Lauren's Story

Well, my first son, he's almost 5, was cut.

I just didn't even really think about it, I just thought it was something that we did to boys. I guess I believed the "cleaner" myth, but I really didn't give it much thought. This wasn't like me, I'm very cynical and usually question EVERYTHING. I spent hours upon hours researching vaccines, but didn't give a second thought to cutting a part of my son off?! It was all I knew...

My husband was cut so I figured what could be wrong, he was "fine" right? I remember after he came back from being cut, he had a lot of bleeding and the nurses had to keep checking on him. In my euphoric after birth state, I still didn't realize what I had done. I remember the hospital showing us a video on "purple crying" but nothing informing us about the unnecessary, damaging surgery they were about to put him through.

I didn't have Face.book when I was pregnant with him, it wasn't until about three months after he was born that I opened up a Face.book account. I remember being on a "mommy page", it was probably a thread about vaccines, and I remember someone bringing up circumcision and referring to it as mutilation.

THAT was my lightbulb moment! 

 I MUTILATED my boy, huh? I started researching, I watched a video and the sickness in my stomach has never really subsided from what I allowed to happen to him. I felt very angry for a long time. Angry at the doctor that did it and angry that no one said anything to me or informed me and I even felt a little anger towards my husband because I felt like if he wasn't cut I would have questioned it. I know it's not his fault though.

Fast forward to when my son was about 3 1/2, he was diagnosed with Meatal Stenosis. No wonder we had such issues with potty learning. He had the corrective surgery last June at 4 years old. His diagnosis compelled me even more to speak out about this.

My second son who is now 18 months is intact and hasn't had ANY issues. It's so easy to care for. I look at him and he looks so normal and natural, and my first son looks mutilated because he was, and it has changed both of our worlds FOREVER, and I'm SO sorry.

 Lauren Meyer Intactivist