Jesshosy's Notes

Being one of the oldest and most common surgical procedures known, perhaps the term Male Circumcision (surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis) is not uncommon to us. Normally this procedure was undertaken due to cultural, religious and social reasons. But with the advancement of the medical studies, male circumcision is now strongly encouraged by WHO as scientific evidence have tied the benefits of this procedure to the reducing possibility of sexually transmitted disease including the most serious type of STD: HIV.

HOWEVER, do you know that while male circumcision is strongly encouraged, female circumcision on the other hand is strictly opposed?

Female Circumcision, is also known as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) (surgical removal of all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs). Similar to male circumcision, this practice is conducted in regards to traditional, cultural, and religious procedures.

Unfortunately, on the contrary to male circumcision, female circumcision practice that happens frequently in Africa, is extremely controversial due to 2 reasons: (a) issue of consent and (b) safety and consequences of the procedure.

(a) Issue of Consent – Most of the time, the procedure is normally carried out when child is between the ages of 4 to 8, in which it means that the child are still at innocent age to determine if they want the procedure or not. Decisions were being made merely by parents.

(b) Safety and consequences of the procedure - Due to the banned of this procedure, superstitions that persist have led to illegal/underground circumcision practices. Female circumcision performed by under the lack of medical training, anesthetics, sterilization and use of proper medical instruments have caused: death through shock from immense pain, excessive bleeding, infections, urinary and reproductive tract infections, menstrual flow blocked, scarring, infertility, infibulated women, increase risk of infant death during delivery, and many more side effects.

Horror of Female Circumcision

The issue of female circumcision is therefore still hot debate as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has stated that [the] practice violates the basic rights of women and girls, [...]” and “[...] female genital mutilation or cutting is not required by any religion.”

References:

http://www.unaids.org/en/PolicyAndPractice/Prevention/MaleCircumcision/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_cutting

Cord Blood Stem Cell Preservation is a more and more common topic of discussion among expecting parents. A lot of people however are not very sure of what is the actual usage of cord blood stem cell, why are stem cells stored, and how are cord blood stem cells collected?:

What are cord blood stem cells? Cord blood is blood collected from the umblical cord and placenta after the birth of a baby. It is rich in stem cells, the special cells of the body that have the ability to develop into any cell types in the body (eg. body organs, blood elements, nerves and muscle cells).

Why are stem cells stored? The storage of stem cells from cord blood can be potentially life-saving for your child, as his stem cells can be accessed at a later date when needed to provide therapeutic treatments available currently and in the future. In addition, brothers and sisters can possibly share the use of each other’s stem cells. Stem cells have been used in therapy of various disease such as: Cancers, Leukemias, Stem Cell Disorders, Inherited/Cogenital Disorders (Thalassaemia, Severe combined immunodeficiency), etc.

How to collect cord blood stem cells?

Nowadays, some stem cells preservation providers also bundles their services together with insurance for the stem cells preservation. So you can also check out about it from your own insurance agents before you deliver your child.