should i circumcise my babys penis? i read all about it but im still undecided?

Question

the father doesnt wanna do it because he said its going to hurt him but now i kinda of wanna do it for his own good in the future!!
if you have a boy did you do it? and what was the main reasoN?

Answer 1

The current recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics is not in favor of routine circumcisions. Although sometimes circumcisions have potential benefits, they are not substantial enough to make it a routine practice.

While some argue that an uncircumcised penis is unhygienic and more prone to infection and STDs like HIV, with a proper education on how to care for the penis and to practice safe sex, those risks are negated. Also, there is some evidence that there is a higher risk of penile cancer with uncircumcised men, however that risk is also very low - less than 10 cases per million men.

Ultimately it's your choice. I chose not to do it, because I don't believe the benefits are enough to multilate my child's genitals. In the vast majority of the world, boys are not circumcised. My sons father is not circumcised either.

Answer 2

It's really up to you. I'm not going to get it done on my son (due in March) since I don't believe in circumcision. People still think that circumcision makes the penis cleaner but that has been medically proven wrong. Whether the penis is circumcised or not you still have to teach your son proper hygiene and how to clean it regardless. If you think about it the vagina has a lot more folds and crevices than an uncircumcised penis yet you would never think of circumcising your daughter, you would just make sure you clean her effectively and teach her to do the same so why should it be different for a boy? It's such a double standard in America that female circumcision (which still exists) is mutilation while male circumcision is not. If you think about it, it's ridiculous. Also, the STD theory and uncircumcised penis' isn't 100% true. Oh and to what the other lady said before the baby DOES feel it when they are cutting him so lets not kid ourselves! They cry like crazy. I know because I have seen one! And maybe the actual cutting of the foreskin is short lived but how about the fact that they put on clamp on it throughout the whole procedure?? Now you're gonna tell me that the clamp doesn't hurt either, right? If you do end up having it done on him than I would insist they at least put some numbing gel on him down there since no baby deserves to go through pain like that. And I know that people are going to give me a thumbs down but I don't care. It's how I feel!

Answer 3

I think you should listen to the father, it will hurt him, did you know they don't use adequate anaesthetic? http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/

No point in doing it for the future - you'll have no idea if he'll need it or not. If you take care of him properly (don't pull the foreskin back, just wash the outside, basically), then he won't need to have it done later. In terms of looks, 50% of boys being born now aren't circumcised, so he won't be in a weird minority or anything, feel left out, or have girls surprised (even if he would, that's not a good reason). I think you should give your son the choice because it's his penis.

No I wouldn't do it to my sons it is not done here in Australia (and problems are rare in the little boys). In fact it is banned in most public hospitals, and this is in a country where 90% of boys were cut 40 years ago, so all the doctors making these decisions are cut.

If you're undecided, why not leave the decision up to your son?

Answer 4

No, my sons will NOT be circumcised. Its painful and unnecessary. Its actually alot harder for a woman to clean her vulva and labia than it is for a man to wash under his foreskin. It doesn't even retract until later in childhood, so for the first years you just wash the outside and leave it alone. By contrast, with a circumcised infant you have to apply vaseline and make a dedicated effort to keep it clean and make sure that the skin does not re-adhere. Many doctors still do not use any anesthesia and when they do it is often inadequate. Beyond that, they get nothing for the pain while it heals. Can you imagine being in diapers with an open wound on your genitals? The foreskin also contains thousands of nerves, research has shown that the most sensitive parts of a mans penis are on his foreskin. In circumcised men, the most sensitive part is often their SCAR. They've also done studies that show that circumcised male infants have a greater pain response to vaccinations 6 MONTHS after the procedure. So it does hurt, and they remember. The United States is the ONLY 1st world country that routinely cuts their sons. Even here the rate is falling, its now about 50% nationwide, even lower in some areas. It is never too late to be circumcised, so if your son grows up and wants it done, its a minor surgery done with full anesthetic and post-op pain care in adults. Its easy to remove the skin, but impossible to put it back. If you are concerned about "looking like Dad", ask you husband how many times in his life he's seen he's father's penis? The first thing kids notice is that its bigger and hairier before the notice circumcision status. As for locker room teasing, why would anyone be looking at your kids penis? What if he has a small penis? Would you surgically enhance it for him to avoid teasing? If you educate your son about the benefits of being intact he should be proud to be uncut. Recent research has also shown that circumcised infants are 12% more likely than their uncircumcised peers to contract MRSA. That means 12 out of 100 boys are at risk to contract MRSA through their circumcision wound. If you add up all the reasons a boy might have to be circumcised later the risk does not equal 12%. That alone is reason enough not to do it. Do your son a favor and leave the fate of HIS foreskin up to HIM. -Neb

Answer 5

I am having a son in a few months, he will not be circumcised. I am not circumcised, and I have had no problems and kinda like having my foreskin.

