My Son, Clayton

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For the preceding week, my four month old son, Clayton, would only nurse lying on his side. My lactation consultant said he needed to have an examination by a doctor to rule out an ear infection or a problem with his neck. I made an appointment to see my doctor on August 12, 1993.

When I arrived, she was not in, so I met with her nurse practitioner, Ms. Sherri Fauch. She took a detailed medical history, explained she needed to listen to my son's lungs, and visually examine his nose and ears. She said he had ear wax buildup that needed to be removed, but Clayton would not like it. He began to cry as he sat on my lap but she pressed on with her exam. She palpated his abdomen, then quickly pulled back his Velcro diaper wraps to check his testicles. Then she aggressively grabbed his penis and began to pull the foreskin back - I quickly and frantically responded that I did not want his foreskin retracted. Ms. Fauch said, "I am not. I am looking for an opening," yet she continued to pull back and retract his foreskin - so I pushed her hand away. My son was crying. After she began retracting, his cry had an entirely different sound to it. Ms. Fauch pushed my hand away to continue the retraction - I yelled for her to stop so I could calm my son down. She stopped - and proclaimed my son "had an ear infection," and said she would be right back.

Clayton had calmed down, but I was still shaky when Ms. Fauch came back. She started to explain how to use nose drops to break up the congestion and how to give him Ampicillin. I told her I was so shaken I could not concentrate - she had to repeat herself several times.

I asked Ms. Fauch if there was something she needed to check on his penis and she said she would on his four month exam. I then asked her how he contracted this "ear infection". She replied that he had a cold that went to his ear and there was no prevention for ear infections - yet he had never had a cold.

When I left the office I was very upset at her level of aggression with my son, retracting the foreskin of his penis, and her overall poor level of medical knowledge. I drove immediately to my old pediatrician's office - in tears - and she agreed to see Clayton right away. She stated that Clayton did not have an ear infection, the area was probably red due to his crying, and she was not sure why his penis had been examined.

I was so upset that I missed my appointment with the breast feeding consultants. I went home, and when Clayton was asleep, I called Ms. Fauch. I asked her point blank why she was looking at Clayton's penis. She explained that she needed to see the urethra opening.

I asked, "Do you need to retract to do that?"

She replied, "On some, yes - I will retract to see the opening - it is important to see the opening. Otherwise he may get an infection."

I then asked her why she diagnosed an ear infection when my former pediatrician said Clayton did not have one.

She said, "I saw one." I then asked her why she had to press on with the exam when my son was so upset.

She replied, "It is better to get it over with."

I then asked her if she knew that the American Academy of Pediatrics said that infants with an uncircumcised penis were not to be retracted - therefore what she was doing was horribly wrong.

She said she was sorry I felt that way, but that she was "correct in her procedures."

This infuriated me. I called the office manager of the clinic to lodge a complaint. She listened and said she was "horrified at my experience." She said that the doctor would call me back on Thursday when she returned. Then she gave me the names of two other people with whom to lodge a complaint. Their office was not open. The operator paged a third person, who told me that one of the two would call back tomorrow to assist me in lodging a complaint. I heard nothing....

On Friday, August 13th, I called several times only to reach someone at 4 PM. By this time I was very upset with these so­called medical professionals. I did not know if my son's membrane had been damaged; I did not know what to look for, let alone whom to talk to about this incident.

Four days later, Dr. Glover, who was originally supposed to see me, called me. She said she had not spoken to Ms. Fauch yet, but would do so. She explained that it was important to retract the foreskin - not like an adult male's, but enough to see the urethral opening as it might not be in the right place. She said that if it was not in the right place, it would cause an infection. She said, "My son's foreskin was long and closed and I would not retract it as it would cause him pain." I asked her why it was not important to see her own son's - yet it was important to cause my son pain.

She replied, "..to prevent an infection."

This whole incident has left me very upset. For the next week I could not sleep without touching my son. I had nightmares and felt very distrustful of the healthcare profession. I fear they may have physically harmed my son. The level of aggression is haunting - and the level of misinformation is alarming.

[Many observers describe a compulsion to manipulate the infant penis. It should be left alone. As long as the infant can urinate, nothing need be done. If the meatal opening is displaced, it will show itself in due time. Partial retraction will increase the risk of infection. —George Denniston, MD, MPH]

Mrs Schneider took Ms. Fauch to Small Claims Court. On the appointed date, Ms. Fauch did not appear. The judge gave the verdict in favor of Mrs Schneider, and awarded her $100, which was paid by Ms. Fauch. The incident has been submitted to the Nurses Quality Control Assurance Board.