What you'll find people from circumcision cultures doing is to pair infant circumcision with breastfeeding as a way of normalising the practice of infant circumcision, trying to associate healthy breastfeeding with circumcision, well lets just compare circumcision with breastfeeding, and see how they compare with each other in infant development? Before the comparison its worth noting that in recent deaths from circumcision breastfeeding the baby following a circumcision has been used as the cause of death??? WOW, they want the association with breastfeeding but willing to trash Breastfeeding as soon as a baby dies from circumcision, SAYS IT ALL REALLY!!!!!!!!
Proximity = In Breastfeeding the infant is in close proximity to mother facilitating attachment vs circumcision the baby is taken away from mother disrupting attachment.
Attachment = The infant attaches to mother via breastfeeding vs circumcision disrupts attachment with separation, gaze aversion, pain and often trauma.
Soothing = Breastfeeding soothes the baby vs circumcision causes the baby excruitiating pain.
Development = Breastfeeding facilitates development via nutrition and attachment, vs circumcision creates stress responses including cortisol elevation, and stops the penis from developing as nature intended.
Feeding = Breastfeeding is a primary source of feeding vs circumcision disrupts the breastfeeding process with many babies refusing to feed following circumcision
Neural development = Breastfeeding facilitates neural and brain development, vs circumcision which causes a flood of cortisol in the brain, which has been found to cause neural pruning
Urinary Tract Infections = Breastfeeding babies appear to have protective effect for UTI's vs circumcision has been documented to cause UTI's shortly after circumcision
Death = Breastfeeding never causes death, whereas circumcision does. OH .....if a baby dies from circumcision then you can blame breastfeeding, in order to protect circumcision breastfeeding is trashed as happened in Africa recently (Reported in Press).
Human Rights & Ethics = Breastfeeding is normal natural & healthy and has never been a human rights issue, other than every baby deseves it if possible, whereas infant circumcision is widely seen as a human rights violation & medically unethical.
Excellent post! Thank you!
ReplyDeletei'm not sure how or where people get the idea the two are comparable. Even w/out going through those reasons, the act of breastfeeding is a process by which the baby is nourished and for which the baby is "programmed" through reflex behaviours. Circumcision has nothing to do w/ nourishment or nutrition and isn't something that happens naturally by way of the foreskin reflexively dropping off. It's like the proverbial comparison between apples and oranges...except that at least there's common ground in the form of both of those being fruit. Here there's no such common ground, except that both breastfeeding and infant circumcision involve babies. It's a comparison that's so far beyond fallacious i don't even know how people can fail to see it as illogical and farcical.
ReplyDeleteThe procircs use it as a way of trying to normalise circumcision, you make excellent points
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