"To circumcise or not to circumcise?"?

Question

To circumcise or not to circumcise. I'm 31weeks 2days pregnant the doctor ask me if I was thinking or wanted to circumcise my baby after he was born. I'm really not sure what is the best for him if to circumcise or not to. My mother-in-law is against it and my mother supports it. What are your thoughts about it? Do you think infant should have a circumcision? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Ignore the Myths,

Get the Facts


The following cultural beliefs, or myths, are often used as reasons for circumcision. After each myth, some relevant facts are provided to present a more accurate picture of this procedure. Parents should understand the full implications of circumcision before making this irreversible decision for their child.

Myth #1: Circumcision is recommended by doctors and medical organizations

Fact: Circumcision is not recommended by any national medical association in the world. Fifteen national and international medical associations have extensively studied infant circumcision and its effects and found no significant evidence to support this practice. In March 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concluded that infant circumcision is not recommended as a routine procedure.1 The circumcision policy statements of the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians have concurred with this position.2-3 The AMA calls infant circumcision “non-therapeutic.”

Myth #2: It’s just a little piece of skin, he won’t miss it.

Fact: The prepuce (foreskin) makes up as much as half of the skin system of the penis.4 It is an extension of the shaft skin that folds over onto itself, completely covering and protecting the glans (an internal organ) and provides the mobility of the shaft skin necessary for frictionless intercourse and masturbation. The foreskin has three known functions: protective, immunological, and sexual. It contains about 10,000 highly specialized nerve endings and several feet of blood vessels. An adult male foreskin, if unfolded and spread out, would be about the size of index card (3 x 5 inches), much more than a “little piece of skin.” Many sexually active men circumcised in adulthood report a significant decrease in sexual pleasure and comfort because of the loss of sensitive nerve endings, skin mobility and natural lubrication.

Myth #3: The care of a circumcised penis is easier than an intact penis.

Fact: For the care of an intact penis, the AAP recommends, “Leave it alone.” 5 No special care is required – an intact child should have the external surface of his penis (and the rest of his body) washed regularly to keep clean. When a male is older and can retract his foreskin (which typically occurs by puberty), a simple rinsing is all that is necessary. 6 Other cultural myths about special cleaning procedures are just that – myth.

Myth #4: Circumcision protects males from urinary tract infections.

Fact: Overall, urinary tract infections (UTI) occur at about the same rate in male and female infants during the first six months of life.7 Regardless of circumcision status, infants who present with their first UTI at 6 months (or less) are likely to have an underlying genitouninary abnormality. In children with a normal underlying anatomy, a study found as many circumcised infants with a UTI as those who retained their foreskin.8 The appropriate treatment for UTI, in males as well as females, is antibiotics, not prophylactic excision of the prepuce. According to the AAP, “Urinary tract infections are usually not life threatening and are easily treated in most cases.” Breastfeeding provides some measure of protection against UTI during the first six months of life.9

Myth #5: Circumcision is effective in the prevention of penile cancer.

Fact: "The American Cancer Society does not consider routine circumcision to be a valid or effective measure to prevent such cancers... Penile cancer is an extremely rare condition, affecting one in 200,000 men... Perpetrating the mistaken belief that circumcision prevents cancer is inappropriate.'' 10

The American Medical Association, in a July 2000 report, states, “… because this disease [penile cancer] is rare and occurs later in life, the use of circumcision as a preventive practice is not justified.” 2

Myth #6: Almost everyone is circumcised…I don’t want my son to be teased in the locker room.

Fact: The circumcision rate for males worldwide is about 15%. Even in the US, the only country that circumcises a majority of its male newborns for non-religious reasons, the circumcision rate is decreasing. According the National Center for Health Statistics, the US circumcision rate is approximately 60% (varies widely by region) and slowly decreasing. According to many intact males, the “teasing” concern is vastly overstated. For many boys, genital status is neither an important issue nor one that is discussed. In the unlikely event of concerns later in life, at least the person can make his own decision about an irreversible body alteration that has no medical justification.

Myth #7: Circumcision is a simple and painless procedure… it only takes a few minutes.

