What do you think about Circumcision?

Question

My husband wants our baby to have it when he is born but some people have told me its bad. What is good and bad about it?

Answer 1

You are going to get a million responses to this question and they will range from "do it" to "it is barbaric and mutilation".
The best answer I can give is, it is a very personal choice. You and your husband should sit down and discuss it. Why does he want to have it done? What are your concerns and fears about it? Talk to your doctor about it also, ask as many questions as you want.
While the APA does not recommend routine circumcision anymore, it is still up to the parents.
I had my son circumcised and we had no problems at all. He is doing just fine and it is very easy to keep clean. My mom choose not to have my youngest brother circumcised and at age three he had to go in and get it done. While this is rare, I didn't want my son to ever have to go through that.
You will get a lot of people on here that will give links to sites that are just meant to scare you out of it. I saw my son get circumcised and he didn't cry, not even a peep. It was very quick and very painless. But again, it is up to you. I respect peoples decisions not to, and simply ask that they respect my decision to. It is not barbaric and it is not mutilation. It is my choice, it is personal, and you should not have to justify it to anyone.
The good things is it is easy to care for, not only now, but later in life when he grows up. There is less chance for infection and UTI's and honestly most women prefer it.

Good luck and congrats on the baby.

Oh and it cannot effect the bonding and breastfeeding relationship with the baby. Again, scare tactics!!! And no we do not circumcise girls, that is not the issue, we are talking about boys! Stop trying to scare people into thinking it is cruel.

Answer 2

I personally won't do it to my future son(s) only because I feel it is his body, it should be his choice. In all the research I've done, I do not see where it is better to have it done. All these people say that it lowers the chance of UTIs and STDs. Well, I got a UTI when I was younger and I'm circumcised. So, why put him through the pain of getting circumcised when he has just as much of a chance either way. And for the STDs, I hope he's smart enough to use a condom to begin with, and not have sex with someone that has an STD. Foreskin or not, he'll still get the STD.

Answer 3

It's good that you are researching this before you have it done.

That said, please don't!

The myth that an uncircumcised penis is dirty is just that: a myth. The foreskin doesn't retract until age 2 or later- you just wipe down the penis like you would a finger...
However, if you get him circumcised, you will have to apply vaseline and gauze...his wound will be swimming in urine and feces until it heals. When it does heal, the glans (head) will begin to karatinize, forming up to 10 layers of scar tissue by the time he reaches adolescence. The head of the penis is meant to be an internal organ, but after circumcision it becomes an external organ.
The foreskin is a functional organ. It lubricates and protects the glans from bacteria and debris. It has thousands of nerves and makes up approximately half of the skin of the penis. By adulthood, the foreslin will be about 15 square inches- that's alot of skin, very specialized skin. (see link below)
The circumcision rate in the US. is about 55%. It has been dropping consistently and will continue to drop. Insurance companies and Medicare in 17 states do not cover this cosmetic procedure, since the AAP deemed it medically unnecessary.

NO medical organization recommends routine infant circumcision. The "potential" medical benefits are not enough for them to support it.

My son is not circumcised. He has never has a problem. I also know several uncirced men who also have never had problems.

Consider this: NO man or boy has ever died because he had a foreskin.
However, there are risks that come with circumcision, such as: exsessive bleeding, severe infection, penile necrosis, partial or full removal of the glans, meatisis, unnatural curvature, and stunted growth with a botched or too tight circ.

Now, the benefits of circ:
Lowers the chances of a UTI in the first year of life from 1 in 1000 to less than 1 in 100. That's less than one percent. And if, by the small chance there is, that your son gets a UTI, it can be treated as a girl's UTI is treated- with antibiotics.
Lowers the chances of penile cancer. Penile cancer occurs mostly in uncircumcised men. HOWEVER, the current rate is a HALF of a percent. Circumcised men DO get penile cancer. Now when an uncirced man gets it, it usually starts in the foreskin. If the cancer is bad enough, the foreskin can be removed to rid the penis of the cancer. If a circumcised man gts it, he has no foreskin, the cancer is already in the penis and parts of the penis must be removed.
Besides, we don't remove our daughters breast tissue to prevent breast cancer as a preventive measure....and breast cancer is MUCH more common than penile cancer.

