Circumcision

I just had a son a month ago, and that was how it was with him. The doctor on call did the circumcision.

My office also has five doctors, and when I had my son, one doctor delivered him, however, a different doctor did the circumcision. I personally didn't think it was that big of a deal because I was confident with all the doctors. My husband actually watched the circumcision (I tried, but couldn't stand how they have to strap them down). They do a really good job with the child and trying to calm them as much as possible, so I wouldn't worry about it. If you are considering not having it done, do some research first. I know my cousin researched it and decided not to have it done for her son. It is basically a matter of preference if you want it done or not.

N.,

The practice of my son's peditrician is to do it himself at the hospital before he went home. The OB vs peditrician issue never came up. Also, I was considering not doing it and my husband did some research and said there can be problems later in life for a boy that does not have it done. Hope this helps.

Val K

OBs do the circumcision. It is such a simple routine procedure.. whoever is around does it..

We did not circumcize our son. He is 1 year old and is fine.

Only about 50% of boys are now circumcized. You might want to think aobut it...

It can always be done later..If your son has a problem or he wants it done.

N. ~
I am an OB nurse, so I am very familiar with this situation. The doctors I work with, if there is more than 1 in the practice, then whoever is on the day of the circumcision does it. So maybe Dr. A does the delivery, and Dr. B is on the next day and he/she does the circumcision. I know that at some hospitals the pediatrician does it (Riverside used to do it that way). Remember that OB/GYNs are all surgeons - they perform c-sections and gyn surgeries all the time. Most boys are circumcised in this country. The ones I see that aren't are usually 1st generation immigrants and it's not routinely done overseas (or Jewish and have it done on the 8th day). To have it done soon after delivery is better than going back later and having it done since the nerves aren't quite as sensitive. My nephews were both born in Germany, so my brother had to wait until they were 6 weeks old to have it done, and they required anesthesia. We usually give a 24% sucrose solution by mouth to block the pain (it's a whole gate-way theory, seems to help some), or some dr.'s use a lidocaine cream or local lidocaine injection.
Hope that helps!
D.

That is a pretty routine practice. You do have the right to inquire about the physicians' experience, however. What technique do they use? What anesthetic? How many have they done? What is their complication rate? A good surgeon will be happy to answer these questions honestly.

You may want to consider whether or not to have him circumcised at all, however. I am a physician. Long before I had children, I was surprised by the lack of medical evidence to support the benefits of circumcision. I had always heard it was "necessary" to prevent all sorts of diseases. When I became pregnant with my firstborn years later, and found out he was a boy, I struggled with whether or not to have him circumcised. I really couldn't justify in my mind putting him through a painful surgical procedure with potential risks of complications just so he could look like his dad. We ended up leaving him intact, and haven't regretted it. It's becoming a less common procedure, and only about 50% of boys in the US are circumcised now.

The American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends circumcision as a medically necessary procedure. They have a policy statement discussing the pros and cons of circumcision on their website: http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/ped...

Good luck with your decision and congratulations!

Hi N.,

I just saw that someone suggested having your pediatrician do it. I was told pediatricians (at least most of them) are NOT surgeons, which is why the OB's do the procedure, as they ARE surgeons. And yes, at the hospital where I had my babies (St. John in Detroit), the OB on call that day did the circumcision. Congratulations on your upcoming bundle of joy!! :)

That is common. I was actually shocked that the pediatrician didn't do it.

We decided not to circumsize our son and I have never regretted it. If you have questions/concerns I recommend discussing them with your pediatrician.

I am from England and have two boys that were born in the USA. Neither have been circumcised since it is not common practice in England and seems a strange thing to do as it is not a medical requirement if everything looks normal. I was 'offered' circumcision both times in the hospital and just refused and said no we weren't doing it. That was the end of it. Why put them through agony for something that is purely cosmetic....unless you are Jewish of course. That is the only reason for circumcision in England.

The OB on rounds will do the circumsion. I believe that this is routine. My understanding is they do it because they are "surgeons", where pediatricians are not. Good luck!

Hi N.,

Congratulations on your new son! I've had 4 boys in 3 different hospitals, and they all did the same thing. The 1st and 3rd hospitals even tried to let a resident do the circumcisions. So, when your baby goes back to be circumcised, make sure you find out who the doctor is who will be doing it. Sometimes they will come to your room first to talk to you about it. You have the right to say no until another doc comes in. Hope for Gods blessings on you.
G.

Yes, it's routine for the OB to do the circ...and that means whoever is on call. However, you have choices here, don't be afraid to voice them. This is your baby, not thiers. If you want it done by a certain doc, say so. It can wait a day or so!