Fact: While circumcision is a relatively quick procedure, it is extremely painful for the infant. The initial part of the process involves a forced separation of the foreskin, which is fused to the glans (head) in much the same way as a fingernail is joined to the finger. The AAP says the following about EMLA cream, one of the most common pain relief methods, “The analgesic effect is limited during the phases associated with extensive tissue trauma…” 1 Although they cannot remember the pain as adults, circumcised male infants have increased pain response in vaccinations 4 to 6 months later.11 Circumcision appears to lower the pain threshold.

Myth #8: Circumcision makes the penis cleaner and more hygienic.

Fact: Circumcision removes the protective portion of mobile shaft skin, which is intended to cover the glans (head) of the penis. The glans is the internal portion of genitalia (for both genders). Circumcision artificially exposes and denudes this highly sensitive tissue, resulting in a buildup of keratin and a dry, densensitized part of the penis. And contrary to popular myth, more sensation does not lead tp control problems. Based on reports from men circumcised as adults, just the opposite is true. With more sensation, a man has better feedback and can better determine his proximity to the “orgasmic threshold.”

Myth #9: Circumcision prevents AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Fact: Some studies show that circumcision has a slight preventive effect for AIDS and some STDs; however, other studies show an insignificant or opposite effect, especially for chlamydia. The bottom line: sexual practices have a much greater effect on the chance of becoming infected than circumcision status. If someone acts on the misconception that circumcision alone will protect them, they are taking unwise chances.

Myth #10: The history of non-religious circumcision is based on disease prevention.

Fact: Non-ritual circumcision evolved from a misunderstanding of bodily function by physicians of the late-19th century.12 Many doctors of that era believed that a normal foreskin could cause disease and lead to increased incidence of “self-abuse.” John Harvey Kellogg, of cereal fame, was a proponent of genital cutting as a cure for this “horrible practice.” He recommended performing circumcision “without administering an anesthetic, as the pain attending the operation will have a salutary [health-giving] effect upon the mind, especially if connected with the idea of punishment.”

Answer 2

God created man and woman to enjoy each other, then some old men came along and made up some rules to mess that up. If male genital mutilation was so necessary in the desserts, why didn't the Israelites "circumcise" while they were wandering around in the wilderness for forty years? That would have been one time they would have had no access to hygiene, it was not written anywhere that their "organs" fell off. The "doctors" that endorse male genital mutilation are the ones that profit by it, and most likely don't have the abilities or skills to make it in the medical industry by doing anything worthwhile.

Answer 3

It can be a regional thing or a religious thing. Everyone has their own reasons for why or why to not do it.
1) Some think that for medical reasons it is better to be circumcised because it is easier to clean the penis. There is a big argument about this as some would say the benefits are extremely minimal.
2) Regional. Europeans, Asia and the West of the U.S. are mostly uncircumcised. Mainly it runs in the family. If the father was circumcised then any male offspring tend to follow suit and vice versa.
3) Religion. Some religions require that you must be circumcised.
4) Sexual performance? If you do the research, some men who were cut wish they were not because the head of the penis loses sensitivity. And so sex is not as gratifying.
5) Some parents can't deal with putting their son through the ordeal of having their baby son's foreskin getting cut off because it is painful.
Reason # 5 is where I fall in. But that is my personal choice.
If you choose not to have it done, teach him how to clean it when he is older and there will be no problems. Like I said earlier most of Europe/Asia is uncircumcised and I do not see any statistics to say that they have anymore problems than those countries that do circumcise.
W

Answer 4

Hey Maple please don’t LIE and give people FALSE info. What is barbaric is your pathetic tries to mislead others with your irrational and fanatical anti-circ pseudo-theories.

It’s FALSE that in Sweden is illegal. How can surgical procedure be illegal anywhere? What Sweden has done is simply to pass a law that makes it compulsory for a doctor or nurse to be present at circumcisions done outside hospitals (Religious circumcision are in many cases done at home). That’s all. Totally wrong what Maple claims.

Very few educated parents do that? Please, circumcision rates are increasing, and about 85% of American males still get circumcised, so you want to imply most people in America are not educated? I’d say that are the educated parents that definitely DO choose circumcision, since they are aware of its benefits.

