Getting my 6 month old circumcised?

Question

I have heard it is more tramatic getting them circumcised later but I really haven't had the chance to do it till now. Has anyone had a baby 6 months or older circumcised? Did anybody experience any problems from the baby being older when it was performed? Someone also told me the baby would have to be put under general anestisia cause he is so old, anybody know if this is true?

Thanks for all the advice. And I just want to add that I am not doing this to torture my child or for cosmetic reasons. My husband and I are doing this because of our strong religious beliefs that it should be done. Thanks again everybody.

Answer 1

I think it is true that you'll have to use some kind of anesthesia because of his age. usually they'll just put something on his penis to numb it, no general anesthesia. But honestly, it's probably better if he's put under general anesthesia. I had my son circumsized at 2 weeks old, and wow, it was HORRIBLE. They numbed it, but he was still hysterical.

My brother was circumsized at 8 months, and his was perfectly fine.

Answer 2

PLEASE think this through before you do this. This is his body and you are talking about removing parts of his penis, in fact parts that provide great pleasure. If you do this, he wont be able to have natural sex (the way we evolved to have it). You will take away the mechanism that helps gain and maintain an erection. He may need that as he gets old. He may not be happy about this as he finds out what was done. Boys/men now know the issues and some are very upset with their parents. The foreskin is not just skin and does not just protect the glans(head). Circumcision is now known to ablate the most sensitive parts of the male genitals. This surgery takes away the main male pleasure zones with about 20000 fine touch and stretch nerve endings amputated. The foreskin has several parts including the ridged band that is great for ones pleasure (that is why nutters like Kellogg wanted to chop em off, to curtail masturbation), Masturbation is important for a mans physical and mental health. The ridged band directly contacts the vagina for very great pleasure all around. The dynamics of sex and the actual mechanism of the penis are drastically changed by circumcision. The foreskin can normally be slipped all the way, or almost all the way, back to the base of the penis, and also slipped forward beyond the glans. This wide range of motion is the mechanism by which the penis and the orgasmic triggers in the foreskin, frenulum, and glans are stimulated The only touch organ possessing as rich erogenous innervation as the foreskin is the clitoris. Circumcision deprives man of 2/3ds of the main erogenous zone constituted of the foreskin and the glans. It is never appropriate to take erogenous tissue from another human being without asking. The parts of the foreskin feel so good to the owner -- his body his right to be natural.

Answer 3

Yes it would be more traumatic at this age, but it's still traumatic at any age. They would probably use local or maybe general. It sounds like he hasn't had any problems - perhaps you should just leave him intact and let him make the choice when he's older. After all, it's his penis, and there is no proof that circumcision is beneficial. It's not even that common any more in the USA.

BTW you probably know this already but it's not necessary to clean under the foreskin until it naturally detaches from the head (probably a few years down the track).

Answer 4

You may not be doing this to cause your son pain, but that is what it is going to do. Remember that he will be getting everything that goes in his diaper smeared into an open wound! Even if he avoids infection, it will be extremely painful.

My grandfather was very religious, and he said circumcision was an insult to God -- that people are telling Him that He made a mistake when he designed men and that we know better than He does how a man's body should be formed. God does not make mistakes, and the foreskin is not an accidental thing He overlooked!

Answer 5

Why Why Why would you do this? Check out the links that that one person gave you...and to the person that said girls are more likely to get infections from it - that is totally incorrect information.

Besides being a medically unnecessary surgery - why would you put your small baby under any kind of anesthesia for something elective? Anesthesia is dangerous for babies.

If you have waited this long and had no problems, what is the big deal about leaving it intact. Do your kid a favor and leave his poor penis alone.

Answer 6

why do you need to get it done anyway? I didn't get my son done and my parents left me and my brother intact as well. We are not dirty and my son has known how to clean his since he was 4. Just like they need to learn how to brush their teeth they learn to wash properly. Nearly all the males in my family are intact and have no problem.
Don't listen to those who say we get infections and the like-it is just old wives tales.
watch the youtube like i have posted of a boy getting done and see if you can still get it done to him.
The way I look at it is the foreskin is there for a reason and if he wants to get it done as an adult then that is his choice but do you really have the right to make that decision for him?

Answer 7

Have you considered leaving him intact? An uncut penis is easy to care for and not necessarily more prone to infections. Girls are far more likely to get infections, and even then it's not a big deal. Only about half the babies in the US right are even getting circumcised, so you don't have to worry about the whole "locker room" thing and even if his dad is circumcised, there's no way they'll look alike! (unless dad will put ice in his shorts and shave . . .*shudder*)

Toddlers ate my Brain gave you some great links. There's a video out there that shows a circumcision and it's brutal. It's NOT a quick little snip. I couldn't bear to watch the whole thing.

Answer 8

Why would you torture your baby now. You know his penis does not need cosmetic surgery. And yes it will be painful, especially afterwards as he has to pee on an open wound.

Have you done your research? Do you know the functions of the foreskin and what is lost when it is cut off?

please do a little more research. Let you baby decide when he is older what he wants to do with his penis.

