Experiences with Circumcision

Hi C.,
overseas they do not circumcise unless it is necessary, usually. People tend to do it over here honestly because it's trend, other people they know are having it done, so everyone does it. I have 3 girls, but when we didn't know what the sex was we had chosen not to have them circumcised.I highly recommend against getting him circumcised, it's not necessary. good luck.

I have two boys, both circumcised. Dr. said the second one just sat there. I'd do it. It's easier to keep clean and easier to have done as a baby. Think about a teenage boy and how clean they are (not)...one less thing for them to have to worry about!

Good luck!

I have 2 boys, ages 7 and 4 and, like you, I did a lot of research on this before the birth of my first son. I could find no medically necessary reason either and when I asked my pediatrician, she just said "most people circumcise their sons, but it's largely due to habit and religion."

Their father had very strong feelings about it because he is uncircumcised, so we decided not to do it. They are both uncircumcised and I have no regrets.

C.

I circumcised my son. Simply because I wanted to, and it really is a little cleaner and easier in the long run.

The procedure is usually done on the day (or day before) you are released from the hospital...they give you vaseline and gauze-type pads to take home with you, but be sure to have vaseline on hand at home in case you run out.

For about a week or so (sometimes less, it heals very fast) you change the gauze pads and glob on vaseline (on the gauze) when you change their diaper.

I was worried at first, considering this was my first baby, but it's very easy...and I'm happy I did it.

www.daniellebuffardi.com

Like several of my friends, I let my husband decide on circumcision (he should know better than I). He chose to do it, and I have no regrets on this decision, no problems since then, and in retrospect it seems a minor decision in the big picture.
I haven't read any response from anyone who wrote about being present for the event - I was, and it was a bizarre thing to experience right after giving birth.
Good luck whatever you decide.

I would recommend doing it. Get a pediatric urologist and have it done right. We have two boys, both had numbing cream BEFORE the local anesthesia shots and lidocaine cream afterwards, discomfort: sure, pain: no.

One of my boys is a teenager now and if anyone honestly thinks their uncircumcised kid is going to tell a locker room bully in the showers about how "proud" he is of his parents decision to not circumcise him, you've been hanging out with the Winnie the pooh crowd too much.

Not doing it is still odd. My niece tells me the girls in college talk about who is and isn't. The boys in high school know already, and make comments. Unless you aren't going to share a gym locker or have a relationship until you're in your thirties(when people stop over-sharing information about each other), people are going to know.

This topic is very touchy for me, because circumcision is unnecessary. No one should ever take the risk of an unnecessary surgery, especially on a newborn.

The reasoning that they may need to have it done when they're older doesn't hold water for me - some women will have to have mastectomies later in life and breasts aren't a totally necessary body part...why not just cut them off at birth to save the potential future trouble? It doesn't make sense.

My husband and I discussed this at length when we were expecting our first baby. We didn't find out the sex ahead of time but, we wanted to be prepared in case it was a boy ...and it was. We decided NOT to circumcise him. There is no medical reason for it. We fell that we just needed to instill on him good hygiene habits from the beginning. More and more, circumcision has lost its predominance in our society and I’m convinced he won't stand out so much anymore. Of course, there is plenty of information online (http://www.circumcision.org is a good source of references).
Good luck and congratulations!

I have two boys. When my oldest was born (he's 29) there was really no discussion amongst the medical staff. They just assumed it would be done. I was not opposed to the procedure anyway, so he had it done. No complications. My second son was born five years later and the climate in the medical world had changed considerably. I had to ask about it and the pediatrician tried really hard to get me to reconsider. Mostly telling me how painful it would be for my son. I told the doctor that as much as I don't want to put my son in any pain, I have known too many people who had to have it done later in life - resulting in MUCH more pain that I'm sure my oldest son felt. I further told him that, if this were my first son, he might be able to talk me out of it. But I believed the emotional issues that came with being different from his father and his brother would be worse than the physical pain he would endure for the procedure. In the end, he was circumcised and he slept through the procedure! SLEPT THROUGH IT! What a relief after all the guilt the doctor had made me feel! It's a very personal decision, but one your child will live with. I believe you should do what you feel is best for your child and don't let others make you feel guilty about it - regardless of what you decide. Good luck to you and your family!

We did not circumcise our now 20-month-old and have never had an issue.

