Should I circumcise??

Question

ok, I have a son from a previous relationship who is NOT circumcised, and my husband now also has a son with his ex who IS. He is very adament that this baby should be circumsiced ( he says the bible says so, so it should be done) but I think it's totally barbaric! the doctor showed me the room and the contraption they use to hold the baby down with my first son, and refused to do it then... what should I do???

Answer 1

Do a Google search on circumcision. It is done in only about 40% of male babies born today. Working in a daycare I see more foreskins than bare glans. It is barbaric, painful, traumatizing, and unless the foreskin presents a health risk, it is TOTALLY unneeded. Circumcision.org and medical journals will tell you the same thing. Most other civilized countries only offer the service if it is for religious or health reasons and refuse it otherwise.

I have done numerous reports and speeches on this subject and will tell you so that one doctor even went as far as to question whether it directly related to the increase in male impotence in the US. It desensitizes the penis by exposing nerve endings to whatever may contact it.

The actual reason the practice was started (here is how it relates to the bible) is that it was thought to be a cure for masturbation.

Most other countries will not cover circumcision under insurance because it is a cosmetic procedure. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement that says though there is existing scientific evidence that indicates medical benefits of circumcision, the benefits are not strong enough to recommend this as a routine practice. 90% of male babies in the US were cut in 1979, whereas only 60% had the procedure done in 1996. One in ever 500 procedures has a serious risk - bleeding, bruising, feeding problems, sleep troubles, some go into traumaic shock,. 2-10% of chldren circumcised experience this.

Answer 2

I have a 5 month old son, and he was circumcised. When making my decision I first researched it online and decided against it, because I too thought it was barbaric. Then, I spoke with my OB/GYN and my husband and both were pro-circumcision. There are complications that can occur (but it is very rare) and it is not medially necessary. However, it is easier for a child or man to keep his penis clean if he IS circumcised. Men who are not circumcised have a tendency to get yeast infections and pass them to women if they are sexually active, because it is difficult to keep themselves as clean and necessary. My own experience was fine. They usually give some sort of pain relief to the baby, and most of the time (unless it is ceremonial) the parents aren't present when it is done. My son was sound asleep shortly after it was done, and when I changed his diaper he didn't wake up. I've never had a problem with it, and keeping him clean when I change the diaper is a piece of cake. Talk to your OB about it!

Answer 3

Hopefully you and your husband calmly talk this out and come to a mutual decision. The doctors told me a boy usually has what his father has. So, if Dad is circumcised, then usually the child is. I don't want to tell you what to do because this is a joint decision between you and your husband. I considered high school locker room talk and how many kids would have it done versus not. Of course you don't want your child to stand out and be teased, but you need to stick with your beliefs and teach your son it's OK to be different, too. Hey, maybe you'll end up having a girl!

Answer 4

From what I understand, in biblical times men just had the very tip of the foreskin removed, not the whole thing. In the New Testament when Paul talks about circed or not circed he does so because men who were circed would stretch the foreskin out so it would look like they had not been circed.
I think that you should leave the skin alone and let the child decide when he is older. The penis will be larger then and they can do a very accurate job with removal if that is what he wants. Many of my friends do not circ their boys. Do you know that the U.S, is the ONLY country that does routine circs? And now many insurance companies are starting to NOT pay for the procedure? Even the American Pediatrics have said that circ is not needed. It is totally a vanity issue at this point.
Look up the facts on Google and talk it over with your hubby. I think you both need to decide on this together.

Answer 5

yes i had the same problem with my twins they are now 7 months are still not circumcised.
Talking to a doctor for my son when he had some testicle problems told me that it is getting more common that the adults are bringing their children back in. The kids at a older age are having more and more infections as well as getting made fun of!

The nice thing about it is that they now wait till the baby is over a year then knock them out for the procedure. I am going to take my twins in after a year and would recommend in having it done.
It will be much more painful as an adult or even a teen and save on his embarrassment later on in life.

Answer 6

I'm sure that the answers above me will point out that a circumcised penis requires less cleaning and is not as prone to infections as the uncircumcised one... this is a matter where you should let your husband have his way (because he's right) --- and if you want your son to get laid on a regular basis when he grows up. Many women won't touch a penis that is not nicely clipped.

Answer 7

My husband and I went through this. I let him pick the middle name, and he let me refuse circ. It is an amputation of a useful and healthy body part. I circ'd my first son before I knew better. My second has all of his God-given parts and now my husband has come around and is quite happy about it. He wishes he still had his now. Penn & Teller did an episode of Bullsh*t on this topic. You could even show your husband that. It IS NOT dirtier. That's just silly. Also, would you cut off any part of your body that may or may not cause a hassle in your life? They all can. It is a body part, not to be randomly and painfully amputated. He can choose to have it removed when he gets older, but if it's gone, there's no getting it back. But I think most men want to keep theirs. 85% of the planet does not do this.

Answer 8

slap your husband and tell him your not cutting anything off your son that isn't cancer (not his foreskin not his arm not his nose) point out that there are a lot of barbaric things god tells people to do in the bible and when your son is old enough to make the decision he can go to the doctor and have it done himself (but it can never be undone if you do it and he doesn't want it done)
also I recommend you don't have a child with him, this will be a worse problem if the child is his (sorry if that sounds mean it isn't meant to)


I'm sorry I also needed to add to all the idiots that keep saying that it is easier to clean if you are circumcised do you wash between the cheeks of your butt? would it be easier to clean your butt if you had no cheeks? o well then maybe you should be lazy and cut them off... hygiene is hygiene you need to wash period, since when is it harder to wash behind your ears because they stick out...

Answer 9

Yes, get it done. It's easier to keep clean and causes less hygiene problems.

It's a lot easier to do it when the child is a baby than to have him decide as an adult that he wants it done later.

Forget what the Bible says...circumcision is just more practical.

Answer 10

Circumcision is an ancient & cruel ritual.
See what the person before me has written: 'easier to keep clean' which was true during biblical days in the desert, and a shortage of water. What next? cut off the ears to save on qtips???

Teach your son proper hygiene and leave his foreskin intact.

If God intended the foreskin to be cut off, he wouldn't have put it there in the first place. Now we are second-guessing God???