Circumcision-should we do it?

Question

Is it better for a baby boy to be circumcised or not (besides religious and traditional reason)

Answer 1

It's better to just leave him uncircumcised, especially if you're not going by tradition or religion. He can get circumcised if he wishes when he's older. It is his organ after all.

You'll see that circumcision is becoming a lot less popular. In some states it's as low as 14% already! The USA is the only advanced nation still doing this to newborns.
http://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/USA/staterates2004/

People exaggerate with how "difficult" it is to keep clean. You just pull it back and rub the head. Simple as that, takes a few seconds and feels good. On babies/young children the foreskin is attached to the head so poo and other stuff doesn't get in there.

The surgery is painful regardless of age. Studies have concluded that.
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9712/23/circumcision.anesthetic/
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1f21e.htm
http://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/plastibell/

In addition, studies (new one from last month and a few older ones) have found that circumcision reduces sensitivity and pleasure in the long run, since the head always rubs against everything. It also makes masturbation more difficult. Oddly enough, that's how circumcision was made popular in the 1800s by Dr. Kellogg.
http://forums.govteen.com/showpost.php?p=3069995&postcount=2

If you do decide to leave your boy intact, read the following link:
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/circumcision/protect-uncircson.html

Best of luck! Go to my profile and e-mail me if you have any questions whatsoever. =)

You can get all the risks (like buried/smaller penis, meatal stenosis, and so on) and answers to some circumcision benefits myths here, such as the myth that it prevents penile cancer, HIV in the developed nations, etc.:
http://forums.govteen.com/showpost.php?p=3069995&postcount=2

If you were circumcised as an adult obviously you're bound to find an "improvement" since you had it done for having problems with your foreskin beforehand, or because you wanted it done. Jackinworld found that uncircumcised guys are generally more satisfied than their circumcised partners in question 17:
http://www.jackinworld.com/library/surveys/survey5.html

More than half of circumcised guys responded that they would have rather made choose themselves. If guys could restore their foreskin guys would also be saying "Oh it's great with a foreskin after I got it......." but sadly we can't change from day to day. =P
http://www.jackinworld.com/qow/q15.html

Answer 2

Every single national medical or pediatric association in the entire western world without exception says that circumcision does NOT provide health benefits. Don't take my word for it. Look it up for yourself. They do, however, all say that it is a very painful operation. (It also removes a healthy part of the baby's body and the baby gets no say in whether they get to keep their parts or not).

It should be obvious that the operation is immoral. Would you cut strips out of your daughter's labia for no medical reason, knowing that it would hurt her? I certainly hope not, and circumcision is no different.

The fact that something has been done for hundreds of years is not a justification for doing it. Men have hit their wives longer than babies have been getting circumcised, but we don't think that that is ok.

We sure get a lot of people saying that circumcision has health benefits. Yet not one of these claims is backed up by the medical community. Don't take my word for it. If you really care, look up what is said by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the British Medical Association, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Canadian Pediatrics Society, the Australian College of Pediatrics, or for that matter, any other medical and pediatric association in the entire western world.

When people get a fever, they will listen to the advice of the medical community, but when they are thinking of cutting off a part of their son's body, suddenly they think the doctors are all idiots who don't know what they are talking about.

Answer 3

All this talk about a circumcised penis being cleaner is pure hog wash. All the people who use UTI's as an excuse or AIDS, are just plain wrong! Did you know that women and girls are like 9 times more likely to get a urinary tract infection than boys and we don't cut off a piece of there vagina do we? When you hear about this AIDS prevention benefits of circumcision that's all bull too. Did you know that of all modern, industrialized countries the US has the highest rate of AIDS cases amongst males. Oh, and wouldn't you know, the majority of men in the US are circumcised and make up the majority of AIDS cases. Why can't we just leave little boys alone? Let people make up their own minds when they can think for themselves.

Answer 4

My fiance and I have been together for over 3 years, and upon considering to try and concieve, that was the first thing that crossed my mind. All of the guys in my family had it done when they were born. All the guys in his family had not had it done. I figure that both sets of parents would question once we announce if we have a boy, so we talked it over. I right away went online and searched the benefits and non benefits and surprisingly alot of doctors are against it now. Once I watched the above mentioned video at youtube.com my mind was made up. I couldnt even watch the entire thing. It was horrible. I alked it over with my fiance and he said he would leave it up to me. Once I showed him the video and explained what was happening he freaked, "No way!" So we came to our conclusion. If we have a boy, and a doctor even suggests it I think that would insult me. I might even get mad. My mom's doctor practically forced it on her, and she didnt even know what it was. I don't care if my parents say I have to do it, it's really our child, and our decision. I don't think it would be a problem once they're older. My fiance has been that way his entire life and never had any problems. If anything, I think it makes you more of a man because you are unaltered. Its natural. I would never make a baby go through that type of surgery unless it was medically nessecary and there were no other options. Hope this help you in your descision. Here are a few video clips...

