what are the pro's and cons for circumcision?

Question

I'm pregnant with my first boy and don't know anything about it. I'd like all the information I can get before i put my newborn through that. please dont tell me anything about religion. Not that i'm against it but i just needs the facts thank you.

Answer 1

to the poster above; your father's doctor was an idiot and a quack
a competent doctor can treat an intact penis without mutilating it. Women get "major infections" all the time, they don't get out the scalpel for them!

Your parents just don't know all about the sensitivity, yet! If your father was mutilated at young age he might have started to notice loss, very often men mutilated as babies or young boys have very great loss by the age of 50. My experience is that my glans has about the same sensitivity as my elbow, (not much fun in bed) A lot of men my age, me included, are restoring their foreskins, protecting the glans does help regain some sensitivity and improves sexual function, but this takes 2 or more years to expand the tissue with tension. Well worth it, but a lot more total time than I would have ever needed to spend cleaning under my foreskin had I not been mutilated.

Unnecessary Circumcision
By George C. Denniston, M.D., M.P.H.

In recent years, the debate on circumcision has been conducted on a relatively low plane, with proponents arguing that circumcision may prevent some rare conditions. Opponents of circumcision argue that it simply has no medical benefits, and is a violation of a man's right to grow up with an intact body. Perhaps the subject can be simplified and raised to a higher plane by focusing on the positive value of the foreskin.
Before birth, the glans penis is covered with skin. This skin is not loosely attached. Indeed it is as tightly attached to the glans as is the skin on the hand.
At approximately 17 weeks of intrauterine life, cells in the area of separation between the future foreskin and the glans initiate the process of creating the preputial space (the space between the glans penis and the intact foreskin). This process is completed by the age of 3 years in 90% of boys, but it may take as long as 17 years (sic) for some boys to have a fully retractable foreskin.

At birth, the separation of the foreskin from the glans has just begun. The newborn's penis is, of course, not yet fully developed. Not only does circumcision interfere with its development, but it requires that the surgeon tear the skin from the sensitive glans to permit removal. As a result, scarring occurs, the surface of the glans thickens, and the urinary opening often gets smaller.

If physicians would simply leave the newborn's penis alone, as Dr. Benjamin Spock recommends in the latest edition of Baby and Child Care, the foreskin would be left to fulfill its several functions. In infancy, the foreskin protects the glans from irritation and from fecal material. In adulthood, the function of the foreskin may at first seem obscure. The shaft and the glans of an intact (uncircumcised) man's penis are covered by skin. Retracting the foreskin reveals the glans and makes the skin on the shaft somewhat loose. Of what use is this redundant skin? During erection, the penile shaft elongates, becoming about 50% longer. The foreskin covers this lengthened shaft. It is designed to accommodate an organ that is capable of a marked increase in diameter, as well as length.

In addition, the foreskin is the most sensitive part of the penis and can enhance the quality of sexual intercourse. Anatomical studies demonstrate that the foreskin has a greater concentration of complex nerve endings than the glans. If there were any possibility that the foreskin could contribute significantly to sexual enjoyment, is that not a cogent reason for rethinking our motives for this ritual procedure?

History shows that the arguments in favor of circumcision are questionable. At the beginning of this century, one of the reasons given for circumcision was to decrease masturbation, which was thought to lead to insanity and other "morbid" conditions. We now know that circumcision does not prevent masturbation, nor does masturbation lead to insanity.

More recently, circumcision was promoted as a means of preventing cervical cancer in the man's sexual partners; this notion has been proved incorrect.

The current excuses are that failure to remove the foreskin may contribute to urinary tract infections and penile cancer, but neither of these contentions has been proved. Even if either were correct, the risk of urinary tract infection in an uncircumcised infant is only one in one hundred. Performing 100 mutilative surgeries to possibly prevent one treatable urinary tract infection is not valid preventive medicine - it is just another excuse.

Penile cancer occurs in older men at the rate of approximately 1 in 100,000. The idea of performing 100,000 mutilating (by definition) procedures on newborns to possibly prevent cancer in one elderly man is absurd. Applying this type of reasoning to women would lead to the conclusion that removing all breasts at puberty should be done to prevent breast cancer.

One thousand years ago, the Jewish sage Maimonides said that the effect of circumcision was "to limit sexual intercourse, and to weaken the organ of generation as far as possible, and thus cause man to be moderate... for there is no doubt that circumcision weakens the power of sexual excitement, and sometimes lessens the natural enjoyment; the organ necessarily becomes weak when... deprived of its covering from the beginning."

Who has the right to order or perform such surgery on a newborn infant? I contend that no one does - certainly not the physician who should know better - since there is no proven medical reason to do so, and the procedure is known by many to be harmful. Circumcision can always be performed in adulthood for men who desire it, with fully informed consent.

Physicians who continue to perform routine circumcision are not only harming infants but are also harming the integrity of the medical profession. It is hard to accept that these physicians - many of whom have been circumcised themselves - are using their medical licenses to continue this contraindicated practice. This is tragedy perpetuating itself.

Answer 2

I don't believe there are any pro's for circumcising

As for the "locker room arguement". Circumcision is decreasing every day. In Canada the circumcision rate is LESS than 10%. So less than 10 boys out of every 100 are circumcized. If ANYONE gets made fun of it's going to be the boys who are missing their foreskin.
"The Canadian Institute for Health Information, which in 1994 took over the national Hospital Database from Statistics Canada, reports that in fiscal 1996/97, circumcision was performed as a primary procedure on about 20 percent of Canadian male neonates, however by 2005, this had declined to 9.2 percent, which brings the genital integrity rate up to 90.8 percent."

