Should a baby be circumcised? And what are the benefits? Is it worth the pain or is there pain?

Question

My sister is having a baby boy and she is not having him circumcised. Is she making the right decision? I really have no idea so I can use some answers hear. What do you all think? Aspecially moms of boys. Thanks for all answers! (I have two girls so i never had this decision to make).

Answer 1

I did a ton of research, as soon as I found out he was a boy, to prepare for this decision. I don't believe in cutting off a piece of my son just because it it the "norm" or any other stupid reason, I wanted to make an informed decicion. After much research, I decided not to have my son cut. This is why:

Myth 1: It is cleaner.
Truth: It is actually easier to clean then a cut penis. The skin acts like a barrier from germs. All that must be done is wash it like a finger, and do not force the skin back. Once it goes back on its own, simply pull it back gently, wash it, and let the skin cover it again. Infections come form parents not cleaning it, and they will have just as many problems if it is cut.

Myth 2: It protects the baby from UTI
Truth: It actually has the opposite effect. A cut penis is far more likely to get infected. When you remove the skin, the head is exposed to the urine and poop in the diaper, and it is easier for germs to enter. Removing the forskin is like removing the outer lips of the female vagina. They are what protect the tender, delicate skin underneath from infection and must be kept clean. Girls have to be taught how to clean their areas, so a boy should be as well. The skin under the forskin is like that of the skin under the fingernail. If the nail is there like it is supposed to be, the skin underneath stays soft. If the nail comes off, tha skin gets harder to protect its self.

Myth 3: It looks better cut.
This is an opinion. When the skin is pulled back, it looks the same as a cut one. It is actually bigger because it has more skin.

Myth 4: Uncut boys get teased in the locker room.
Truth: The ratio of cut to uncut has changed in the recent years, and there are currently more boys being left alone then boys being cut. So, if anyone is getting teased, it is the circumsized boys.

Myth 5: It can lead to problem later in life, and the adult circumsision.
Truth: The only reason this happens is natural. Some men's forskin does not grow large enough for their penis. In these men, even if they were cut, they would still need surgery to properly align the existing skin, and maybe even have more cut because there is not as much for the doctor to work with.

Myth 6: It does not hurt, and they do not remember.
They may not remember actually being cut, but they see the result every day for the rest of their life. Forskin can not ever grow back, and can not be reattached. And for those who don't think it hurts, would you cut your penis, or even finger for that matter? I don't think so. Just because he may not cry, does not mean he does not hurt.

Truth: Sex is better for uncut men.
When the skin is cut to be removed, there are hundreds of nerve ending that are destroyed in the process. This leads to lower sensations in the cut men.

The other one that gets me is to look like daddy. Baby boys genitals, cut or un cut look nothing like a grwon man. Besides, why would the baby need to look at his daddy anyway.


So, yes, in my opinoio she is making the right decision.

Edit: GODFOLLOWER, just a little fyi. It is a Jewish thing to circumsize, not a christian. It is actually in the bible against it. I don't find this to be personally relivant, but when using the bible as a reason to cut off a part of a baby, you should actually know what you are talking about. So, here are the scriptures this information can be found, if you care.

Acts 15; Galatians 2:1-3; 5:1-11; 6:11-16; 1 Corinthians 7:17-20; Colossians 2:8-12; Philippians 3:1-3

Answer 2

I would say not. There are arguments both ways; personally I find the anti-circumcision arguments more convincing, firstly because most of the men (around 80%) in the world are uncircumcised without any problems, and secondly because I really don't think we evolved (or were created) with all males needing surgical attention for the penises!

That aside, I believe a teenage boy or man over 18 has the right to think about it and make their own decision. I do not think it should be the parents choice as it is not their penis and they will not have to live with the decision. Your sister is doing a good job, congratulations to her!

Answer 3

I have 2 boys ages 3.5 and 14 mo. and neither are circumcised. We have had absolutely no problem with either of them. There is really no extra care needed for an uncircumcised penis. The foreskin will eventually be looser and separate from the glans (head) and be able to be gently pulled back for cleaning, etc. But everything I've read says NOT to manually try to separate it b/c it could cause damage to the glans. The pediatrician says it will happen on it's own by about age 5. Remember, God made them this way for a reason and the US is one of the only countries that still routinely does circumcisions. I had a friend adopt a baby boy from S. Korea and he wasn't circumcised b/c they don't do it as part of normal rountine there. There are more complications caused by the circumcision procedure than complications from just leaving it in it's normal way. No offense to those who do/have circum. their boys, but why would you want to even do that if there is no medical reason to back it up - unless you live in an underdeveloped nation where HIV is a huge threat - but that's a different scenario all together.

Answer 4

Boys should be circumcised. My nephew was not and the foreskin closed up around the head of his penis. Now he has a hard time when peeing and will have to have surgery to correct it. Also if not kept clean it can cause him to develop male yeast infection, which I'm told is worse than a woman's.
Plus later in life he can cause his sexual partners to develop yeast infections also.
If not circumcised, make sure you pull the foreskin back and clean well at every diaper change and at bath time.

