I would suggest that that person be the mother, since she is the one most familiar to the baby. I was not allowed to be there for my son even though I asked. When he was returned to me (pretty quickly actually), he had a look of terror on his face. He was unconsolable for a very long time. His fear might
not have been so great if he had gotten my attention right after the procedure. Also, the nurse was joking about how loudly he had screamed due to the pain, so she had obviously not given his pain any concern. She thought it was funny! If you are planning to breastfeed, I
would suggest nursing him as quickly as possible. It seems to help lower the stress level in babies. You might want to do it just that once even if not breastfeeding. Aside from the issue of pain, the baby will be stressed out just by being strapped down and unclothed" --Telina (12/26/99)
"I urge parents to view a circ. before having it done. After seeing it firsthand, I will never choose to do it again. I can't stand it when people say 'Oh they cry because they are strapped down or because they are cold'. You can CLEARLY tell when a child is crying out of pain, and when the child is crying out of discomfort from the way he is being held/handled. I watched his face and heard his cries while it was being done. That will never leave me. I just wish I had come to my senses beforehand." --Edna, on her son Joshua's recent circumcision.
"I saw 20/20 last night and was mortified. I had my own son circumcised and felt so guilty he had to go through that. If I had seen this before I gave birth I wouldnt have decided on it. I always thought it was the normal thing to do because it was always done in my family and my friends had their sons circumcised. It was hard to watch. I know it is a personal decision and all parents have different
opinions on this. I just wanted to say how I felt." --Anon. Mother.
"All of us who have had and will have our sons circ'd know what is involved
with the procedure we do not need to be reminded the evidence it there
everytime the diaper/underpants are removed." --Anon. Mother.
"This is a rather disturbing comment to me [that "boys can be even more traumatized by not being circumcised"].....since all my life I have never known anything but intact males!! Growing up we just assumed it was a Jewish thing.... Why do so many people feel compelled to cut their little boys??? To me, this makes NO sense whatsoever!! I guess i will never understand!!"-- Jane
"I love my mother dearly, and she is a wonderful mother. However, she has this story: when they circumcised my brother she said that she could here him screaming all the way into her room. This did not bother her?! Christopher and I have always kept the boys with one of us. They have never been seperated from us from the moment they were born (much to doctors dismay. they really hate it when you stand there and question them:), let alone sit quietly while they screamed in pain down the hall."-- Teddy