Customer Reviews

Circumcision What Every Parent Should Know

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Good book, very informative and well thought out. My best friend bought this when she was expecting a child with her husband and lent it to me when I was expecting my first son. I am purchasing this book for a good friend that is having her first child.

Our author gets more than a "1" because she writes eloquently. She gets less than a "3" because she is biased and probably wrong. In any event, if the evidence for benefit is (at all) right, this simple procedure does not qualify as one important enough to be subjected to such scare tactics. Let me present the controversy:

Those who support circumcision argue that it provides important health advantages - improvement in basic hygiene, fewer urinary tract infections, less risk to the female of HIV and cervical cancer - to name just a few. They further state the advantages outweigh the risks, that there are no substantial effects on sexual function, and that it has a skimpy complication rate when carried out by a qualified practitioner. In addition, some think the circumcised penis is prettier.

Our author argues that circumcision is a detriment to normal sexual pleasure and performance, that the advantages seen by the advocates of circumcision don't really exist, that circumcision is extremely painful, and that it is comparable to female genital mutilation. She gets downright excited.

One reason it's a controversy is because epidemiologiocal studies are notoriously hard to interpret. Either side can create evidence out of thin air. Being a pragmatist, I have chosen circumcision for my boys. First, being in medicine, I have seen first-hand some of the complications. Second, being circumcised myself, if sex had felt any better when I was in college, I might have gotten myself arrested. Third, despite the complications so fervently presented, the overall complication rate is extremely low. Chicken Little never impressed me that much.

My conclusion - although some well-meaning doctors are against circumcision (many pediatricians), the doctors who have to deal with the complications (urologists) are for it. Males in Africa line up for blocks and wait all day to get circumcisions on account of the World Health Organization's stance. WHO states there is a dramatic decrease in transmission of HIV (female to male) when the male is circumcised. For the ordinary american, it shouldn't be that big a deal. Even if you don't believe there are health benefits and it's just to beautify the countryside, I say go for it. There are way more complications associated with breast augmentation.

DB