Dr. Oz and the Strangling Foreskin

It appears that Dr. Mehmet Oz would truly benefit from a nice, sit-down, man-to-man, physician-to-physican chat with Dr. Martin Winckler on all things foreskin. The two men appear worlds apart when it comes to their view of the foreskin -- Oz pointing out how "nasty" he sees the foreskin becoming, how much "cleaning" it needs, and if that's not enough to make you run to the nearest surgeon to have yours removed -- you may just have to anyway, because, according to Oz, it could strangle your penis! "And that's an emergency," he adds.

Winckler takes a much more foreskin-friendly approach to the human genitals. He recognizes the normalcy of the foreskin - after all, all mammals on earth are born with a foreskin (the 'clitoral hood' on female mammals). Winckler reminds us the foreskin is an effective, self-sustaining organ that serves to protect and preserve the penis (or clitoris). The majority of men and women in the world keep their foreskin for a lifetime, and never have a single issue with it. The foreskin needs no 'cleaning' - no special care. Rinse on occasion with warm water when in the shower or bath after puberty. That's it. In fact, when Oz's recommendations are taken to heart, and parents view their son's foreskin as dirty and in need of cleaning, THAT, Winckler says, is when problems arise.

What about phimosis? This fictitious, scary thing that Oz warns men of -- when the foreskin actually tries to strangle the life right out of your penis? Winckler calmly reminds us that (1) phimosis is usually a faulty diagnosis by an unknowledgable person, especially when it is proposed before a young man goes through puberty and (2) if the foreskin does become tightly trapped above the ridge of the glans (usually due to improper care), the best thing to do is (again) calmly cool down the penis (with cool water or cooler air) so that blood leaves the penis (it 'deflates'), and the foreskin can be gently pulled back over the glans. Problem solved. No ER visit to Oz necessary.

To avoid these issues altogether? Oz tells parents time and again they can cut that foreskin right off - get rid of it - it's "a parent's choice" after all... Yes, it's the most sensitive part of the body, bar none. Yes, it houses half of the erogenous tissue on the penis and plays an important role in sexual function. Yes, it is the only organ that protects the important glans... but what you don't ever know you are missing, you won't ever miss. Right? And besides "babies don't feel pain the same way adults do," says Oz in his book, YOU! Having a Baby. Anyone who has witnessed infant circumcision knows just how true, or rather untrue, that statement is.

Winckler suggests we instead learn proper intact care: i.e. keep your hands OFF the foreskin if it belongs to anyone other than you. Do not touch it. Leave it alone. Stop all the "cleaning" that Oz tells parents they must do, and you simply will not have the issues that arise only in a forcibly retracting, foreskin-meddling, North American culture.

For more from Dr. Winckler, see his excellent interview: "Hands Off My Foreskin! On the Care of Baby Boys."

Respond with research-based commentary on Oprah's hosted article: "Dr. Oz on Men's Health: Benefits and Risks of Circumcision."

Additional Resources on Intact Care

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$1.3 Million Awarded for Botched Circumcision

Chicago Sun-Times Report

A baby who suffered a partial amputation of his penis during a botched circumcision performed when he was 12 hours old has been awarded a judgment of more than $1.3 million, according to attorneys for the child’s family.

The verdict was returned to the family of the boy, now 5, by a Cook County jury on Tuesday, according to a statement from the family’s attorneys. Defendant Marc S. Feldstein, M.D., delivered Daniel Burden on Oct. 4, 2007, at Northwestern Memorial’s Prentice Women’s Hospital, the statement said.

The following morning, during a circumcision procedure, a portion of the distal tip of the boy’s penis was inadvertently amputated, according to the statement from the attorneys. The child was rushed to Children’s Memorial Hospital, where a pediatric urologist successfully re-attached it. Though he will be left with moderate scarring and is at risk for altered nerve sensation in the affected area, his penis should be fully functional, the statement said.

The trial began May 16 and ended Tuesday with the jury awarding the family $1,357,901.12, according to the statement. “I’m sure that [the boy]will be grateful that this injury was not as devastating as it could have been,” attorney Timothy Tomasik of Tomasik Kotin Kasserman said in the statement. “But he will always be different, and that is something he has to live with for the rest of his life.” Northwestern didn’t immediately comment on the case.

Related Reading: 

Intact vs. Circumcised Outcome Statistics
http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/cut-vs-intact-outcome-statistics.html

The Perils of Plastibell
http://www.drmomma.org/2010/05/the-perils-of-plastibell-circumcision.html

Death from Circumcision
http://www.drmomma.org/2010/05/death-from-circumcision.html

Healthy Newborn Dies Post-Circumcision
http://www.savingsons.org/2013/06/healthy-newborn-dies-post-circumcision.html

Safety pin, bell and tie are visible during infant circumcision, Washington.

Medical Benefits of Circumcision

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No medical organization in the world recommends routine infant circumcision.

Most strongly caution against it.

There are no medical benefits to removing the purposeful prepuce organ from a heathy newborn baby.

