Circumcision & Breastfeeding Complications

[MotherNurture]

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."

Source: Journal of Human Lactation 19(1), 2003.

[PaperTiger]

From a personal anecdotal perspective I believe this information to be spot on. I have witnessed babies brought back from circumcison without anaesthetic, and unable to latch on and feed due to distress/shock. This wasn't just an immediate effect but went on for quite some time afterwards.
Thank you for posting it. It's quite disturbing, but it is info that needs to be out there.

[WeloveHarriet]

Well sorry but this wasn't the case in my instance. My son was fine with breastfeeding after the operation and remains fine to this day.

[PaperTiger]

You dont need to apologise Kylie. :)
It wasn't a generalised sweeping statement about ALL babies. I was only taking about my personal experiences.
I am very happy that your baby was able to breastfeed after the operation. :)

[nemosmum]

It makes alot of sense to me

this is a major event, a traumatic event in a new babies life of course they are going to be stressed

my heart aches thinking about it:crying:

[Sheer Bliss]

Hmm interesting. I'd like to see how detailed the studies have actually been - it could jsut be one of those things that looks like it makes sense at first, but once more detailed research has been done, it turns out not to be true. We didn't have DS circ'd so i can't commetn from personal experience. But a friends DS was circ'd at 3weeks, and off the boob onto bottle by 6weeks. Maybe just a co-incidence - i'd def like to hear more before i could agree with this one.

[secondtimearound2]

What the???

Both my newphews where done and they were B/F till 18 months and My Son was done he is now 12 months and is still B/F.

By the way he is a great sleeper too :thumbsup:

So in my own experience I find this to be a load of beeb.

[nemosmum]

Im thinking its more the bubs done in hospital at a very young age (like days old) correct me if im wrong

as this is more likely to effect a new bub learning to attach etc

I had my son circed at 5weeks and bfing was already well and truly established BUT he had about 4-5 feeds after the procedure that were really hard, he was deinately refusing the boob and less alert/connected what ever you want to call it

I kept bfing him till 11mths

BUT I can see where in the cases of real newbies like days old it would have more of an impact on their latching on and interest in the breast etc

[secondtimearound2]

Oh I forgot to add my son was 5 days old ;) .

[PaperTiger]

I can see where in the cases of real newbies like days old it would have more of an impact on their latching on and interest in the breast etc




my heart aches thinking about it:crying:

Yes nemosmum, its heartbreaking to watch this because I couldn't do anything to help them. They are so tiny and defenceless. In the end I stopped working at private hospitals, and went to work at the public ones where they dont perform the operation anymore, it was just to distressing.

[nemosmum]

:hugs: thanks so much for posting this info

I so wish I had of had this and other info when making the decision about circ'ing

I Know first hand what regret feels like:thumbsdown:

[serendipity22]

I think its likely circ could interfere with breast-feeding if its done soon after birth as is common in the US.

If the boy is older and breast feeding is already well established it may be less likely its a problem.

This might explain some of the responses in this thread.

Personally I don't think breast feeding is worth jeopardising.

[NeilR]

did a straw poll of 10 friends who had their boys circumcised at less than 10 days. One reported a feeding issue (attachment) that had been there prior to the circumcision.
I did get asked why I wanted to know such things and the reason caused much mirth.

[MotherNurture]

did a straw poll of 10 friends who had their boys circumcised at less than 10 days. One reported a feeding issue (attachment) that had been there prior to the circumcision.
I did get asked why I wanted to know such things and the reason caused much mirth.

That's nice. However, it's definitely not a large enough sample size or unbiased/scientifically polling method to extrapolate any kind of statistics from.

I've worked in a hospital birth center where babies were routinely circumcised if the parents requested/consented to it and babies were definitely more sleepy/hard to rouse post-circumcision and when they were awake tended to be fussier/harder to latch. In 1 1/2 years I probably worked with hundreds of babies post-op.

I suspect there's potentially a big difference with regard to possible breastfeeding interference between babies being circumcised within the first 1-3 days of life before the mother's milk has even come in (before breastfeeding is "established") and circumcising at 5-7+ days at which point her milk is probably in, baby has probably recovered from the initial birth trauma, and both sides of the breastfeeding equasion are much more likely to have gotten the hang of things.

JMO,

Jen

[ShadyCharacter]

Sorry, I am with Jen here. It drives me nuts when people are presented with info like this and insist that because it is not so in their case, it cannot possibly be right.

My mother smoked heavily during three pregnancies, and all of those babies are fine. My MIL smoked VERY heavily during all four of her pregnancies, and all her babies are fit and healthy.

Does this make smoking during pregnancy harmless? Of course not. And to say otherwise because I know of at least 7 cases first hand (actually, several more) where there was no adverse outcome, and NONE where there was.... well, that would just be the same as putting my fingers in my ears and saying "la la la... I can't hear you!" whenever anyone said anything was wrong with smoking while pregnant :ecomcity:

It was a good article, thanks for posting it :)

[NeilR]

My, what very defensive responses, especially as what I have done seems the usually accepted level of evidence.
MN you are a nursing assistant I believe? You would also have seen the individual variation across the spectrum and as such are you not more questioning about what you read?

I should note that as a specialist paed Speech Pathologist feeding issues are of particular importance.

[ShadyCharacter]

I'm not defensive at all, I just get frustrated with the ignorance of the old "well it didn't happen to me, so it can't be true" line. That said, I didn't interpret your post to be in that group anyway.

