I'm a first time mom and I'm having doubts about circumcision?

Question

Please help !

Answer 1

I feel very strongly that this barbaric procedure needs to stop ASAP. There is absolutely no need to perform cosmetic surgery on the genitals of a helpless infant.

If you wouldn't do it to your daughter (who have a lot more folds and are much harder to clean) then why do it to your son?

The intact penis is super simple to clean, you just wipe it like a finger and go. The foreskin is adhered to the glans in order to keep feces and other foreign matter out of the meatus. Is should only be retracted by its owner and that sometimes doesn't happen until puberty.

Did you know the first step in infant genital reduction surgery is to forcibly break these adhesions? OUCH!

A father's penis had no bearing on a babies penis. They will NEVER look alike (unti they are too old to be comparing). The dad's will always be bigger and hairier, so this argument really falls flat. It is shameful that a man should wish that pain on his son instead of simply saying, "grandma and grandpa let the doctors do surgery on mine."
As for your sexual preferences. Please do not (as a previous poster suggested) let your sexual ideas be permanently scared on to the genitals of your son. you will not be having sex with him and this generation of girls are not going to be as horrified at the sight of a natural penis as past generations have been brainwashed to be.

The rate these days is 50% uncut, so there is a good chance that the cut boys will be the minority soon enough.
As for any "locker room" crap anyone tries to sell you. A simple "stop looking at my di*k, freak" will suffice should the issue ever be broached. (which it never has been to my intact teen brothers who play football, wrestling, lacrosse and hockey.)

My son is 28 months, intact and recently potty trained and NOT a messy pee-er (as if this were a legitimate reason to cut off the most sensitive part of his genitals;-(

The bible does not say to circumcise babies. The Torah does, but the new testament revokes that covenant.

Most of the rest of the world (85%) has never started, or given up this absurd surgery and they are not dropping like flies from having their whole penis their whole lives.

Here are some interesting historical issues that circumcision was claimed as a cure for: http://www.icgi.org/2007/04/medicalization-of-circumcision-an-online-slide-show/


Here is a primer for parents who are willing to let their son's make their own choices:
http://www.circumstitions.com/Itsaboy.html

http://www.cirp.org/pages/parents/

Answer 2

On this question please avoid the internet with its overwhelming anticircumcision stances. It is a minority opinion by a small minority of people who have a foreskin fetish. Ask your pediatrician his advice. Be sure to find out if he has an anticircumcision stance first. 1. If your husband and/or the child's other male siblings are circumcised that is enough to decide for circumcision. 2. Hygiene is simplified throughout the child's life. 3. Sexual sensitivity is not lost but in many enhanced. 3. It is a first line of defense against STDs (New Zealand studies have determined this recently) and against AIDS (So. Africa, France, and the USA, with the UN agreeing about their scientific studies arrived at independently). 4. Circumcisions are on the rise in the USA and elsewhere not diminishing. The rate has been at 85% nationwide for the last 20 years and now is approaching 90% again. Other statistics are false.

There are other reasons: sexual, aesthetic, cultural and religious, along with preventative medicine.

If you and your husband agree, then be sure that your pediatrician or family doctor will take care of this minor procedure within the first 6 weeks. Be sure also that a local anesthetic is used. Then the child will not experience pain. Don't take no for an answer on this.

You have every right as parents to have this done. Don't let anyone talk you out of it. That is why we are called parents--good care, food, shelter, recreation, relationships, and good health.

I am circumcised as a Protestant and my two sons are as well as all other males in our extended family. We are happy that we are. So is my wife and their mother.

I am a psychotherapist. There is no evidence whatsoever that any emotional damage has come about as the result of infant circumcision.

But it is your mature decision to make.

Answer 3

Personally, we did not circumcise our boys. (and my husband isn't circumcised either)

It was SUPER easy to take care of their hygine when they were in diapers. The foreskin doesn't even retract until at least age three...so up until that time all you have to do is wipe them with a baby wipe. You DON'T have to pull the foreskin back and try to clean in between...in fact, you will actually cause them pain if you try! On the other hand, if you do choose to circumcise then you need to put vasaline and gauze on the circumcision site every time you change your baby's diaper. hmmm...sounds like more work ;-)

It is true that an uncircumcised penis requires a tiny bit more hygine as they grow older and the foreskin retracts. They will need to learn how to pull the foreskin back and wipe off after using the restroom (and to do the same in the shower) It may sound like a lot of hassel...but it's no more than a little girl has to do to stay clean :)

It is also true that uncircumcised men have a higher risk of contracting STDs if they sleep with an infected partner. This is simply due to the fact that they have more dark hiding places for the virus to camp out. HOWEVER, if they practice safe sex and know the person they are sleeping with...this shouldn't be an issue.

It is NOT true that uncircumcised men suffer from mulitple infections as they grow older. Sure there are times that a man will develop an infection...but the majority of men go thorugh life without any problems at all.

In the end, this is a personal decision. Make sure to check with your insurance company...some do not cover circumcision because they consider it a cosmetic surgery!