~L.

Hi N., I have two sons both delivered at St. Joseph's in Ann Arbor. They use the same process. I did not worry about either son. They were both done at their first day and neither one had a problem. Hope this helps and good luck!

I have three sons. My youngest so is 3 months old. I gave birth at St Joe in Ann Arbor for all my boys. The latest circumcision was done by the pediatrician on staff at the hospital. It was done about twelve hours after he was born and I made my husband go in with him. My brother who had a boy several years earlier made a funny comment once that .."if my boys going to war I'm going with him." My husband said it was very quick. I had no doubt about having a circumcision because we were in the emergency room once and a twelve month old came in with an infection because he wasn't.

yes this is the regular thing for ob offices you must meet all the dr before u deliver.. the dr that is on call will deliver your little then the ob at your office who is working at the hospital the day you have the circ done will be the one to do it... i saw all my dr from my ob office when i had my son in the hospital...also your ped dr will check the surgery and give you instructions on caring for him

I noticed a lot of moms said they didn't circ there boys. And thought that was so cool. I read there's 20% more nerves in that bit of skin. How great would it be if sex was 20%'s better :) And I wonder what's the 20% of pain it would be to remove?
I do think, if you decide to do it, you should make a few calls. Maybe your Doc will come to the hospital.
You'll choose the best for your family. A. H

Make sure you check with your insurance on coverage for this. My insurance told me that the circ was covered but if I left the hospital without having it done and later changed my mind it would be considered cosmetic and not be covered.

I have never understood why a doctor with a specialty in women's reproductive organs does the circumcision?!!! Personally, I wouldn't want a urologist delivering my baby, KWIM? Anyway, to the question, we decided not to circ our son, not on any strong conviction but just a "why mess with it" feeling. But if I were going to, I would be really nervous about just anyone on rotation doing my son's surgery. I'd want to know.

Our OB practice was the same way. Our son was born on Thursday night and on Friday morning a different doctor came in to do the circumcision. He was just the one working at the hospital that day. Of course it was my least favorite doctor but what can you do? What your OB's do is totally routine.

HI N.,

You have the right to refuse a circumcision. Don't assume that it's just routine. I'm not morally opposed to it, but it is a surgery so parents need to be informed. Just decide whether it's worth it to your son. Good luck!

L.

Don't that baby at Henry Ford Hospital because it may not be done right!!!!!

Yes ... that is routine. I work for an all female ob/gyn practice and all the doctors are very good in this area. The peds nurses say that one of our doctors is VERY good at it. That it looks great after shes done. lol

I only ever got girls, but with our first child we didn't know if she was a girl or boy (we tried, she didn't tell). So, when we were meeting with our family physician (who serves as the peditrician as well) about what to expect from him, and the practice, at the hospital circumcision came up. He actually recommended that if it were a boy, to tell the OB's office that our peditrician was going to do it. I'm not sure how other ped's offices handle that, but it may be something that would be worth talking to your ped about. Especially if you are more comfortable with the staff at your ped's office than the OB's, if it's an option, you may just want to go with it.

I'm sure this is pretty standard - just like when you go into labor, the doctor on call will be doing the delivery.

My office was the same way.

J.

I lived in Kalamazoo at the time of my son's birth, but the pediatrician performed the Circumcision. I would feel more comfortable if a pediatrician would do it, but if it is the practice of your OB to do it, then they have probably done so many of them it is routine for them as well. Don't worry....it is a pain in the butt, but my son did just fine and all is well.

I had my son at 12:31 am and so the on call OB delivered him (thank god because I did NOT like my regular OB), she was not the one who did the circumcision. My regular OB came in the next day and preformed the procedure, she wasn't on call but came in to see how I was doing and to do that. If you are set on having your OB do it, I would say that - it's an in office procedure, very simple so I don't think it should be an issue to take him to have it done.

Congratulations and good luck with the new baby!

The doctor on call that day did my son's and I was told I was lucky because she does such a great job! Yes, it is true - sorry to say (at least at my practice)

Good Luck.

If you don't feel comfortable with your ob/gyn you may request that either your pediatrician or a peds urologist do the circumcision. I hope this helps. B.

I have two boys 12 and 1- yeah I know...crazy! Anyway for both of my boys their pediatrician, or the pediatrician on call does the circumcision. So if you are worried, talk to your pediatrician- see what their policy is.

Hi N.,
My husband is a medical student and during his peds. rotation he has performed circumcision. It is true that whoever is on rounds that day will be doing the circumcision. It is so routine for the peds. doctors and it is basically done using the instrument. If you do have any concerns you should address it to your peds. office and they can guide you through what they will be doing while your son gets circumcised. Also, make sure the peds. office does their rotations at the hospital that you will be having your son so you will be comfortable with the doctor who will be preforming the circumsion.

