In a message dated 2/28/00 5:47:48 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Can someone inform me (and perhaps others will be interested as well) how
 widespread it is, in what countries/social groups/etc and above all for what
 reasons parents choose to have a circumcision done to their sons and the
reasons
 why doctors perform -in my view- operations that are not medically needed?
I'm
 really worried and upset by this.

 Sincerely,

 Gonneke van Veldhuizen, IBCLC, Maaseik, Belgium >>

My guess is that 90-95% of the baby boys born in Central Florida, USA are
circumcised. Most parents want it done so that the boy will look like his
father, brothers, friends, classmates, etc. I know peds that don't think circ
is a desired procedure, but they do circs because the parents want it. If the
ped wants clients, she/he must do circumcisions. It is an economic decision.
You must see clients to make money. You must do circs to keep clients. It is
like bottle-feeding--it is socially acceptable & actually considered the norm
in our society.

Then there is the ped that literally talks parents into changing their minds
about circumcision who have previously said that they don't want the
procedure performed. He starts quoting the Bible & says that if they are
Christians & believe in the Bible, they will have their son circumcised. I
don't understand his reasoning, but then I don't understand much of his
reasoning. He's also the one who scares (yes, he scares them) the majority of
breastfeeding moms into supplementing until their milk comes in because the
baby lost weight & the baby didn't have several wet diapers in the 1st day of
life. But now we hand out guidelines telling parents the minimum number of
feeds, voids & stools to expect in the 1st few days of breastfeeding.

Laura Hart
Central Florida

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