Extremely uncommon in the world? In which world? Your world? Circumcision is very common around the world, and now that it has been proved that protects against AIDS it will get even more common.

Sex with circumcised men is much better, scientific research shows. Again, Maple is wrong.

It is much more difficult to keep an uncircumcised penis clean than a circumcised one. Uncircumcised penises get a white sticky stuff called smegma under the foreskin, which composed by fat, sweat, germs, dead cells and urine trapped by the foreskin. This is very smelly and can be very dangerous if not washed on a daily basis, leading to urinary infections.
Circumcised penises NEVER get smegma. Since smegma has a very strong smell, in many cases, even if you wash daily, there will still be a ‘background’ smell.

Nowadays NO ONE dies from circumcisions performed by doctors in developed countries. Maple again is lying. Penis cancer is not that uncommon, especially with those who are not circumcised. Want to see a picture of an uncircumcised penis that is suffering from penis cancer? Have a look: http://www.circinfo.net/images/penile_cancer.jpg

Amputation, botched circumcision and all the stories Maple tells ONLY happen in third world countries, with low standards of health services. In America this just cannot happen, simply because they don’t use a scalpel anymore. They use a clamp (Gomco clamp) or a plastic ring (Plastibell), which compresses the foreskin to avoid any blood loss. Then they cut using the clamp or ring as a guide, so it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE for anything to go wrong!

Want a sensible and realistic view? I think the answers given by Scuba, Estefania T or popibz are very reasonable and useful.

Answer 5

When we were told we'd be having a son, I gave the option to my husband. Then during child birth classes and asking other parents I began wanting him to not be circumcised. After he was born we asked for more information and nurses opinions. The same answer we kept hearing was, " Usually the boy is done as the father. So if the father isn't, neither should be the boy." And this was for the ideal of the boy looking like the father and nothing else. Well after talking to so many people I decided not to and asked my husband to support me. He gave the okay! When the doctor performing the procedure asked us and we said no, he thanked my husband (and this guy was white and circumcised himself). He said 99% of the world is not circumcised. And that those that are, are Americans, the Jewish, and the Muslim. All the studies people keep mentioning are old and out of date. The most recent information I got from the hospital (sorry obviously I can't post) said there was no difference in infection, except when the foreskin begins to come away on its own. But when that happens (early adolescent), if they don't clean it and it gets infected, they will learn quickly to keep it clean. Just go with your gut!! And if worse comes to worse, make him as his father is!

Answer 6

I can proudly say that I took my baby home whole... whole and NICELY CIRCUMCISED.

Circumcied does not mean hes less whole than if he were left uncircumcised.


Circumcised is CLEANER, HEALTHIER.

With an uncircumcied penis you NEED to retract the foreskin to wash under it, otherwise he will end up with INFECTIONS most of the time, and he will eventually need to get circumcied. So its better to do it the earier the better ( Boys have to be taught to wash under their foreskin when bathing - it doesn't come naturally to them. This can only be done by the parents gently retracting the foreskin as far as it will easily go and washing under it at every bath time.



More benefits... LESS RISK of STD's (HIV, herpes, syphilis)

Looks like everyone else, and so he doesn't have to worry about having a WEIRD-looking penis.

Do you want too find very good and reasonable info? Have a look at the following sites:

http://www.circinfo.net

http://www.circinfo.com

http://www.circlist.com/circhome.html


IT'S JUST WRONG NOT TO GIVE HIM THE CHANCE TO BE CIRCUMCISED

Answer 7

I understand your position. My husband and I were in the same boat while I was pregnant with my son. In the end, we decided not to have him circumsized and will let him have the choice when he is old enough to decide. People will tell you that a cut penis is more hygenic and that HIV infection rates are lower. Check out the numbers, though. They are very, very small.

We saw a baby boy get circumsized and it really was terrifying for the baby as well as the parents. There is absolutely no need to cut your son. In this country, we leave our daughters alone...we need to learn to leave our sons alone, too!

Like someone else mentioned, it's ultimately your choice. Do a lot of reading. You'll find that the more educated and informed the parents are, the less likely they are to have the sons circumsized. I think that says a lot.