An intact penis is easy to care for. You don't need to do anything. You wipe the penis just like you would wipe a finger. When the child retracts themselves (between 3 and 15 years old) they can retract the foreskin and wash underneath.

Ever watched a video of a circumcision?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6584757516627632617&q=circumcision&hl=en

If you can watch that video and still put your son through that...it's really sad :(

I have an entire family of intact men and none of them have had any problems. I have never ever had an yeast infection, UTI and my husband is intact. I think most doctors see the dollar signs in their eyes and know that people are gulible so they snip the guy and take the money.

Answer 3

It is called mutilation. It decreases the sensitivity of the glans because there is no more protection. It is very easy to keep the organ clean now that soap and water is available. There is no difference in the appearance of the organ with an erection whether circ or noncirc. If the male desires to have a circ himself when he is older he can always have it done. It is a religious practice among the Jews. If the foreskin is too tight, the Doctor can stretch it out so that it slides easily for cleaning. Otherwise, it will stretch out normally.

Answer 4

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

http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/

Answer 5

Circumcised penises are easier to clean. He won't have to pull back his foreskin and wash underneath it - all he'll have to do is soap up his penis and rinse it, just like the rest of his body. He'll be very unlikely to get infections, because the bacteria won't be able to breed on the head of his penis (as they would if he still had a foreskin).

Also, he'll be less likely to infect his future girlfriends and wives with sexually transmitted infections, cervical cancer or AIDS.

It will also be easier for him to urinate - all he has to do is take it out and pee, he won't have a foreskin to pull back.

There's also the "locker room factor" - most of his classmates will have circumcised penises - if he's circumcised, he won't get ridiculed for having a funny looking penis (trust me, it is VERY IMPORTANT for a male to not have his penis laughed at by his peers).

When he begins dating, women (most of whom have never seen an uncircumcised penis) won't think he has a funny looking penis if he's circumcised (there is nothing worse than having your penis ridiculed by a woman you want to impress!!!)

Also, he will have an easier time functioning sexually with his future girlfriends - circumcised men are less likely to be premature ejaculators and have more endurance than uncut men.

Those are the upsides.

The only downside is about 30 seconds of pain when he gets his foreskin removed - and about a week of recovery time.

If you weigh the options, circumcision is the way to go!

Answer 6

It's cleaner-easier for you to take care of, and him as gets older. I personally think it looks better too. I think most boys are circumcised these days and he could face ridicule in the locker room if he is not. I don't know of a circumcised adult male who remembers the experience, but then again, I haven't asked a lot of men that question!

Answer 7

First, the "chicks don't like it" comment is wrong..as is the "it is less sensitive" comment.

OK, I come from a long line of un-circumcised men...my boys are circumcised. Why? At the insistance of my Father who had to be circumcised at the age of 20, after I was born! He developed a major infection and it was medically necessary.

We have had all the "sensation" talks, and the "difference" talks you can have (I work with pregnant teens, so this is a big issue...rely on those who know I always say, and who better than one who has had it both ways?)

According to my Father, first, he knew how to "keep himself clean." All the men in our family were uncircumcised, so the saying "keep yourself clean" or teach your sons to keep clean, is simply not vaild.

Second, there was no loss of sensitivity during sex after...and according to my Mother she could not tell the difference during intercourse. There goes those things out the window.

Now, there was a recient study in Africia (reported in Jan. 2007, can easily be looked up on line) showing that uncircumcised men had a much higer risk of AIDs infection than uncircumcised...yes, we are in America where the numbers are lower, but women and men can both pass AIDs to straight or gay partners. And we are talking about lowering risk should unsuspected potential infection arise!

Now all that said...is Daddy circumcised??? If not, and he is going to be raised with Daddy, than you might want to take that in mind. If Dad is, how would you explain his not being...OK, so that is not a scientific study, but still it is something to think about.

I would suggest if you choose to get circumcision, that you check into a mohel rather than a doctor. They are Jewish religious leaders (you don't have to be Jewish or religious to use one) who specailize in it. I used one during my last son's birth (I have three sons the other two were doctor done) and it was amazing. I actually watched, and there was very little blood loss, and very little sound made by my son. Look one up online, in the phonebook or call a synagogue...make sure to ask for one who does non-Jews. After seeing the effects of a hosptial circ vs. a mohel circ. it was amazing.

ALSO, if you choose to do a circ. be sure to check out and find out what type you are going to have done. There are three main types and many doctors won't give you a choice so know what you want before you go in for delivery!

Beyond that do what is right for you and your family!!!! Congratulations on the up coming birth of your blessing!!!

Answer 8

some do it for different reasons. some for relgious and some for medical or personal care. boys grow up and some go off to war and its hard to take baths depending on where you are. Its hard for them to keep the foreskin pulled back and clean if they are not blessed with soap and water in the field and subject to infection. Alot of soldiers back in ww1 and ww11 and vietnam had similar problems. god bless our soldiers.

Answer 9

if you snip the head will not be as sensitive cause its rubbing against the under ware all the time

Answer 10

The chicks don't like the way an uncircumsized penis looks like.