Mothers of boys who have NOT been circumcised....?

Question

when they are babies what do excatly do you have to do to clean their forskin?? will a dr explain it all to me?? what about when they get older, like 6-11, would i have to regularly clean it for the child?? im just debating if i would get my baby (if its a boy) circumcised, im 18 weeks along now.

ok i just saw the intact vid....omg my heart is racing!!!! that looked & sounded like THE most painful thing in this entire world!!!! those poor baby boys!! the father of my baby is uncircumcised & quite honestly i never wanted to have my baby cut, i just really wanted to have some knowledge as to what id be getting myself into....wow that video made me sick to my stomach...i need some fresh air...the poor baby looked skinned, and crimped....OUCH, no wonder the poor thing was screaming like that...

Answer 1

I don't have time to get into the big circ debate right now. I am the mother uncircumcised sons. They have NEVER had a problem with any health, hygiene, or the alleged "teasing" issues that the pro-circ people like to falsely bring up.
I also have several family members and friends with intact (uncircumcised) boys/men. None have ever had problems and they range in age from 72 years to 3 months old.

I am also an OB RN. I am an RN with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, going for my Master's Degree. I'm currently doing some field work in the study of circumcision. I only mention that because I suspect a lot of the people who answer on here are young,or uneducated, or just down right misinformed about foreskin and penile health. I assure you I've seen, taken care of, and researched both circumcised and uncircumcised penis more than at least 95% of the people on here. I know what I'm talking about.
The majority of the doctors & nurses under the age of 40 that I know do not/did not circumcise their baby boys. There is no real medical reason to do so. No medical organization in the US or world endorses routine infant circumcision. It's just a cosmetic procedure that unfortunately, causes the child a tremendous amount of pain and puts the child at risk for surgical infection and hemorrhage. Current US circ rates are about 65%, higher or lower, depending on where you live. So your intact son will certainly not be the only one left uncut in his circle of friends.

To answer your question about cleaning it, there is nothing special you have to do to an infants intact penis. You simply wipe it clean w/ a baby wipe, just like you would a baby girls genitals. As the child gets older, usually between 2 yrs - 6 yrs, the foreskin naturally starts to detach from the glans. Once that happens, you gently want to pull the foreskin back and wash with water. Nothing more is needed. Trust me, it's easier than washing your childs ears - a lot easier. I do have a struggle cleaning my 3 yr olds teeth and ears, but never his intact penis. But you never want to forecfully retract the foreskin, or retract it at all while it has it's adhesions.
A Dr. may or may not explain this, depending on if he/she has experience w/ intact baby boys.
These links will provide more info:
http://www.nocirc.org/ - has info on caring for an intact penis
http://www.intact.ca
http://www.cirp.org
http://www.tornwing.com/peacefulbeginnings
http://www.DoctorsOpposingCircumcision.org

I have one child in the age bracket you asked about. There is nothing special I have to do except to ask him if he washed himself after his bath. The same way I ask if he washed his ears, neck, feet and bottom. The same way I ask "did you do your homework?". I don't ask every night, but occassionally. Just like I ask my daughter the same things.

I applaud you for looking into the circumcision issue. I hope you'll choose to leave your son intact, perfectly as nature & God made him.

BTW- my husband IS circumcised and there's never been an issue about "looking different" either.

Here's a video of an actual circumcision.

http://intact.ca/video.html

It's disturbing, but accurate. Most Drs don't use any anesthesia, either.

Answer 2

Interesting you think it is wrong for 'washington' to affect your son's circumcision, yet fail to realize your son could also have a different opinion then you. The 'extra skin' is to properly accommodate erections and provide padding to make masturbation and sexual activity more pleasurable. Also, skin reattaching to the head is a fairly normally occurrence. This happens because the foreskin and glans are suppose to be attached together until later in life, the inner skin and skin at the scar line will try and reattach since it was separated for the circumcision. I do agree the plastic bell often looks ugly, but so does other techniques (uneven scaring, wide scars).... besides, aesthetics are subjective and really something the child should get to decide. Done as an adult, the appearance of the scar line can be minimized, amount of remaining skin more easily chosen, not to mention choosing the ratio of inner skin/shaftskin left behind, or whether to remove the frenulum. Anti-circumcision movements are more about letting the child decide what he wants for his body, more of a neutral stance. Imagine all the outrage you are feeling now, but for a son that wanted to be left intact. He has to live with that his whole life. You really should research why people are against it. EDIT: Dawn, some moms also did not ask their son what he wanted... they assumed it was what he would want and forced it on him. It seems fitting people are giving their opinions about it to those parents. Besides, they also attempt to give parents way more information then they probably ever researched, at least letting them know what to expect. Just because it may not be easy to hear and may not help their current son, doesn't mean they should be left in the dark.

Answer 3

I had my first son circumcised because I didn't know any better. I just thought it was the thing you were supposed to do. My second child the doctor's couldn't do it because of the way his skin was. They said they'd have to wait for him to develop more and then do the surgery when he was past one year of age. Well, then it would be an actual surgery where they'd have to put him under. I couldn't see putting him through all of that. So, I did a ton of research and found out that there is absolute zero reason to have it done. The more I read the more I was confused at so why this is still a common practice. There is no point to it except that some people think it looks better!!! All the things you hear about disease and infection are myths. They are not true at all. So, my second son is not circumcised and I'm grateful it turned out that way. i'm now pregnant with my third son and we will not have him mutilated. If I could go back, knowing what I know now, we would have never done it to our first child.

Answer 4

I have an 11 year old son. When he was born the doctor told me, if it were his son, he wouldn't have him circumcised. I trusted what the doctor told me. My son is not circumcised. Some people believe it can cause an infection. Like I said my son is now 11. He has never had any problems. You just have to keep clean, that is it! My husband is not circumcised either and he has never had an infection down there, he is 41 years old. It is totally up too you.

Congratulations on your baby!

Answer 5

My son is uncircumcised and we don't have to do anything special in his care. We just wash with water and it's true what lots of people are saying about the foreskin and pulling it back. Never force it back. It has little adhesions on it like your nailbed to your fingernail. You never should break these. They'll come loose on their own and then the head of the penis will be exposed. It happened around 2 with my son. Once that happens you just pull it back, rinse with water, and then pull it forward again. No big deal.

Who ever said in a previous response that circumcision was recommended by the Academy of Pediatrics was incorrect. Of course they aren't going to come out and say "don't ever do it" because they make money off of doing the procedure, but they don't "recommend" it as a routine procedure either. Here's a statement from them. Please note the line that says " However, these benefits are not sufficient for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to recommend that all infant boys be circumcised."

http://www.aap.org/pubed/ZZZJZMEMH4C.htm?&sub_cat=1

http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/circumcision/against-circumcision.html

Answer 6

I chose not to "snip the tip" I spoke with my Dr as I had heard many horror story's about boys getting an infection and having to be done later in life.What my Dr told me is that it is purely cosmetic and cared for properly it will not cause any problems.When you boy is a baby just be sure to use wipes at every bum change. DO NOT force the for skin back as you can cause it to tear and that would cause problems.Just clean it gently. When the boy is older( my son has done this since he was 4} Teach him to pull it back while bathing or in the shower to make sure ti gets clean. Yes it Willl move on its own as it will grow with his penis.I was worried about this as my youngest son had what seemed to be a really tight forskin.I took him to the Dr Who told me not only will it grow with him but little boys do enough tugging on it all by them self's to stretch it sufficiently.Good luck I hope this helps some

Answer 7

When a baby boy is born the foreskin is fused to the head of a penis the way a fingernail is fused to your finger. Do you peel back your fingernail to clean under it? Nope. An uncircumcised penis requires no extra care. Just wipe it with a wipe and wash it with a cloth and soap in the tub, like an ear or finger.

Once your boy is old enough to clean himself (I mean bath himself in general) he will naturally begin to retract it slightly. He will do it gently and only as much as his individual penis has loosened, they loosen at different rates. He will not hurt himself. You can encourage him to clean it, and to pull it back when he pees, it really requires no special care; or at least no more care than say a belly button. Really in a tub of water it will get clean enough all on its own.

The thing with an uncircumcised baby is you need to watch/tell people who are changing your son's diaper not to retract it. Premature retraction will cause extreme pain and may cause permanent scaring. Sometimes toddlers will irritate their penis a bit once they discover how much fun it is to pull on it, thi happens to both circumcised and uncircumcised boys. If this happens you just keep an eye on it to make sure it doens't get out of hand.

Really the US is one of the few places where most boys are circumcised. In Canada boys of my generation(I'm 25) it is about 50/50. Infants it is less than 30% depending on where you live.

In most of Europe it was never that popular either.

Trust me your baby will be born perfect with no extra parts that need to be sliced off whether a boy or girl.

If you would like to see a picture of an uncircumcised penis I can send you one privately. Or ask some moms near you. You may be surprise how small and attached an infant foreskin is.

I could give you a tonne of arguments why not to circumcise, but that isn't what you asked. If you have any more questions about it you may e-mail or IM me if you wish. (BTW I once thought I would circ all my babies so I think I can give you a view from both sides)

Answer 8

Since you husband is not circumcised he should be able to instruct the child how care for himself. How ever care is very simple. As a baby you will need to make sure you pull back on the foreskin (this dosn't hurt them) and make sure you wash around the head of the penis and make sure you dry the head off. It's that simple. The worst thing about not being "cut" is they can grow yeast very easy under the skin and around the head. (which is very easy to get rid of as you know being a woman) As the child grows older you of course teach them how to wash themselves and at the same time you will teach them to take that extra step to keep "willie" clean. I don't see any reason at all why you have to get your child "cut". I hope this helps you.

Answer 9

I did not have my baby circumsized (who is 9 months now) because I viewed it as purely cosmetic surgery. The instructions from our pediatrician is to do nothing...you don't have to clean anything, you don't touch it, etc. It's really no different. A lot of what you hear about circumcision are myths and really archaic beliefs.
You should do a lot of research before you make up your mind. I listed a couple of sites below, but keep in mind they are against circumcision, but I bet if you just talk to people about it you'll get a lot of information because it is a very controversial subject right now. Congrats on your pregnancy!

Answer 10

First of all to all of you who did circumsize your kids, she was not talking to you. she said those who do not circumsize. Any way between birth and the first two years, the foreskin probably will not pull back. Do not force it just gently try to pull it back each bath once it does go back, just clean around it with soap and water. As your child gets older you teach him to do it and usually by the time he learns to do himself, that is when it pulls back. I don't think putting your child through trauma right when they are born is right. Just ask a doctor if it is nessesary. Any honest doctor will tell you it is mainly for religious beleifs. People have been tricked into beleiving it is a normal practice. Would you cut off your nipple because everyone was doing it? Mother nature made us perfect why change that.