Hi N.,
I had my baby boy about 12 weeks ago and I was in the same situation as you, I went to an office with about six ob/gyns and that was the case for me. whoever was on rounds that day was who did the circumcision and of course the only doctor I hadn't met (because of our schedules conflicting) was the one who did the cicumcision. Everything went very well, so I was happy about that. I do like all of the docs I did get to meet so that eased my mind a little about the one I didn't. Anyways, hope this helps. Congratulations and good luck with your first boy!!
K. C

I have three boys (4, 3 and 9 mo)...they are all circumcised. I had the same OB for all three. With my oldest, a urologist did the circumcision…with the other two, the OB did the circumcision. I now realize a urologist did my eldest son because the OB was overloaded (he was the only doc in his practice at the time). To be honest…I do not like how my younger two were circumcised. With my youngest, it seems there is still too much skin left. We actually have to push the skin down when we clean him…we never had this problem with my older boys. The pediatrian says it will get better as he gets older…my infant is quite a fatso…but so were my other boys and we didn’t have the same problem??

We have a good friend who is a urologist in Boston…I contacted him to discuss my youngest sons circumcision. His opinion was…do not get your infant circumcised at the hospital after birth. He recommends going to a urologist within the first 6 months. There are some drawbacks tho. If I remember correctly, they do not use local anesthetic. My friend does not have children…but I respect his professional input. It was too late for us…we already had the three boys circumcised.

I would recommend talking to your OB and possibly a local urologist to get their insight.

When I gave birth to my son, almost 11 months ago I had 12 rotating ob's and any one of them could be there for delivery. Luckily it was one that I liked =). The circumcision was to be done by his pediatrican that I chose a couple months before delivery. However, the pediatrian's office also does rounds so it ended up being a different doctor in the practice from the one I had chosen and met. Although it was difficult to let him go for this minor surgery right away I"m glad it was done and over with so quickly with no complications. Don't worry N. your baby will be fine, they do these circumcisions all the time.

I personally would not circumcise my son. I think you should talk with your husband....believe me, he knows a lot more about circumcision than you and your doctors....go with his advice.

The rounding pediatrician in the hospital will do your son's circumsion, not the ob/gyn's, at least I hope so! I don't think you want the doctor that delivered your baby to also cut on your tiny baby. That should be done by a pediatrician.
Good Luck!

As far as I know, having a circumcision done is routine practice for baby boys. My OB/GYN came back to the hospital the day after my son was born and performed the circumcision personally; she does have her own practice, though. The on-call doctor/pediatrician was just there to answer questions.

Now, when my son was three months old, he got sick and spent a couple of days in the hospital. Our pediatrician's office has five or six doctors, and we went to the hospital that they work out of. For the two days we were there, there were two different pediatricians. I wished our pediatrician was doing rounds that weekend, but I felt a little better knowing that at least the pediatricians that saw my son in the hospital worked in the same office with his pediatrician, so he was able to keep up with what was going on. After that, we saw the other pediatricians in the office during his checkups and whatnot, just to get a feel for them, to see how they work. It's good to know your options, just in case the doctor you're most comfortable with isn't available one day. I'd say get to know them and decide which two or three you like, that way if something happens (God forbid) and you need to go to the hospital, you'll have an idea of the person you'll be seen by.

Hope this helps!

I have heard that there are actually medical benefits to circumcision. Research the pros and cons from a medical standpoint as well, this may help in your decision.

--L.

I'm a MOTB (mom of three boys). Two born overseas where it isn't routine at all, one born at U/M. Since it didn't seem important enough to circumcise the older two, I chose not to bother with the youngest.
None are facing life threatening illnesses from it. Or lack of it.
It's an individual decision, N.. It isn't required, doesn't make for being a first or second class citizen. The only place I know of where it's consistently done is among the Jewish community, for traditional and faith reasons. With the rest of families, it's commonly done just out of habit, really. It's been done for so many years, and supposedly for health reasons that have since been quashed. So it therefore is 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.

Our pediatrician did our son's circumcision. I'm surprised that the OB would even be involved in the child after birth. It might be worth a discussion with your pediatrician. If it is the practice of the OB doing it, you can always request that they not do it and have peds do it.

Good luck!

K.

That is what happen to me, I was at office of Eastside OB's and I had 2 doctor's while in delivery and than a different doector do the circumcision (which happen to be my doctor because he was on call).

It is now standard procedures for the pediatrician on call at the hospital to do the circumcision when its time. You'll likely be given the option to be present. A.