The best reason not to circumcise is, it is not your penis. Your son should be the person to decide if it is just extra skin or not. If you search through here, you will find men that are angry they were circumcised and some even considering foreskin restoration. Now most men are just fine with being circumcised, but they don't really have much choice. Leaving him along he can always decide to be circumcised later. I would just much rather be a parent of a child that hates to being uncircumcised than a parent of a child that hates being circumcised.

Circumcision rates are dropping in the US. All medical associations have reversed their endorsement of circumcision. The problem is, any benefits are exaggerate or fictitious. The risks involved with circumcision outweigh any benefit.

The US is the only first world county to circumcise for health benefits. Only 15-30% of the men in the world are circumcised. Funny enough you don't hear of men in Europe having their penises fall off.

Although surfnyoga dude will say the drop in circumcision is only immigrants, how many of those immigrates do you think read MSNBC? A link to a poll about circumcision:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19296194/

Since someone brought up AIDS...

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Circumcision may reduce a man's risk of infection with the AIDS virus by up to 60 percent if he is an African, but it does not appear to help American men of color, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Black and Latino men were just as likely to become infected with the AIDS virus whether they were circumcised or not, Greg Millett of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

Answer 6

Don't do it, it is not needed.

Did you know that the majority of the men in the world are NOT circumcised? In Canada, the majority of men are intact, same for the UK, Austrailia, Europe, Latin America, Japan, China etc. I could go on and on.

There is nothing "good" that comes out of it. Only potential harm.

Look up:
-meatal stenosis (only happens to circumcised boys because their penis doesn't have the protection of the foreskin)
-penile adhesions
-urine retention and circumcision
-infection
-trapped/buried penis

And there are plenty more. The pain is not the main issue, in my opinion. They offer anesthesia and your son most likely won't remember it. The main thing is that your son is born perfect. He does not NEED any modifications. Boys have the same right as girls to genital integrity. Leave him whole.

I'm not cut and I didn't have my son cut. No one in my family is cut and we're all healthy and alive. Don't believe the hype.

Answer 7

Oh my, the anti-circs already rallied the troops to give thumbs down to every positive answer. My, my, what a shock. Here's another answer that'll get 10 thumbs down in two days thanks to the wonderful network these people have to gang up.

Anyway, both my sons are circumcised. We did it for religious reasons, but it's cleaner and I strongly believe it has medical benefits. Just lurk a couple of times on anti-circumcision parental forums and see how many poor little boys are suffering from UTIs, swollen and red penis and constant infections and irritations. It's heartbreaking, because even those who definitely have a problem, will have to endure it because their moms refuse to circumcise them. Very, very sad.

However, the vast majority of men, circumcised or not, live happy and healthy, so it's really your choice to make. It's your son and no one can bully you into making a choice that's not right for him. No one here can tell you what that is, so do your research, talk to your doctors, talk to other moms and make up YOUR mind.

And BTW, don't let lies influence your choice. Someone here said that babies are circumcised without anesthesia. That's a malicious lie. 97% of doctors who perform circumcision do it with anesthesia.

Answer 8

If I have a son, I'll be leaving his genitals intact. I'm not circumsized and have NEVER had a problem or infection with my foreskin, nor have I ever come across a girl that despised it.
If he chooses to get circumsized when he's older (of course under an anasthetic) then it's his penis so its his choice.
Dirt accumulates under our fingernails, doesnt mean we should remove them at birth. Same kind of principle with the myth that circumsized is cleaner.

Answer 9

I am circumcised and if I have a son I will probably not have him circumcised. It is done in the U.S. to a much greater degree than anywhere else in the world (well maybe not Israel) but you don't hear a lot about epidemics of dirty pee-pee diseases in other countries. I would leave it up to him.

Answer 10

Our son is intact. Mother Nature intends men to have a foreskin. It protects the end of the penis like an eyelid protects an eye. Cutting off baby eyelids would be barbaric and cruel, right? So is robbing a man of his birthright to an intact body.

More and more babies are staying intact because their parents have come to realize that cutting babies is just a bad fad. The circ rate is dropping like a stone all around the United States. There's even a bill trying to make cutting babies illegal. Chances are, even if you cut your son, your grandsons will be whole like the rest of the world's men.