Circumcision a bad thing?

Question

I'm 17 weeks pregnant. I do not know the sex of the baby yet, however I have decided that if it is a boy, I want him circumsized. I am not Jewish, but I find that circumsizion looks better and is healthier, based upon my research. My boyfriend thinks it's mean, but he is circumsized and prefers that he was when he was a baby since he doesn't remember one bit. I want the baby circumsized, is this just cruel or was your son circumsized and what was your deciding factor?

Answer 1

Circumcision is basically a cosmetic procedure- like you stated "it looks better" but not one health organization in the world recommends routine infant circumcision. It is only routinely done in the US and is a human rights issue around the world.

These days it's a personal decision, but I hope you would do some in-depth research into it.
I had 2 girls and 1 boy- my husband is circumcised and we decided not to circ. our son. Would we circumcise our girls? Absolutely not- then why would we do it to him?

Respect your son and his body- let him decide what he wants his penis to look like.

Answer 2

It's not cruel at all - circumcision is healthier and does look better. It only seems cruel because it's such a sensitive area - it doesn't get much more of a private area that that! After the procedure, the baby will cry for a few minutes and then it's like it doesn't even bother them....and they don't remember it. The cap/ring they leave on falls off in like a week or so, and then everything's just fine....not a big deal really. :)

Answer 3

It is not cruel. I think everyone has their own opinion. It is more sanitary to get circumsized. As a child they still feel the pain but they are unable to remember it when they get older so that is when it is best. I know a 4 year old that had gotten sircumsized and he was in so much pain. I would do it before leaving the hospital.

Answer 4

This study shows that one out of three men that wanted to be circumcised, or were convinced they needed to be circumcised are unhappy with the results. What would the results be if they were circumcised against their will?

Here is a study that shows that men contimplating circumcision should be warned of possible loss of sensitivity before they can give informed consent for surgery.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...

Exerpts from the report:

Masood S, Patel HR, Himpson RC, Palmer JH, Mufti GR, Sheriff MK.

OBJECTIVES: Currently no consensus exists about the role of the foreskin or the effect circumcision has on penile sensitivity and overall sexual satisfaction. Our study assesses the effect of circumcision on sexually active men and the relative impact this may have on informed consent prior to surgery.

Penile sensation improved after circumcision in 38% (p = 0.01) but got worse in 18%, with the remainder having no change. Overall satisfaction was 61%.

CONCLUSIONS: Penile sensitivity had variable outcomes after circumcision. The poor outcome of circumcision considered by overall satisfaction rates suggests that when we circumcise men, these outcome data should be discussed during the informed consent process. 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

One out of five men circumcised suffers loss of sensitivity and one out of three is not satisfied with the results, these are not very good odds. This damage is also likely when babies are circumcised but the problems will not be apparent for many years.

I would point out that while this study shows that adult men should be warned of the possibility of sensitivity loss before they can give "informed consent" to circumcision, there is no way that a newborn boy can give his informed consent to an elective procedure that has a greater than 1 in 5 chance of leaving him with an impaired sex-life.

His body. His choice.

Answer 5

There are medical studies coming out all the time showing increasing evidence that circumcision prevents the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. http://africatoday.eh7.co.uk/cgi-bin/public.cgi?sub=news&action=one&cat=65&id=901

I chose to have my son circumcised for many reasons, but mostly for religious and health reasons. And while he did cry during the procedure (as much from being held down as anything else), he nursed afterwards, fell asleep and never seemed to notice it at all, even with a wet diaper. So personally, I think that the pain issue is one of the less important ones to focus on when making this choice.

Answer 6

You seem to really want to circumcize your son. Perhaps you want the world to tell you that circumcision is not a "mean" thing, but in my opinion it is.

If you have a son and you have him circumcised you are basically inflicting on him what is really YOUR preference and YOUR HUSBAND'S preference for a circumcised penis. You son has no say in the matter. He will be forced to undergo the procedure because it pleases you and your husband.

Is that a "nice" thing to do to someone? Have them undergo a cosmetic and medically unecessary procedure so that YOU won't have to be offended by a foreskin? I mean, after all, once the foreskin is cut off you'll never have to look at it again. Does the foreskin make you so uncomfortable that you just HAVE to cut it off?

Your son's penis will be his, and only his, and his foreskin will belong only to him. It is not yours to take away. He should not have to live all the days of his life staring down at a penis that you and your husband weilded power over and told the doctors to snip.

You will be forcing your son to be circumcised, and that is:
1) not fair to your son
2) mean because it satisfies you and your husband and disrespects your son, who may not want to be circumcised
3) kind of selfish and vain of you and your husband
4) a major insult to your son's bodily and personal integrity

If you still choose to circumcise, and want to be "mean", "be mean". But I say "be nice."

Answer 7

circumsizition is not bad but it is pain full for the baby the first two weeks the baby will be a lot more sensitive in that area and a lot more cranky due to the pain there they will tell you to put neosporin on it so that it won't get infected or any thing but they can not give him pain medicine cause he is only a baby later it will be easy for you to keep him clean down there cause you won't really have to do any thing if you don't circumsize him every time you change his pamper and even bath him you will have to pull the skin back to clean it well I hope this helps you in making your decision good luck with the pregnancy

Answer 8

I didn't have my sons circumcised. My first son had a lot of medical problems when he was born. I didn't want to put him through all of that. He hasn't had any problems with "it". However my second son has had nothing but trouble with his. He is 3 years old and will have to be circumcised very son because it is causing medical problems. I wish I would have done it when they were both newborns. But I cannot do anything to change my bad decision. I think you should do what you feel is right! It sounds like you have already decided to me.

Answer 9

When I had my son I also had him circumcised due to what I was told, it was for hygiene, otherwise when I changed his diaper I would have to make extra sure the area was clean so no infection would happen,it broke my heart when I thought about what was involved but the baby didn't suffer an all went well, and it apparently did no damage cause today I have a beautiful grandson.

Answer 10

It's not a bad decision to have him circumsized(if it's a boy).it's alot healthier for them it causes alot less infections then if they are not. I have 2 boys and I am pregnant with my 4th child which is another boy and I will have him circumsized.It is alot healthier for them, they don't remember it and it's alot easier for them to be able to clean themselves once you start potty training.So you should get him circumsized for health reasons,he will not remember it unless you wait until he's older when the problems start, then he will remember it. Good luck!!