Circumcision - Male and Female Genital Mutilation.
Circumcision Hampers Breastfeeding.
Circumcision Leads to Breastfeeding Complications.
Need another reason to skip routine circumcision?
For over twenty years, studies
conducted by medical doctors and researchers have documented a connection
between circumcision and breastfeeding complications.
According to findings, the
newly circumcised infant expresses noticeably decreased responses to a mother's
attempts at engaging their attention.
This "subdued" behavior has been linked by
several researchers in separate studies to a subsequent struggle in the
achievement of successful breastfeeding.
Research has also demonstrated that
following circumcision, infants suffer from "prolonged periods of non-REM
sleep," a symptom that would further contribute to inactive and unreceptive
tendencies.
Some of the infants observed in one study were supplemented with formula
after circumcision—due either to frustration on the part of the mother from
failed breastfeeding attempts or because doctors felt the infant was incapable
of postoperative breastfeeding.
Because infants usually leave the hospital seven
to ten hours after the operation (many leave as early as three to six hours
post-op) the long-term negative effects of circumcision on breastfeeding is more
difficult to determine; however, "the observed deterioration in ability to
breastfeed may potentially contribute to breastfeeding failure."
Despite the fact that "circumcision is a painful, stressful, exhausting, and
traumatic experience for many infants," as many as 45% of doctors ignore the
recommendation by medical authorities to use an anesthetic during the procedure.
Because conclusive benefits of infant circumcision are not evident, there is no
danger in refusing or delaying the procedure.
The Work Group on Breastfeeding of
the American Academy of Pediatrics officially discourages "stressful procedures"
such as circumcision and promotes breastfeeding as "primary in achieving optimal
infant and child health, growth, and development."
[Plus further resources on the subject of circumcision.]
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