Please read all of these links to get the info you need for an informed decision:

http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet7.html

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=622812

http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet4.html

http://www.math.missouri.edu/~rich/MGM/primer.html

http://www.icgi.org/2007/04/medicalization-of-circumcision-an-online-slide-show/

Answer 9

Especially if he isn't having any problems, your best bet would be to leave him alone. I'm uncircumcised and have done just fine; understand that circumcision isn't as popular as it was before (it's as low as 14% in some states; and the USA is the last developed nation doing it to newborns without medical need). Unlike newborns, he could probably handle being put to sleep a little better, but either way, that still leaves the week or two of painful recovery there; there's no way around that.

Make sure you research it well; it's a surgery that cannot be reversed. Many members on here exaggerate or even lie about the benefits of circumcision. Most 'benefits' end up being proven false; anything from reduction of masturbation, wet dreams, penile cancer, etc. Leaving him uncircumcised would also give him benefits (as with anything) and let him choose when he's older (most remain uncircumcised; almost all). Here's two links you should read as a mother; both from doctors at Mothering.com.
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/circumcision/protect-uncircson.html
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/circumcision/against-circumcision.html

And here's some research from statistics and medical studies that'll allow you to make an informed decision; rather one based on fears.Circumcision is a traditionally Jewish and Muslim surgery, although it was introduced and encouraged to the Western, developed world (North America and Europe, but especially the USA) as a way to stop masturbation, especially with the help of Dr. Kellogg. (see link 1) However, although scientific studies have discovered that circumcision harms masturbation by up to over 60% (2), needless to say, it doesn’t completely stop masturbation. Many circumcised guys just find it more convenient to use a lube like KY or lotion as a result (3) since the typically moist foreskin (like the eyelids) is not there to rub the head of the penis with (4).

Most developed nations quickly rejected circumcision after noticing its ineffectiveness against masturbation (they were quite religious back then!), and as a result the United States remains the last developed nation doing it to a significant percentage of newborns. (5) This was done as a result of the for-profit American health care system promoting myths about benefits of circumcision (6), such as preventing penile cancer (6a, 6b), preventing HIV (6c, 6d) despite the USA being the developed nation with the highest HIV rates and circumcision rates (6e, 5), and preventing STDs (6d, 6f). As a result, circumcision now brings in hundreds of millions of dollars to doctors and the American health system. (7)

However, circumcision has been becoming less popular as years have passed by. In the 1960s over 90% of guys were circumcised in the USA, now circumcision rates are as low as 14% in some states. (8) More and more parents are discovering that circumcision carries more risks than benefits, and realize that by leaving their sons uncircumcised, their sons have the choice of choosing what they’d like, since the surgery is irreversible (you can't go back if you don't like it or if it goes wrong).

Circumcision risks include the loss of sexual pleasure according to multiple studies (2, 9, 10, 11). Those studies take into effect many sensation points, including the foreskin, and they involve many participants. There have been other studies that claim no difference, but they don’t even take into effect the nerve endings on the foreskin, which as seen in one study, are some of the most sensitive points on the penis (10). One study even found an increase in erectile dysfunction rates after circumcision (10a). In another study, it was found that females ended up reaching orgasm with and preferring uncircumcised males in 9 out of 10 cases (10b). In addition, circumcision is extremely painful on newborns (12, 13, 14), and you risk many bad conditions, such as a buried penis when too much foreskin is removed and limits the size of the penis (15), or adhesions or skin bridges that develop from the head to the shaft when the skin heals after the surgery (16), meatal stenosis [occurs in up to 10% of circumcised males!] when the opening of the penis becomes irritated from too much exposure and rubbing and begins to close up (17), and meatal ulcers (18). All those risks are, of course, not including the possibility of having too much skin removed, which can cause discomfort during erections due to lack of skin to allow the penis to expand, and could consequently cause a hairy penis by pulling pubic hair and skin to the shaft. Often a circumcision scar develops around the penis after circumcision. In addition, circumcision has negative effects on breastfeeding. (18)

To conclude, here is a link that describes the anatomy of the foreskin (19) and the development of the foreskin with infants, a link especially helpful for parents (19a). Ultimately, one survey found that although uncircumcised guys are a bit more satisfied percentage-wise, it’s within the margin of error. (20) The only difference is that those unsatisfied uncircumcised guys can simply get circumcised and end up satisfied either way. If you're cut or uncut and happy, you'll say that side is better. If you got cut later in life, you'll say cut because you had problems with your foreskin before. If you're cut and had something go wrong or wish to have had a choice, then you'll say uncut. One survey found that up to half of circumcised guys wished to have had the choice themselves (as in, been left uncircumcised and they could have chosen to get circumcised if they wished later on in life). That's a huge number. (21) That, along with the risks and negative effects that are being seen more with the help of the Internet, may be what is bringing down circumcision rates.

Answer 10

I believe they will use a local anesthetic, but yes as kids get older it is more painful/ difficult.