THE QUESTION OF CIRCUMCISION

THE QUESTION OF CIRCUMCISION

 It is wise to consider ahead of time the question of circumcision if your baby turns out to be a boy. Circumcision consists in cutting off the "sleeve" of skin (foreskin) covering the penis, because this skin may encourage the collection of a cheese like substance (smegma) that can cause irritation or infection. It is a simple procedure in little babies. You may wish to have it done for religious reasons, or you may prefer to wait and see whether the doctor recommends it. If your doctor thin] it should be done, have it done early, as soon as he suggest.

 IMMUNIZATION

 It should go without saying that every child deserves to be immunized against the dangerous diseases for which protective inoculations are now easily available. And yet, even now, every year in this country many hundreds of lives are lost because of such preventable diseases as small- pox, diphtheria, tetanus, and measles. Your family doctor or pediatrician can provide these injections. They are also available free, or at very little cost, so lack of money must not keep any child from having protection. 

Any hospital, public health department, court or health officer can provide information about this. Beginning at about the age of two months, your baby's physician will want to undertake an inoculation program. Today, in addition to such protective shots as those for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, small- pox, and typhoid fever, which have been available for many years, there are equally valuable newer' ones-basic new triumphs of preventive medicine-including inoculations for polio, mumps, measles, and German measles.

Still others are under development and new methods of administering vaccines, of combining many of them, for the convenience of child and parents are constantly being worked out. Your physician, aware of this and following the guidance of official bodies such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, will make available the latest and most effective and convenient inoculation program. By all means, follow his advice. 

THE MALE GENITAL SYSTEM AND CIRCUMCISION

THE MALE GENITAL SYSTEM 

Sperm are produced in the testicles, each of which is about two inches long, one inch wide, and less than one inch thick. In man, unlike many animals, sperm production is continuous. Each spermatozoon, when formed, is complete with head, neck, middle piece, and tail. It is jostled along by the production of other sperm until it reaches the epididymis. 

Within this lump of tissue, which sits astride the testicle, sperm mature and gain motility? The motility and ability to fertilize endure for several weeks, after which a sperm cell, if it has not been emitted, degenerates and liquefies. In emission, sperm travel up a tube, the vas deferens. Seminal vesicles produce a yellow fluid which mixes with sperm and constitutes much of the semen; the prostate also contributes a secretion. 

The mixture is ejaculated down the urethra along the penis. In an ejaculation, there may be 300 million or more sperm. Prior to birth, the testes of a boy baby lie within the abdominal cavity. At birth, they descend through the inguinal canal into the scrotum. (If they fail to descend, as sometimes happens, they can usually be surgically placed in the proper position.)

It is because of this passageway, the inguinal canal that rupture (hernia) occurs so much more often in men than in women. You should consult your physician if you notice a bulge in the groin toward the upper part of the scrotum or in the lowest part of the abdomen just above the tight cord that separates it from the thigh. 

Don't listen to people who may tell you to wear a truss. Only a physician is capable of deciding between the relative merits of an operation and a truss in a particular case of hernia. Is circumcision necessary? This operation removes the skin fold called the foreskin or prepuce. It may be necessary if the fold covers the entire end of the penis (the glans) and obstructs passage of urine, or is so tight that irritation results. Otherwise, circumcision is a matter of choice. Some groups have used it for millennia.

The Egyptians practiced circumcision before the Hebrews made it a part of their religious customs. Circumcision is safe and simple when performed in accordance with principles of modern aseptic surgery. It can be performed late in life but is best done when a boy is seven or eight days old and will experience no physical or emotional discomfort. Talk the matter over with your family physician or pediatrician. 

Circumcision does not alter the sexual act or its enjoyment. Some believe that the greater freedom of married Jewish women from cancer of the womb is due to circumcision of their mates and resulting increased cleanliness of the penis. For the uncircumcised, healthy practice is to scrupulously wash foreskin and glans of the penis regularly, and especially before intercourse.