Learn more: Should I Circumcise? The pros and cons of infant circumcision

Above postcards available at Etsy.

Repeat Circumcision: Lessons Learned From the Mother of a Botched Baby

By Josie Wallace © 2013

There he was. Purple, screaming, shaking. Fists so tight that his little knuckles were white. And the blood, it was everywhere. His tiny body was still strapped onto the board.

And no one cared.

Not the nurse or the doctor - no one down the hall came running to help him. His screams were everywhere, all over the building. And I didn't know what to do. I stroked the only place I could, which was his forehead. I told him that I loved him and that I was sorry, I was so sorry... and that he would be okay.

But I didn't know... would he be okay?

Nobody seemed to mind everything he was going through. It was no big deal, the screaming, the bleeding - none of it seemed to matter. It was normal around here. Another day circumcising babies for everyone else. But it did matter. HE MATTERED. Everything that had just been taken from him mattered. The pain he was in mattered. And I knew I had just made an awful choice that would forever change who he was supposed to be.

After eight hours of bleeding, my baby boy had emergency surgery. They had accidentally cut all the skin off the shaft of his penis. That day changed my entire life, and his, forever.

I remember being really angry at all the people who told me circumcision was 'best' for my baby. I couldn't understand how everything he just went through could possibly be for the better. How could having a body part ripped off of him, and then coming so very close to bleeding to death be better than remaining intact as he was made?

And then I got really angry with myself for believing everyone else around me, when in my heart I knew the truth. I believed all their lies. And I hated myself for it. I felt like I was being punished for not listening to my heart. The guilt was overwelming and took me over in huge waves. I was lost for a long time.

Time went on and he grew more and more. My son ended up having two more corrective surgeries at 18 months and 23 months. Both were extremely hard for all of us, but the last one was horrendous. He still remembers it to this day. I went back after the surgery to a inconsolable, screaming baby who I had never seen. Nothing I did helped him. A few weeks later the night terrors started. He would wake in the middle of the night screaming with his eyes still closed. I couldn't wake him or calm him. They were caused from the stress of the surgery. I knew this for certain.

At this point I was drowning in guilt, I couldn't breathe. Most nights I cried myself to sleep and I felt so alone. The only thing I knew to do was talk about it, so I did. I talked about it and got it out there. I started saving babies and my heart started healing. The more babies I saved in honor of my son, by sharing our story, the less guilt I had.

I soon realized that it wasn't my fault... I did what everyone told me, including the doctors, was best for my baby. And I truly wanted what was best for him - I loved him. Everyone wants what is best for their child. I know some people still think it is my fault - but it wasn't. I eventually realized that rarely is it a 'parent's fault.' We believe the doctors and all the lies, we think intact penises are dirty and disease filled. We are told that to be 'normal' is to be circumcised. It is so hard to stand alone sometimes when everyone is against you. I do blame myself for this - for not standing alone anyway - but I know now I am strong enough to be here solo and hold my ground when it comes to my children. I'm all they need.

So after years and years of re-living these experiences, my advice to new and expecting mothers is this: Listen to your mommy gut! Don't believe everything people tell you, and question everything. You have a right to know the truth, to understand fully all the facts, and your son does too. My baby lived the truth and faces the consequences of this every day. In his honor, please research circumcision.

Update: Since the birth of my first son, and our experiences with circumcision, I have had two more heathy boys! Both of them remain intact today as they were born. Our experiences with my first son taught me many lessons as a mother - it changed every aspect of our lives. Today I question and research everything when it comes to my children and I highly encourage you to do the same.

Graphic by Intact Houston

To read more from parents whose sons were circumcised before they had accurate or complete information, or to join a supportive group of parents who have been through similar circumstances, see resources at I Circumcised My Son: Healing From Regret.  

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Birth of an Activist: Reflections from David Wilson of Stop Infant Circumcision

By David Wilson, founder of Stop Infant Circumcision Society and Genital Integrity Awareness Week

I remember as a child looking at this photo of myself as a baby and thinking that I had wet my diaper. And then my mom told me that it was not a wet diaper, but was blood from being circumcised. I had no idea what that meant or what 'circumcision' was until one day when I was about 11 years old. I overheard my mom talking about circumcision and when I asked what it was, she said that when I was born "the doctors thought my ding-a-ling was going to be too big" so they cut off a piece.

I ran to the upstairs bathroom and looked at myself and I could see the difference in the texture of skin, and I could see the scar, and said to myself, "They did cut me..." At the time, I thought they must have taken a section out of the middle and reattached it. I was traumatized for several years until I got into sex ed classes in school.

Circumcision just didn't make sense to me because my cousins in the Bahamas were not cut. I saw them peeing outside when I was visiting at age 6-7 years. I went home and tried to stuff myself inside like they could. And realized I couldn't. When mom told me several years later that I had been cut (shortened) it started to make sense, and began my work to speak out. Still, she told me that it was just something "they" did to boys - that it was better. But I always thought, if circumcision was supposed to be so good for boys, why weren't my cousins cut? They were perfectly fine - healthy as could be. It just didn't make any sense and it was a tough realization to come to.