Hi,
We have a 1 year old son whom we did have circimcised. When it is done in teh hospital as an infant they use a local anasthetic and they feel little to no pain and it is all healed in a matter of days. With that said, the docots now use a clamp to do the circumcision and it in not very percise. It does happen that to much skin can be left and that it does not look fully circumcised. I had heard of this happening and then it happened to us. After discussing it with our pedi, and a surgeon we decided to re-do the circumcision which is a surgical procedure. When we were in the recovery room the nurrse told us that many boys come in between the ages of 10-18 and have the circumcision done then. THey grow up and then feel awkward with their friends who are circumcised. I personally would rathe do it as an infant than at 14.
All that said if we had another boy, I would do it again but I would make arrangements to have a specialist (urologist) do it the first time not the o.b.'s who generaly do it.
As a side note, when we had it re-done I thought that it would be a traumatic and painful event for my son b/c he is now one. We were at the park playing in the aftennon after the procedure. It can't be that bad if a one year old responded that way.

Hello,

I did have my son circumcised and when he was being taken away to have it done I felt awful but my doctor was telling me she did not do it for her son and she wished she had becasue he got an infection and had to have it done down the road anyway. She thought it would have been so much easier if he had it done as a newborn rather then older baby. When he came back after the procedure he seemed like he had no idea what happend and it did not take a long time to heal. I am also due with my third in December and if it's a boy (we are going to be surprised) I would do it agian. Do what you feel comfortable with! Good luck with the baby!

There are some medical benefits to circumcision. My nephew had trouble with infections and was circumcised at 6 years old, a memory that is probably much more prominent for him than it was for my son who was circumcised at birth. It reduces the chance of infection with some STDs, and lowers the risk of certain cancers. I'd do some more research before making your decision.

I have three boys and all three are circumcized. None of them had any issues so I would recommend it. I had a great uncle who had to have the procedure done at 60 years old for medical reasons so I was not taking that chance with my children. It is still considered cosmetic surgery but I feel strongly that I would rather have it done when they are young and will not remember it rather than older and be traumatized. It is a personal decision so good luck.

We went with the Hippocratic oath that doctors crazily forget when it comes to circs: first, do no harm. Circumcisions take away something either nature or God put there. They are not medically necessary (except in rare cases). They are painful and risk complications. My son doesn't match his dad and that's okay with all of us. Boys are often insecure about their penises, circumcised or not. Nothing makes puberty easy.

We chose to do it. Though things did not go as smooth as I would have wished. He had some clotting issues (but it is in no way deformed) & I was a mess. I too felt bad about doing it, but after discussing with my Dr. & the pedi I was more convinced it needed to be done. I am just thankful I had a section because I could not stomach diaper changes. I called the nurse for th first 24 hrs. I know I would do it again and don't think it will be any easier on me. I do beleive it is safer and healthier to do it. I think the greater issue is advocating for someone else and the want to do the "right" thing for your child. Good Luck with your decision.

I too had a boy after having two girls. I discussed it with my husband and decided since he was circumcisezed we would do the same to our son. That way he would look the same. I had a c-section with him and actually never saw him before he was circumcised. Well, I saw him just not his diaper area. It was quick though. The doctor came and took him out and 20 minutes later brought him back and it was all done. I know people say it's not medically necessary and if taught properly it can be very clean and stuff, but I was thinking a newly potty trained boy just isn't going to keep that area very clean. I mean my girls can't get themselves clean enough. So for hygiene I personally just thought it was better. Now I'm sure you'll get lots of strong feelings against doing it. You will need to decide what's best for your family. One argument is it's his and he should choose how it looks. So if when he's older he wants to be circumcised he always can be, but if he already is and doesn't want it then he can't replace it. But on the other hand that's a painful operation for a grown person and one he will definitely remember at that point in time. I strongly suggest you discuss this with your husband though and see what he thinks about it.

Hi C.. I don't personally have strong opinions on it. It's becoming more common. I would do it again for health reasons specifically given new information that has yet to be taken into account. The Academy of Pediatrics is reviewing and may be inclined to change their recommendation from being neutral to being in favor of it due to the sharp statistics in terms of transmission/aquisition of HIV, HPV, etc. It's pretty clear from the newest research that there is a big difference in the safety aspect for some serious diseases (HPV would more likely have more negative affects on his girfriend/wife later- cancer, sterility, etc- rather than him- but the HIV susceptibility would affect boys directly. This is new. Read:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081217123817...

and

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325180705...

**To add to my answer, we actually had ours done my a prominent pediatric urologic surgeon. He walked me through the procedure the tiny amount of skin being removed in less than a second and the topical anesthetic used. He promised me that the baby feels ABSOLUTELY no pain. He will scream because he doesn't like being restrained for the few minutes that it takes. But, that is due to being angry. He cannot feel the area in question. This is his area of expertise and he was a VERY kind man and I believe him in that the meds fully anesthesize the area. We had no problems afterwards.