Answer 4

I chosen to no longer do it considering's a call that i assumed could be made via him. considering's a irreversible surgical technique. He can decide for to have it minimize yet no longer positioned back on. additionally my pediatrician would not do the technique and the nurses interior the scientific institution reported that in simple terms 2 docs did it and charged around 4 hundred for it. And my coverage did no longer disguise it via fact it advance into basically splendor. Statistically talking approximately 50% of boys are being circumcised now so there is no longer that challenge of being made relaxing of. Uncut boys additionally do no longer tend to pee on you every time they get replaced, and once you potty prepare they do no longer spray via fact its lots greater organic. And whilst human beings say interior the scientific institution the wellness care expert says they did high-quality and did no longer even cry whilst they got here back. How do you already know that's what extremely exceeded off? They do them at my OB and that they scream theit heads off and you will pay attention the version between strapped down and soreness.

Answer 5

Circumcision is an American thing but it is quickly on the decline. My understanding is that it's almost 50/50 in this country now. In Europe, where I am from, most men are intact. My boys are not circumcised. They have never experienced any problems. And my brother (I have 3) decided to get circumcised in Germany when he was 14 because he had a very long foreskin that hung over the tip of his penis more than an inch... and he said the procedure and recovery was no big deal. So, you could always leave the decision up to your boy.

Answer 6

There is no real reason to circumcise your son. If you feel strongly that baby should look like daddy, and daddy is circumcised, then go ahead with it (insist on anesthetic cream/gel at the least!). But other than that, there is no real reason for it. Study after study has shown it isn't really all that much more clean, and doesn't protect against diseases like they had thought originally. It's a very personal choice, and more and more boys are not circumcised, so if you decide against it, your son will definitely not be alone in the locker room in high school! Good luck!

Answer 7

I felt the same way when I was pregnant with my son. I always assumed that we would have it done because my husband is circumcised and I thought it was the common and most practical/easiest thing to do. But the further along I got in my pregnancy and the more I educated myself about the functions of the prepuce (foreskin) I decided that I would let my son make the decision when he's older. if he decides that he'd like to be circumcised I will gladly take him. I hear it's not as bad as people say that it is. Just like any other medical or cosmetic procedure they use the appropriate meds. And then I will feel good about knowing that it was HIS decision and I don't have to worry about it. My son is 2 and we've experienced no problems. it's not a big deal at all. I thought it would be hard caring for an uncircumcised penis, but it's not. You don't do anything special. you just wash the outside with soap and water just as you would if he was circumcised. I'm happy with our decision. Go with your gut. That's your maternal instinct.

Answer 8

there is no reason to circumcise your son unless he has a medical condition. I still have my foreskin and have never had any problems with it. A friend of mine has been circumcised and he feels weird about his body having been violated and not having had the chance to make his own decision about being circumcised or not. I've seen a video of a circumcision and the babies screams made my mind up for when I have children. I would strongly recommend to leave him the way he was born and let him make his own decision. And biblically it is the Jewish people that needed to circumcise themselves the new testament says that it is not necessary to show your obedience to the law it's very clear. so if you are jewish have a briss (sp?) if not then don't have it done.

Answer 9

If you have doubts, do not proceed with the elective surgical procedure on your newborn son. That is my personal opinion.

Circumcision is most often cited as being done for "hygiene reasons", but caring for an uncircumcised penis is no more difficult than caring for a vagina. We do not alter our daughters at birth just in case they are more prone to infections later (and they are more prone to them than uncircumcised males).

I hear people say that they want their son to look like Dad. Well, a newborn penis or that of a toddler or older child is NOT going to look like a fully mature penis whether one or both is circumcised or not.

I hear people say that they do not want their son to be teased in the locker room. The circumcision rate in the US is quickly dropping, and is nearing half and half. So, an intact male is not going to be a minority. Furthermore, my husband can not recall one time when he compared his penis to the others in the locker room.

My husband is circumcised. We chose for our son not to be. He will be 7 this month and has never had any trouble. If he does, we will deal with it then just as if he has appendicitis or tonsilitis, etc. we will deal with it then rather than removing those parts at birth as a precautionary method.

Just my personal opinion...

Answer 10

It's actually been medically proven that circumcision can reduce the chance of various STDs and other nasty things down there later in life. Some people say that not doing it will increase sexual pleasure for him, but he's a guy, lol, he'll get off either way. The reason it decreases the chance of STD's is because all sorts of goo, dead skin and germs will hide in there and fester, allowing more time for them to soak into the bloodstream. Keep in mind that you will have to pull back the skin and clean it yourself when he's a little older, until he grasps the whole bathing alone concept. Personally, I plan to have any boys I may have circumsized. My b/f isn't circumsized and it drives me nuts. Go figure. Good luck, it's your decision, consider the pros and cons to your particular situation and do whichever works best :D

Answer 11

First and foremost, he'll be fine either way. With or without the foreskin he will come to love it.

That said, I am opposed to circumsision. I was circumsized as a baby and wish I had not been.

It is medically unnecessary and does remove the vast majority of the nerve endings from the penis.

To those who would suggest that circumcision keeps boys from masterbating, I would say: A) Wrong!, and B) that's like saying removal of the clitoris will keep girls from touching themselves. Would we be discussing clitoris removal if you had had a girl? In fact, a boy's manipulation of his foreskin will encourage it to stretch so that he doesn't have problems with it later and will also assist it to loosen from the glans at about the age of 6 or 7.

As for disease, removing a foreskin because of the very remote possibility of some future disease is like saying you should remove a girl baby's breasts to prevent breast cancer, or her ovaries to prevent ovarian cancer, or whatever.

Do be aware that the care and hygiene for an uncircumcized boy is different than for a circumcized child. Either way you should probably do some research. There are many helpful sites online. I would encourage you to see the site below before you decide.