Good luck. It's a hard decision to make..but remember, boys can always have it done when they are older. My husband is a urologist and older boys/men come in all the time to have it done.

Answer 8

Oh, please don't have a healthy part of your son's genitals cut off. Please, please, go to http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=44

This is a forum about the myths of circ vs. intact. There is so much good info there.

I can PROUDLY say that I brought the whole baby home - my son is intact. NO, you DO NOT have to retract an infants penis to clean it out. ALL you do is wipe the outside like you would a finger. No special cleaning AT ALL. The forskin is "glued" to the head of the penis by the same material that your fingernails are glued to your fingers with. It doesn't come undone until the child is much older, usually around puberty.

Please read this article. I opened my eyes to SO much.
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/circumcision/against-circumcision.html

Oh, and "the baby should look like dad" thing is a MYTH. Do fathers and sons really sit around all day comparing penises? Trust me, if you son does notice a difference, he's going to notice the size difference and the fact that dad has hair on his and he doesn't way before he notices that his dad doesn't have a foreskin.

Answer 9

no you should not do this, it is errogoneous skin, anyone who tells you otherwise is misleading you, there is no skin on the body that cannot be felt, the most sensitive part of a man's body is no exception.
It is easy to keep intact penis's clean, just like you would a vagina. If you dont' clean a vagina it will smell, same for penis, or any body part that isn't cleaned for that matter so don't listen to people who say it smells. It does not protect against stds or aids, education and safe sex practices does. The health complications are rare and even if one does occur it's easy to take care of with antibiotics, not circumcision. There is many people in the US who don't understand how to take care of intact penis's as a consequence of cutting babies penis's for such a long time, first 100 yrs ago to cure masturbation. If anyone tells you cancer, well it's one of the rarest forms of cancer and the US who circ's so much cancer rate is on the rise while Britain who does not practice circ, cancer is getting less.
It is not your body and you don't have a right to cut off a healthy part of someone's body, without their consent, it's abuse whether legal or not. The grown men who have had this done is usually done for medical reasons (more then likely could have been dealt with another way but that's where ignorance comes in) and of course they would think it feels better. What about the men who have done it and say it's the worst thing they have ever done. Besides this, mens' penis heads have developed, babies foreskin doesnt' detatch from the head until 5 - teens, therefor it's impossible for the head to develop because it has to be ripped apart like a fingernail. Make the right choice, let him decide,
Mutilate: to injure, disfigure, or make imperfect by removing or irreparably damaging parts: Vandals mutilated the painting.
2.to deprive (a person or animal) of a limb or other essential part.
1. To deprive of a limb or an essential part; cripple.
2. To disfigure by damaging irreparably: mutilate a statue. See Synonyms at batter1.
3. To make imperfect by excising or altering parts.

and lastly if it's religious, you don' have the right to push your beliefs on somone else, they have to make that decision for themselves and not only are you pushing yoru beliefs on someone else you are also causing bodily harm

Answer 10

You should definitely do some research although, I will warn you, most websites (and baby books for that matter) are anti-circumcision, so it's hard to find reliable information. Most women generally go with their gut, like for me, although I agree with most of the information against circ. really it just feels totally wrong and I don't think I could ever do that to my baby. But, if you think that you really don't have an opinion, definitely research cause this could seriously affect your son's life either way. Here are some links to websites that are relatively unbiased, especially the family doctor one, they are just explanatory. I'm really disturbed by all the women on here saying "uncut penises are gross," I mean, how shallow can you be. It's not like penises are that great looking to begin with and who cares? If you are having sex with someone, you should like him enough to be able to get past that. Anyway, good luck whatever you choose. I wish your son the best as well.

Answer 11

If you circumsize then your baby has a better chance of getting an infection. I didn't get my son circumsized because I was afraid that he would get an infection and then it would become something serious. But there are some cases where a baby can get and infection even with the skin. I see it this way when you get a baby circumsized then you have to spend more care time cleaning it in the tub and when you change him. With uncircumsized you just wipe really good around that area and don't pull the foreskin back and you will be fine.