In the 1970s I attended Vietnam War demonstrations, and that is when I got my first taste of demonstrating. Years later, I made my way to Washington D.C. on April 1st (April Fools Day) with a homemade magic-markered sign to stand on the steps of the Supreme Court and speak out about infant circumcision. I chose April 1st originally because it was my own way to use a humorous approach to raise awareness on a serious subject.

The second year when I returned again on April 1st, I spent time on the steps of the Supreme Court and then walked to the East steps of the U.S. Capitol. I saw a gentleman sitting there demonstrating and asked an officer if it was something I could do as well. He said I could and told me how to file permits with the Capitol Police - something I've done each year since.

A buddy and I would drive up from Florida through the night, spend all day demonstrating on April 1st, and turn around to drive home. In 1996 I acquired a computer and got online to find that I wasn't the only one with a passion for seeing an end to infant circumcision. Just a few years later Van Lewis found me and together we made the annual trip back to Washington D.C. April was named Child Abuse Prevention Month in 1983, and the federal FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Law became effective on March 30, 1997, so it has made sense to keep Genital Integrity Awareness Week at this time each year.

One thing that still astonishes me after all these years is the lack of outrage that should exist over the 117+ baby boys who die as a result of circumcision each year in the United States. That number is low [due to lack of recording/logging by hospitals] but whenever this comes up in conversation, unknowing peoples' response is, "Well, it doesn't happen that often..." Yet when even a handful of babies die needlessly from other things, we jump to ban and file lawsuits. All the while death from needless genital cutting continues to be ignored. Aside from death, what about all the thousands more who lose a part of their glans? Who have chunks taken out of the shaft? Who have other botched outcomes? All men lose something when they are subjected to circumcision...

For the longest time after learning the truth I did not want to look at the pictures. I did not want to watch the videos. But as time went on, I realized people need to see this. And as a result, some of the signs used in our demonstrations have become more graphic. This year we had one sign showing the distinction between an intact and circumcised baby boy -- it is something that parents need to be aware of. The old saying, "the truth hurts" is applicable here... This is the truth, and it does hurt, and it cannot remain hidden any longer.

Video by James Loewen of Bonobo3D. View more of Loewen's work at his channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Bonobo3D

More from David Wilson at StopInfantCircumcision.org

More Men Speak: http://www.SavingSons.org/2017/04/men-speak.html

Cutting Ham: Why Do You Do This?

A tale to think about...

A woman was cutting both ends off of a ham to cook for a large family dinner.

Her husband looked at her curiously and asked, "Why do you do this?"

The woman replied, "Because my mother always did it."

Her mother soon arrived for the family dinner and the woman's husband asked his mother in law, "Why did you always cut off the ends of the ham when you cooked?"

His mother in law replied, "I did it because my mother always did this growing up..."

The woman's husband decided he simply must get to the bottom of this. What possibly was the reason for cutting the ends off of the dinner ham? So much waste, he thought. He called his wife's grandmother for the answer. "Why did you always cut the ends off the ham when cooking for the family?" he asked.

And Grandmother replied, "My oven is just so small, so my pan is small and it simply won't all fit into my oven."


Remember: Some actions begin for a reason, and some are actions repeated due to tradition that has lost its reason. Think about what you believe, what you've been taught, and where it comes from. Question. Research. You may just be surprised when you get to the bottom of it all.

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When Carding Hurts

By Xan Mej

Tonight I ordered intact information cards (below) for the first time.

It hurt.

Hurt to be reminded. Seeing the posts at Saving Our Sons hurts. Looking at the page hurts. It hurts because I have an 11 month old son who is near perfect. Near perfect because I sent him away to be cut. I sent him with the nurse because I thought it was my duty as a good Christian. I thought it was what God wanted... It hurts to be reminded of the unnecessary pain I caused him, the long term damage I allowed to be done to my own newborn baby.

But now I will go on and do my best to spread the knowledge that circumcision is not only unnecessary, but brutal.

My heart still burns and bleeds and I am still angry. Angry at my parents for being so ill informed. Angry at my church for supporting such things. But most of all angry at myself for not protecting my child. Me, his own MOTHER! His first line of defense! I have been so angry at myself for not questioning the church, for not doing my own Bible reading, for not listening to my heart telling me, 'This doesn't seem right...'

I was the one who sent him with the nurse less than 24 hrs after his beautiful and magical entrance into this world. He was whole and complete and perfect and innocent and trusting.

If only I was the one who suffered the consequences of my ignorance, and not my son!

This is what torture is: to wake up and realize you failed miserably, and then see your loved one suffer for it.

So today I go on and spread the word, in hopes that I will save another baby boy, and save his mother from the gnashing and burning that is in my heart, that I must forever endure.

Please, research circumcision.

Related Reading for parents with sons who were circumcised

Request cards here or at Keeping Future Sons Intact

Related Reading for Christians

 Request cards here or at Whole Christian Network

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