When you've just given birth to a beautiful new human being, the last thing you want is to see them in pain.  Alas, it sometimes has to happen anyway.  A couple days after Charlotte was born, we had to spend one awful night in the ER, where no one apparently knew how to take blood from a newborn.  Then more blood tests the next day as well.  The hospital staff wanted to give her glucose water during the pokes.  It is known to help with the pain.  When I refused, they looked at me like I was a monster and said "What, you don't want to lessen your baby's pain?!"  What the hell kind of question is that anyway?  Of COURSE I do, but I have BOOBS!  TITS, BREASTICLES, MILK BAGS!  She doesn't need sugar water, when she has mommy's warm arms and body, and sweet milk.  Back then, I had never read anything about it, but it just seemed logical to me that nursing would be the most comforting thing possible.

Now, thanks to a fabulous facebook buddy sending it my way, I've got proof.

The Analgesic effect of breast feeding

You know what makes me sad though?  That they even needed a study to prove this.  But, oh well.  Let's take a little look at what it says, just for kicks and giggles.

"What is already known on this topic
Current pharmacological treatments are not appropriate for pain relief during minor procedures like venepuncture or heel prick in newborn infants

Oral sweet solutions, non-nutritive sucking, and skin to skin contact reduce procedural pain in newborn infants

What this study adds
Breast feeding during a painful procedure effectively reduces the response to pain in newborn infants

The analgesic properties of breast feeding are at least as potent as the combination of sweet solutions and a pacifier"

Ummm... DUH.  Instead of carting these poor babies off to a bright nursery and giving them sugar water from a plastic nipple, those babies should be held in the comfort of moms arms and NURSED.  Why did they ever think they could trump nature on this one?  -headdesk- 

Some other things they say here really get me going on a totally different tangent!

"Evidence shows that neonates do feel pain¹ and may even have increased sensitivity to pain and to its long term effects compared with older infants.²"

Let that sink in... babies DO feel pain, and they are probably MORE sensitive to pain and can even be impacted long term by it.  Even a heel prick or blood draw causes enough pain for them to insist that babies deserve some relief. 

How, HOW can anyone think that there is little to no pain associated with circumcision?  If even the trauma of a blood test can have long-term impact, how much worse is the impact of cutting off a large and nerve-dense organ?  Most circumcisions are still done without any pain relief, or with inadequate pain relief. 

"Up to 96 percent of the babies in the United States and Canada receive no anesthesia when they are circumcised"

"The researchers discovered that for those circumcised without anesthesia there was not only severe pain, but also an increased risk of choking and difficulty breathing."

"Researchers found that while topical anesthetics may help initially, they are woefully inadequate during foreskin separation and incision"

"In fact, they found the results so compelling that they took the unusual step of stopping the study before it was scheduled to end rather than subjecting any more babies to circumcision without anesthesia"

(from CNN)

How are we THIS screwed up?  Yeah, babies have extra sensitive heels and veins, but their penises feel nothing?  Only the brain-dead would buy that.  So... roughly half of America.

Even worse, I think it's safe to say that blood tests are usually/always done for a medical reason.  Circumcisions, however, are almost NEVER necessary.  Especially on a newborn baby.  Many parents claim they can't bear to be there while it is done to their child.  If just SEEING it would tramatize an adult, how do you think a baby feels?

Do some of you people somehow have this sick idea that males can "handle the pain"?  No, this sick cycle must end.  I don't care what your husband's penis looks like.  I don't care about your perverted ideas about how "gross", "dirty", or "ugly" the foreskin is.  Look at your perfect healthy baby boy, and bring his ENTIRE body home.  Circumcision HURTS.  Not just for a minute, or a week, but for a lifetime.  

It was "reported in 1997 that baby boys who are circumcised with inadequate anesthesia exhibit behavior changes at six months of age that are suggestive of "an infant analogue of post traumatic stress disorder."²⁷ Porter et al. report increasingly strong behavioral and physiologic responses as the invasiveness of the procedure increases.³⁰ Circumcision is classified as a highly invasive procedure."  (source)

"Fitzgerald reports that excessive activity (pain sensations) in the developing and still plastic neural pathways of the newborn are likely to cause permanent changes in structure." (source)

"Lander's study⁶⁷ was terminated after several infants circumcised without anesthesia experienced apparent life threatening breathing difficulties, including choking and apnea. The shock of circumcision without anesthesia and extremely vigorous crying can produce additional dangerous complications including heart injury⁴¹, pneumothorax⁴² and gastric rupture⁴³."  (source)

"The pain and stress of the circumcision experience is intensely traumatic. Taddio et al. have documented behavior suggestive of post-circumcision traumatic stress disorder in infants at the age of six months.^24,27 Rhinehart has documented PTSD from neonatal circumcision in middle-aged men.³¹ Anand and Scalzo suggest that early adverse experiences may result in stress disorders, hyperactivity, and self-destructive behavior.³²

 

For more information on the long-lasting effects of the psycho-trauma of circumcision see Psychological Impacts of Circumcision."  (source)

"Over a dozen studies confirm the extreme pain of circumcision. It has been described as “among the most painful [procedures] performed in neonatal medicine.”( 2) In one study, researchers concluded that the pain was “severe and persistent.”( 3) Increases in heart rate of 55 beats per minute have been recorded, about a 50 percent increase over the baseline.( 4) After circumcision, the level of blood cortisol increased by a factor of three to four times the level prior to circumcision.( 5) Investigators reported, “This level of pain would not be tolerated by older patients.” (source)

"Some studies found differences in sleep patterns and more irritability among circumcised infants.( 17) In addition, changes in infant-maternal interaction were observed during the first twenty-four hours after circumcision.( 18) For example, breast- and bottle-fed infants’ feeding behavior has been shown to deteriorate after circumcision.( 19) Other behavior differences have been noted on the day following the procedure" (source)

"In one of the most important studies, the behavior of nearly 90 percent of circumcised infants significantly changed after the circumcision.( 23) Some became more active, and some became less active. The quality of the change generally was associated with whether they were crying or quiet respectively at the start of the circumcision. This suggests the use of different coping styles by infants when they are subjected to extreme pain. In addition, the researchers observed that circumcised infants had lessened ability to comfort themselves or to be comforted by others." (source)

An EXCELLENT look at cut vs. intact outcome statistics, a MUST read for anyone considering circumcision: LINK