C. K,

My husband is not circumsized. My son is due this Dec, and my husband and I decided not to circumsize. It's surgery that is unneccessary. Why put the little one thru trauma? My husband has told me that speaking w/circumsized men he has realized he is at an advantage and is more sensitive when having sex, thus experiencing a greater (you know what). I'll keep this PG! We feel our son can choose to be circumsized when he is an adult. He should have a choice. I read responses and have more justification to our decision not to circumsize, I will once again breastfeed, and I dont' want this surgery to interfere!

Hope you can come to a good decision, good luck!

C.

I have two sons 3 & 1 yrs old. I skipped the circumcision for the same reason you gave in your post. They are both healthy and happy. Good luck!

Hi C.!!!
My husband & I have 3 boys-6yrs, 18mo & 6 mo. None of our boys nor my husband are circumcised, and we haven't had any problems so far. I've heard people say its dirty (it's not) or there's a higher risk of infection, what if they get made fun of, etc. Our oldest son knows to take extra care when he's in the shower washing himself. So far, he has not been made fun of. In case he ever does have a problem, we've told him that if anybody has something to say about it, that everybody is made differently, and they shouldn't be looking down there anyway.
I have had people make comments to me about our decision not to circumcise, but I will never regret our choice. You are right that's it's not medically necessary, and I personally think its barbaric and there's no point in making a baby go through the suffering.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your little guy!!!
Cindy

I have 3 boys and all were circumsised. All 3 good experiences with no problems and no regrets.

I didn't do it but just b/c I thought "why bother taking off what nature has there already." I don't think I would like to deal with the newborn pooh and an open wound but that is just me...be comfortable with whatever decision you choose. He will be perfect to you no matter what you decide. Good Luck, Nat

I did it - for many reasons, including religious;older men in nursing homes tend to get painful infections underforeskin; transmission of STDs.

HOWEVER - my son was in the NICU for many months and did not get circumcised until later in his stay. I spoke with the nurses over several weeks while making up my mind. They were clear that some OB doctors are not too sensitive to the pain management and others are. Since my OB was not at the same hospital, I had a neonatologist circumcise my son. He was gentle, kind and made sure to have tylenol administered prior to the procedure. If you choose to go ahead with it, then be adamant on how you want your son to be treated.

Both of my sons had a briss and I was there during the circumsision. The first son barely cried AT ALL (seriously diaper changes were more stressful for him at that point) and he healed very fast. The second son cried a bit more (maybe 20 minutes) but he was fine after that and he also healed incredibly fast. The diaper changes are not bad either after the first 24 hours.
I think either way is fine...it is really a personal decision. I was so nervous for it, but after going through both, I really do not see what I was worried about because it really was not a big deal at all. I would definitely nurse after, as that is always a big comfort!

My son is not circumcised. His Dad is. I saw no reason to do it. Medically unnecessary and potentially painful. Also knew of a boy who's circumcision was botched. My son (4.5 years) has had no health problems. I have no regrets. In doing "informal" interviews with friends and family, it seemed like about 50-50 circumcised and not.

I had a little boy 2 years ago and I was so afraid of the circumcision, but I never had any doubts about doing it. I think having a boy circumcised is much more hygenic as well as aesthetically more pleasing. I think if the child's father is cicumcised it's a good idea for your son to be as well so he never feels like he looks "different". The actual procedure turned out to be no big deal; my son didn't even cry. Taking care of it afterward was not a problem either - just some vaseline and some gauze for about a week and it was all healed. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to circumcision - he will not suffer for not having it done, but I definitely think it's cleaner and easier to maintain if the boy is circumcised. Good luck!

HI C.,

I have two boys, we did decide to circumcise them so they would not look different from dad. I did have regrets doing it, I now feel it was so unnecessary to put them through the pain they had. I thinks its barbaric now. But they are happy well adjusted men. Good luck!

D.

My friends and i had this dicussion 9 years ago when a friend was asking us what we thought. We all came to the conclusion that if god exists he put it there for a reason and if not evolution would have taken care of it. She ended up not circumcising her son, now 8 and has never had any issues. Her sister opted out on her son as i did on my 2 boys. Look up the history of circumcision and you'll be surprised how it became so wide spread outside of religion.

I have to say it is your call on that one. But i when i was a Nanny of 1 boy he got alot in infections down in that area because he was not circumcised. It does happen and he would have to make sure he is very care full and wash really well when he is older. Good luck.

I have two boys, and I felt the same as you when expecting our first son. It seems barbaric to do it, without there being a sound reason to do so. But, then I googled uncircumcised and, never having seen one before, decided we should go ahead! So both our boys had it done, and no regrets.