Babies are born perfect- why change them? The foreskin is there for a reason. It won't hurt him to leave it there- it WILL hurt him if his foreskin is forcibly removed. Ouch.

I wish you the best of luck, and I hope the links below help.

Answer 4

Good for you and your husband for at least talking about this, and researching it before making a decision. I strongly believe that there is no reason to cut off a part of a babys genitals. It is not healthier, cleaner, better sexually, etc. than an uncircumcized penis. Some boys, circumcized or not, will get urinary tract infections. So do little girls but we don't go around cutting off their labia. I feel that my son was born fine just the way he is and there is no reason to alter that with a serious medical procedure that could go terribly wrong. He is now 7 months old and we don't do anything special to clean it- you absolutely should NOT pull back a babies foreskin. It will retract when he is older. Just like you would talk with a girl about keeping things clean (wiping front to back, etc. ) you would talk with your son about keeping clean. No biggie.

Often I hear comments like "We wanted him to be just like his dad..." People who choose to mutilate their baby boys just because their fathers are... well it's just plain silly! Who cares if your son and husband have similar penises? What a perfect opportunity to talk with your child about people being unique and different. I mean, if your son was born with a big nose and your husband has a small one, would you rush him off for rhinoplasty? Or dye his red hair brown so he could look like dad? Just silly,

And in the US 50 percent of all boy babies are uncircumcized. This means that the arguement that "Most people are..." doesn't hold. By the time these babies grow up and notice each others' penises there will be a good chance that others are like them, uncircumcized. Also, as my husband points out, nobody will tease the kid because really who wants to admit that they are looking at another guys' penis? If anything the lookee will get harassed, not the uncircumcized kid. Oh, and for what it's worth, foreskin actually enhances the sexual experience for men because it constantly moves over the head of the penis causing more friction and pleasure.

Bottom line- just because "everyone else is" isn't a good reason to follow suit. And in this case, more people are not curcumcizing these days because it is completely unnecissary. There are some good points in the articles I listed below as my source.

Answer 5

research the pros and cons of circumcision before you make a decision. infection can happen but is rare. some cases the doctor could cut off more skin then he should have. I had my son circumcised because I know to many men that had to get it done in there 40's and 50's because of infections. I don't know if you have to pay for it or not because here in new brunswick it used to be covered by medicare but now it cost $264.00.

Answer 6

i agree that is a very personal choice. I have a almost 6 yr old son and he was not and we have had no problems..Not even once. There are many web sites to look at for either direction. It does take more time cleaning it but I just could not find a good enough reason to do it.
May you have good luck.

Answer 7

I have two boys who have both been circumcised. I have found that it has been much easier to keep their genital area clean. Since the area is easier to keep clean, we have had less instances of irritation or infection. Our pediatrician told us that baby boys who are circumcised have a less chance of getting urinary tract infections and other irritations. Now that my boys are older, they can clean themselves with little assistance. I really did not care one way or the other if my boys were circumcised, but it was very important to my husband.

You really should talk to your OB/GYN and the pediatrician about this topic and get the information that you need to help make an informed decision.

Answer 8

Well my husband is from India and they choose not to do circumcision. We have spoken about this many times in case we have a boy I wanted his opionion on it. He wants to get circumcised now at the age of 30 for sanitary reasons. That is the main reason for it. Without it you are prone to more infections. The main conflict about it usually revolves around religion. Some believe it is bad to have it done. Doctors advice you have it done but its a personal choice.

Answer 9

As a mom and a foster mom, I have had to deal with both circumcised and uncircumcised and I can tell you that uncircumcised peni' have far more complications the circumcised ones. My own sons are done, but many of the boys I have fostered are not. Several of them have had to have it done later in life and its far worse.
I can also tell you as a former medical assistant that worked in pediatrics that the amount of little boys that came in with infections was way higher than little boys that were circumcised.
As a grown woman who has been with both types of men, I prefer men that are circumcised as opposed to those that aren't. My experiences with men that weren't done weren't uhhh rememberable to say the least.
Circumcised penises are much more asthetically pleasing as well.

Answer 10

you are gonna hear different things about it...some are against it,some like it. I personally would do it if i was having a boy, it's cleaner and better I think, I also know that the sooner the better, some people like to do it right after the baby is born. I would say go for it.....that's a personal opinion