Fact checking Routine Infant Circumcision

Ignore the Myths,

Get the Facts

The following cultural beliefs, or myths, are often used as reasons for circumcision. After each myth, some relevant facts are provided to present a more accurate picture of this procedure. Parents should understand the full implications of circumcision before making this irreversible decision for their child.

Restraint board for Routine Infant Circumcision

Myth #1: Circumcision is recommended by doctors and medical organizations

Fact: Circumcision is not recommended by any national medical association in the world. Fifteen national and international medical associations have extensively studied infant circumcision and its effects and found no significant evidence to support this practice. In March 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concluded that infant circumcision is not recommended as a routine procedure.¹ The circumcision policy statements of the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians have concurred with this position.^2-3 The AMA calls infant circumcision “non-therapeutic.”

Myth #2: It’s just a little piece of skin, he won’t miss it.

Fact: The prepuce (foreskin) makes up as much as half of the skin system of the penis.⁴ It is an extension of the shaft skin that folds over onto itself, completely covering and protecting the glans (an internal organ) and provides the mobility of the shaft skin necessary for frictionless intercourse and masturbation. The foreskin has three known functions: protective, immunological, and sexual. It contains about 10,000 highly specialized nerve endings and several feet of blood vessels. An adult male foreskin, if unfolded and spread out, would be about the size of index card (3 x 5 inches), much more than a “little piece of skin.” Many sexually active men circumcised in adulthood report a significant decrease in sexual pleasure and comfort because of the loss of sensitive nerve endings, skin mobility and natural lubrication.

Myth #3: The care of a circumcised penis is easier than an intact penis.

Fact: For the care of an intact penis, the AAP recommends, “Leave it alone.” ⁵ No special care is required – an intact child should have the external surface of his penis (and the rest of his body) washed regularly to keep clean. When a male is older and can retract his foreskin (which typically occurs by puberty), a simple rinsing is all that is necessary. ⁶ Other cultural myths about special cleaning procedures are just that – myth.

Citizens Petition tell FDA: STOP the “Swine Flu” Vaccine Rush to Approval

Health Freedom Citizens Petition tell FDA:
STOP the “Swine Flu” Vaccine Rush to Approval

Follow this issue on http://www.Twitter.com/HealthFreedomUS
Hashtags: #selfshield #pandemic #noforcedvax #vaccine #healthfreedom

Natural Solutions Foundation
www.HealthFreedomUSA.org

MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

From: Ralph Fucetola JD
Natural Solutions Foundation Counsel

August 17, 2009 -

Led by such health freedom luminaries as Gary Null, PhD, Human Nutrition & Public Health Science, Rima E. Laibow, MD, Medical Director of the Natural Solutions Foundation, www.HealthFreedomUSA.org, and Dr. Ted Koren, DC of Citizens for Health Choice, we filed a formal Citizens Petition to the FDA today expressing our serious concerns about the approval of dangerous Swine Flu vaccines BEFORE ANY SAFETY TESTING IS COMPLETED.

A Citizens Petition, unlike an internet petition, is a formal statement of grievance which challenges the government’s actions, asks for specific protection and redress, as provided for by the Constitution of These United States:

“Pursuant to the Constitution of the United States of America, First Amendment, Right to Petition for Redress of Grievances the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. §§ 321 et seq., and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 553(e), to amend the FDA’s rules respecting the safety, effectiveness and availability of vaccines said to be useful for swine flu (A-H1N1-09)…”

Mother challenges WV on parent’s right

May 10, 2009

Mingo mother fights to get daughter in school without shots

A Mingo County mother says her child has a right to a free education in a public elementary school — and a right not to be immunized against disease.

By Davin White

Staff writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Mingo County mother says her child has a right to a free education in a public elementary school — and a right not to be immunized against disease.

Now, parties on both sides of a federal court case are debating medical, religious and philosophical exemptions to immunization against the effects on the health of all schoolchildren.

Jennifer Workman, the mother of a 6-year-old girl, sued last month in U.S. District Court in Charleston so her daughter could attend Lenore Pre-K to 8 School in Mingo County.

The girl has not been immunized, and Workman claimed a medical exemption.

West Virginia and Mississippi are two states that allow only a medical exemption to immunization. Unlike most states, West Virginia does not allow religious or philosophical exemptions.

Jack on the Swine Flu Hype

Jack Cafferty of CNN shares his opinion on

the Swine Flu Hype:

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you have been bombarded with news coverage of the swine flu for several days now. And when the World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert to the second highest level — of 5 — yesterday, the media couldn’t get enough of it. After all, this stuff sells newspapers and gets ratings. But when you take a look at the numbers, it seems like the story might be overblown…

The WHO has confirmed 257 cases of swine flu worldwide. 97 cases in Mexico, with seven deaths. Mexican officials have reported much higher numbers — 2,500 cases and more than 150 deaths — but those numbers haven’t been confirmed. In the U.S., the WHO says there are 109 confirmed cases with 1 death. Out of a population of more than 300 million people, that hardly seems to be cause for alarm.

And scientists who are studying the virus say this strain of influenza doesn’t look as deadly as strains that have caused previous pandemics. In fact, some suggest that the current form of the swine flu virus may not even do as much damage as the regular flu.

More than 13,000 people in the U.S. have died of complications from seasonal flu since January; and it’s expected to continue killing hundreds of people a week. In total, about 36,000 people a year die from the flu in this country; and worldwide, the annual death toll is somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000.

One scientist tells the Los Angeles Times that just because the swine flu is being identified in more countries doesn’t mean it’s spreading especially quickly, saying: “You don’t ever find anything that you don’t look for.”

More News that Breast is Best

Nursing by Numbers: How Breastfeeding Boosts the National Economy

By Olivia Campbell
Web Exclusive, April 2009

Forget about retail therapy, breastfeeding is an economic stimulator that’s completely free. According to USDA research, infant formula-feeding exacts a toll on national pocketbooks.

“Breastfeeding and the provision of breastmilk exclusively for the first 6 months? promises the United States improved health of both its citizens and its economy,” the US Breastfeeding Committee said in response to the USDA report.

Extended breast feeding could save the USA almost 4 Billion per yr.

Most people understand how nursing benefits baby’s health and parent’s finances, yet few people realize the extent to which breastfeeding benefits the mother’s health and how this all spells savings for the entire nation.

In 2001, the USDA concluded that if breastfeeding rates were increased to 75 percent at birth and 50 percent at six months, it would lead to a national government savings of a minimum of $3.6 billion. This amount was easily an underestimation since it represents savings in the treatment of only three of the dozens of illnesses proven to be decreased by breastfeeding: ear infections, gastroenteritis, and necrotizing enterocolitis.