Answer 5

Whether or not to circumcise is TOTALLY an individual choice. Some do it for religious reasons, others for hygeine. There's no medical reason for or against it. The only benefit is for cleanliness - sometimes it's hard to clean under the foreskin and occasionally kids get UTIs, but that's not every little boy. There is some discomfort, but the babies can be given a numbing cream beforehand, and they have such short-term memories that by the time you walk out of the room with the baby, they don't even care what's happened to them! Is it worth the pain? That's again an individual answer.

If your nephew isn't circumcised as a newborn, it can be done later - up to six months old, some pediatricians will do it, otherwise, an age-appropriate urologist can do it.

Answer 6

She has made the right decision not to get him done. I'm still natural and so is my 8yo son. If there is nothing wrong with his foreskin then there is no reason to remove it. Over 85% of the worlds men are still natural and most do not have a problem. While it is possible they may have a problem one day this is only a very small percentage, and can be dealt with when needed.
To those who say it should be done so they don't have a problem then why not take out everyones appendix and tonsils incase they get a problem one day. Like your appendix and tonsils the foreskin serves a purpose and should be left alone.

Answer 7

Routine circumcision is not practiced in any other country but America, and is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

There is no need for the baby to be circumcised, unless it is for religious reasons-and I actually read a recent article that indicated that many Jewish people, who traditionally chooose circumcision, are now choosing otherwise for their sons.

Yes, there is pain. They remove a part of the baby's body. Anyone who tells you there is not pain is either lieing to you or in denial, because they want to believe there is no pain if they make this decision for their child. No, it is not worth the pain-there are no benefits.

Some often cited reasons for circumcision are:

for religious reasons. I am a Christian woman, and I highly doubt that my God is going to frown upon my choice to leave my son intact the way He created him.

so that the baby will look like Daddy. My son is circumcised, my husband is not. Even if our son was circumcised, his immature penis is not going to resemble his father's mature one. By the time they would be anything similar, they are most likely not going to be seeing each other nude. Also, my husband can not recall EVER comparing his penis to his father's.

locker room syndrome. Again, my husband can not recall EVER comparing penises in a locker room, and I think that if they did see someone they are not going to admit to looking. Furthermore, the circumcision rate in this country is dropping, and is close to 50%. By the time our children are adolescents, it is likely that the circumcised ones will be the ones in the minority. With the current rate, however, it is just as likely that the other boys will be intact as it is they will be circumcised.

Harder to take care of. I think in infancy, it is more difficult to take care of a circumcised penis because you have to use vaseline, change padding, etc. You do absolutely nothing special to an intact penis, until the foreskin begins to retract on its own around 3-4 years of age. When that happens, you simply pull it back and rinse. It is no more difficult than washing your finger. We do not cut off any parts of our daughters, and they are much more prone to infection-instead, we teach them to care for themselves, just as we should our sons.

There are also studies that seemingly indicate your chances are higher of contracting STDs if you are intact. Those studies have been found to be biased, and in either case it is important to teach your child to practice safe sex (sons and daughters), so again that is not a valid reason to alter your newborn son.

It is HIS foreskin, so why do parents of little boys not let them make the decision when they are older? I pray that one day soon it is actually illegal to have elective plastic surgery done on your minor child, which is what circumcision is.

Answer 8

My son is 10 and not circumcised. He's never had a problem with infections or hygiene.

I'm an RN, and have seen penises from newborns to the extremely aged....and honestly, they're all yucky and gross when they're old....speaking for hygiene, anyway. Cut or uncut, it doesn't matter. I've taken care of many, many, many men who are close to 100 years old who've never been circumcised and they're just fine.

Honestly, it's your sister's baby, ultimately she's making the decision that she feels is right for her baby, so support her!

Answer 9

There are more cons than pros to having circumcision. It is mostly done out of american tradition and cosmetic reasons. The myth of the penis getting dirty without circumcision is without merit as regular normal cleaning as part of your body washing routine is all that is needed.
Though there are occasionally some medical reasons the majority of circumcisions is unnecessary.
The foreskin has sexual nerve receptors which aid stimulation during his adult sex life and also the foreskin stops the glans from drying out at chaffing on clothing causing the calluses on the glans which results in loss of sexual sensitivity.
The foreskin does serve good purposes and is not just a wasteful piece of skin as many misinformed pro-circumcisionist (women often) claim.

Answer 10

Firstly,there is no medical or hygienic benefits to circumsition...it is painful for the poor child and wholly unfair as the poor child has no say or choice in the matter.He will be butchered for very foolish old fashioned reasons!!!
A few facts that you should consider-it started out in the bible ,yes,It became law in the old testament but that was through ignorance and superstition. In modern times it became more acceptable because a certain Mr Kellog (the people who invented breakfast cereal!!) decided that it will make little boys less prone to masturbating-utter bull!You should check out Penn and Teller's facts in their episode on circumsition-be warned as it is graphic.
I nor my son have been circumsized-and neither of us have had any deseases.
But in the end,your sister will decide-I only hope she chooses wisely.