I was surprised that given the low circ rate nowdays, most people would be hard up coming up with more than 2 or so people that have circ'd their kids.... I am surprised that anyone knows 10 people who did. Thats all :)

[secondtimearound2]

Most baby Boys that get circumsized in Australia do so at older age. I don't see the relevance of the artical at all... sorry.

From my personal, lived it and still breastfeeding at 13+ months. It had no effect what on us (My Son and I) feeding, bonding and the likes. To be honest no-one else I know with circumsized boys has claimed this either...:rolleyes:

[secondtimearound2]

:laughing: :laughing:
I guess ones experience means nothing!!! I wonder where they get stats from:rolleyes:

[NeilR]

Shady, fair enough. My wife is Jewish, so I get to meet a lot of people who have circised their children. It is not my faith...I might class myself as a reformed christian, but agnostic would be closer to the mark.

[SassyMummy]

I don't know much about it, as I don't know many people who are circumcised.

I wouldn't, however, blow it off just because it's not right in MY particular experience. It didn't say, "Absolutely every single boy ever circumcised had troubles breastfeeding." If it did, then I'd understand the "What rubbish," comments... but the "It can increase the risk of..." type of statements may ring true.

I think it's very naive to blow it off with a "didn't happen to me, so it's bull."

[secondtimearound2]

I don't know much about it, as I don't know many people who are circumcised.

I wouldn't, however, blow it off just because it's not right in MY particular experience. It didn't say, "Absolutely every single boy ever circumcised had troubles breastfeeding." If it did, then I'd understand the "What rubbish," comments... but the "It can increase the risk of..." type of statements may ring true.

I think it's very naive to blow it off with a "didn't happen to me, so it's bull."


Stacey it's not about blowing it off. It's about the relevance of the article. Circumcision now-a-days does not happen directly after birth or in the first 1-3 days in Australia much or if at all anymore.

I do believe personal experience does mean a lot. Quite often here on Bubhub I hear "it's varied range of people" so results of certain poles can be quite correct?? Experience is what the Hub is about. We share our experiences and knowledge with other members. I'm yet to hear "yes this is true, it happened to my son and I".

Please don't take this the wronge way :hugs:

[ShadyCharacter]

:laughing: :laughing:
I guess ones experience means nothing!!! I wonder where they get stats from:rolleyes:From very LARGE group studies (usually controlled groups to ensure a variety of circumstances).... not the ancedotal evidence of a few people.


Shady, fair enough. My wife is Jewish, so I get to meet a lot of people who have circised their children. It is not my faith...I might class myself as a reformed christian, but agnostic would be closer to the mark.I didn't think of that - makes sense that you would know a lot of people with circ'd kids then :)


I don't know much about it, as I don't know many people who are circumcised.

I wouldn't, however, blow it off just because it's not right in MY particular experience. It didn't say, "Absolutely every single boy ever circumcised had troubles breastfeeding." If it did, then I'd understand the "What rubbish," comments... but the "It can increase the risk of..." type of statements may ring true.

I think it's very naive to blow it off with a "didn't happen to me, so it's bull."
That was what I was getting at Stacey, makes me want to :hair:

[ShadyCharacter]

I'm yet to hear "yes this is true, it happened to my son and I".And given the same argument, I am yet to hear a mother say "I smoked while pregnant and my baby died". Or even had any adverse condition because of it.

And I doubt anyone here would consider that perhaps smoking while pregnant is ok? We all know it isn't.

I know I keep coming back to this, but I think it is a very fair comparision.

[NeilR]

except that one (smoking) has a firm basis in scientific research that has been replicated and is respected world wide, whilst the other (feeding issues) does not.

[ShadyCharacter]

You missed my whole point with the smoking comparision. You can't dismiss something, fact, opinion or otherwise just because it didn't happen to you.

Just because I know several people who smoked while pregnant and suffered no ill-effects, doesn't mean it is not harmful. That was my only point.

Your argument in itself may be a valid one (and I am not suggesting smoking while pregnant and circumcision are the same thing).... 'it didn't happen to me so it can't be true' is not.

[secondtimearound2]

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."

Source: Journal of Human Lactation 19(1), 2003.


That's nice. However, it's definitely not a large enough sample size or unbiased/scientifically polling method to extrapolate any kind of statistics from.

I've worked in a hospital birth center where babies were routinely circumcised if the parents requested/consented to it and babies were definitely more sleepy/hard to rouse post-circumcision and when they were awake tended to be fussier/harder to latch. In 1 1/2 years I probably worked with hundreds of babies post-op.

I suspect there's potentially a big difference with regard to possible breastfeeding interference between babies being circumcised within the first 1-3 days of life before the mother's milk has even come in (before breastfeeding is "established") and circumcising at 5-7+ days at which point her milk is probably in, baby has probably recovered from the initial birth trauma, and both sides of the breastfeeding equasion are much more likely to have gotten the hang of things.

JMO,

Jen

In Australia most states have banned circumcision in public hospitals. You will also find here in Australia you go to a GP who checks bubs out fully before giving a referral. Then Bubs gets checked again by a specialist before the procedure. Some specialist here in Australia require the child to be a certain age, weight etc..

I think the article has nothing to do with Australia. We are not America. If the research was done here in Australia it would be different. But in the last 20 years circumcision has changed quite a lot here in Australia (it is no longer routinely done).

Many Mothers are unable to breastfeed. It maybe they NEED to go back to work, just simply don't feel comfy feeding or it just isn't working for them. To blame these figures on circumcision is ridiculas. There is plenty of uncirc baby boys and girls who are bottle fed:rolleyes: