Should I let them circumcise my little boy?

Question

I don't know what to do, I really don't want to let them do it.. but everyone says it's for the better and that he needs it done. A couple years ago I was with someone who hadn't been circumcised, and it wasn't weird or anything.. so what's the big deal? I just don't want my child to be in pain the first hours he's welcomed into the world.. and I definetly don't want him to have it later than that either. Any suggestions? Thank you!

Answer 1

Don't have him circumcised. There is no medical bennifit to it. Yes you may have to teach hm hygene when he is a little older, but you should do that either way. Other than for religeos reasons, circumsicion is a purly cosmetic surgery and it is extreamly painful for the infant. If you've ever seen one performed, the doctor actually straps the infant down, tying his hands and feet so he cant flail.

Circumcision began on non jews during the victorian area. It was believed that it kept young boys from touching themselves. Anyone who says he NEEDS it done is wrong. In fact, it's very rarely done in Europe.

Please, take the whole baby home, If as an adult he decides a circumcision is something he wants, it's a very simple procedure and can often be don right in the doctor office, but let him make the choice when he's older.

Thank you and congradulations.

Answer 2

I have done a lot of research into this as my husband of 18 years recently told me he has been very resentfull and feels mutilated by his circumsision. It also made him feel less of a man. It has affected him emotionaly on many levels. In my research I have found that this is very common, and an Australian scientist has done a study on this and it shows that a huge number of men exibit the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder as a result of circ. Also for every study that shows any benifit of circ I have found many more that refute these findings. It is very painful and there can be physical complications for both the baby and the man. My husband has a succsessful carreer and is a good family man. I would never have suspected the trauma he has been hiding all his life. His circ is actually what would be considered good - not too tight, no infections etc.. But he has spent the last 18 months trying to regrow the lost skin, and has been successful with still an estimated 12 months to go. There are many websites you can go to to investigate this further and I suggest you look at those to get a full perspective of what it is your are about to let happen to your son and how it has affected many other men and boys as he can never get it back exactly as it was. My husband believes it is completely unethical to remove healthy sexual tissue from a boy or a girl.

Answer 3

The American Academy of Pediatrics now refuses to recommend the practice on neonatal boys. Statistics also indicate that circumcision is on the decline. It's health benefits are limited and it has been suggested that daily cleanliness makes up for any good circumcision may do.

As for the cultural aspect, yes, most boys are circumcised in the USA and most women are used to see a circumcised penis. However, doing the "normal" thing should not affect your own personal decision. In an era of declining circumcision, it is possible that in 50 years nearly no boys will be circumcised, reversing the cultural trend. If a concern exists about looking his his father, you may wish to discuss with his father if he cares whether or not his penis looks like him.

Personally, I would opt out of the procedure to save money and to save healing time for unnecessary wounds on a newborn baby's skin. Although they heal fast, there is a risk of increased infection during the first few days of life. Additionally, as an uncircumcised male, I cannot recall a single time when another man remarked or teased me regarding my penis in the locker room or a woman commented about it during an intimate moment. In fact, I brought it up shortly after the relationship begun only to find that she hadn't really even thought about it. Cleanliness is not an issue as long as you have running water and soap. If you are nomadic and living in the desert (like where the practice originated) hygeine may be more difficult to practice.

Answer 4

Well, it's a personal choice. Many people offer the traditional argument that one cannot sufficiently clean under the foreskin and it will get infected. Modern sanitation makes that argument moot.

Some people offer that it's not aesthetic or the penis size will be reduced. That will allow him to glean women who want him for shallow reasons in the future.

That said, my boys were circumcised because I consider it the norm in my culture. My sons (nor any man who had it done) remembers, and most men end up going through horrible pain throughout childhood -- broken legs and arms, sometimes serious diseases. My first son was circumcised by a pediatrician, the second by a urologist who is also a mohel. If you have it done, go to a pediatric urologist, if you can, just in case your son has a particulary large vein there (my second one did; he would have had trouble had he had it done by the pediatrician).

Or remember that it's not necessary, and before the advent of social circumcision in the Judaic tradition, men had been surviving perfectly fine without them for hundreds of thousands of years (my same argument holds regarding women giving birth without technology).

Answer 5

There is no medical reason for circumsision. It is a painful unnecessary procedure. The baby is strapped to whats called a papoose board. Their arms and hands are restrained, so they can't move. Some doctors do use numbing medicine, but the baby still cries. Please don't let anyone pressure you into doing something you don't want to do. A uncircumsised baby is no harder to keep clean. I have two boys and a girl. My boys are not circumsised. My husband and I agreed that it just was not for us.

Answer 6

Yes, circumcise him. It will be easier for you to keep his penis clean and prevent infections, especially if he is in daycare. Then, when he gets older it wil be easier for him as well. My ex wasn't circumcised and he randomly washed his penis 3-5 times a day, and there was concern that condoms weren't as effective, becuase the extra skin around his penis folded over the condom.

Answer 7

I went throught he same issues your struggling with however we opted to go with it mostly on behalf of my husband wanting it more than I. But you need to think of this....there used to be evidence that it was more prone to infection like UTI and STDs but they have found that it's a draw between them both with no realy medical reason for a circunsision to be done. You need to kno the facts as to how they are performed they are not give anything but tylenol when it's performed and they are usually strapped down with their arms and legs in belt like devices this is what mad me mad the most! and if you do get it done it does require special care for a few weeks...i wouldn't do it again if i had a choice or at least i'd try to better educate my husband.

Answer 8

I had the same delemna as you when I had my son. My husband and I decided not to. My husband wasn't and didn't understand why anyone would. God gave him all his body parts for a reason! If God didn't want that particular part on his body, why was it there in the first place? As long as you and your husband/boyfriend teach him the proper cleaning techniques, you should never have any problems.

Answer 9

As I have always been circumcised I only know how that is but I have a friend that had it don when he was in his 20ies and after about 5 years I ask what he preferred. He said it was very painful and he wished his parents had done it when he was a baby. He also said he like it better now.

Answer 10

If you don't want it done, don't let anyone pressure you into it.

If I were you I would say I am not open to any arguments about it, period, because I believe it's wrong to unnecessarily surgically alter someone's body without their consent, and my son is too young to understand and consent, therefore it's wrong to cut him. And I'd command anyone who pressed on, to drop the subject, because it's not open for discussion. Anyone who pushes you further on this needs to be told it's none of their business.