Answer 5

I'm Italian, I'm Catholic... so I'm not in favour nor against Circumcision; it simply does not meet my religion. If Circumcision meets your religion or traditions, well... do it.

But if you are going to do Circumcision on a baby ONLY for health... oh, dear... that was 4000 years ago medicine! We live in a civilized world now... or not?! We modern males have water and soap to wash the penis... or not?!

Then I should say: if you have religious and traditional reasons to do it, do it... otherwise, let the baby have his baby life. He will always have possibility to eventually choose for Circumcision, when he will be an adult person.

Answer 6

Circumcision is a form of male genital mutilation. It is generally the forced removal of the foreskin from a child without the ability of the child to consent.

The foreskin is the most sensitive part of the penis and therefore very significant during sexual intercourse. Circumcision removes as much as 75% of sensation [ http://www.nocirc.org/touch-test/bju_6685.pdf ].
The foreskin reduces the force required by the penis to enter the vagina. It also increases the sexual enjoyment of the female partner. Here is a study to back this up: http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/ohara/

Performing circumcision on a child can and does result in the deaths of children due to blood loss and/or failure of the immune system.
It can and does result in very significant scaring.
It can and does result in sexual problems later in life.
The idea that it provides better hygeine is flawed and is simply a matter of performing good genital hygeine. The study that you are less succeptible to aids if you are circumcised is flawed(see link: http://www.cirp.org/news/sydneymorningherald11-06-03/ ). A condom is still required to prevent transmission of STI's.
Studies about the rate of transmission of aids with respect to both male and female circumcision have been conflicting.
A collection of said studies can be found linked from here:
http://www.mgmbill.org/aids.htm
Furthermore:
"The United States has one of the highest rates of male circumcision and also one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the developed world, suggesting that circumcision is having exactly the opposite effect. Conversely, Finland and Japan have some of the lowest rates of circumcision and also some of the lowest rates of HIV/AIDS."

Do not do it for hygeine issues. It is a trivial task to ensure good genital hygeine.
The vast majority(83%) of the world is not circumcised.
There is no good reason to perform male genital mutilation.


Have a look at some of these websites:
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/
http://www.noharmm.org/
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9712/23/circumcision.anesthetic/



Please do significant research before you circumcise your child, if that is what you are currently planning on doing.

Answer 7

I don't think it's necessary or beneficial. Some say it's cleaner and that it reduces the risk of STDs or an unusual cancer (although I read somewhere that the complication rate from circumcision is higher than the rate that men get that cancer), but is that really a good reason to start cutting off erotic tissues? I don't think so. Just teach your child how to keep himself clean and tell him not to have risky sex. It is going to hurt him, and many people think that pain can have a psychological impact on children even if they don't remember every detail. If I could go back in time, I would tell my mother to keep me intact. There are a bunch of sites for people trying to make that decision . . . here are some I remember off the top of my head:

http://www.circinfo.org/
http://www.circumcision.org/
http://www.nocirc.org/
http://www.norm.org/ (for those who have had it done already)

Remember, there's really no turning back after it's cut off. It can be done to adults though, so your son could get it done on his own when he's older if he wants to. They say it's got a rather painful recovery period, but at least he would get to decide for himself. I read once that over 80% of the world's men are intact, and 95% of intact men don't want to get circumcised. Also, you might be interested to know that the foreskin is not usually thrown away . . . hospitals sell it to companies to grow skin for burn victims and the like.

The only problems I could see happening if you leave him intact are:

1) American women might not be used to men with foreskins
2) Someone will have to teach him how to wash the foreskin (there are good instructions on one of those websites I gave, iirc)

Good night!

Answer 8

If you don't have a religious reason to circumcise then don't do it at all. The foreskin is normal and natural. Let things be as the body intended.

Answer 9

It is not healthier than being uncut. I am uncut and I have never had any problems. I was taught how to take care of my penis and thus, no problems. It is very cruel to circ a baby boy since the foreskin is ATTACHED to the head and shaft and the first step in baby circ is detaching it by force, WITHOUT ANESTHESIA. Watch the video from the link below from YouTube and you'll see what I'm talking about. You'll need to have an account but it's worth it. If you want, you can close the account after watching the video.

Answer 10

I wouldnt. Ive had experience with both and I like uncircumcized best, but everyone is different. I think its a stereotype in the US that uncircumcized guys are bad. like for example, thats what I thought when I had my previous boyfriend who were cut, but now that my boyfriend is uncircumcized Ive found that I like it a lot. Its easy to use the foreskin to rub the head and dont need lubes. so my son wont be; he can always choose later that way