To Circumsize or Leave as Is?

I am from England and we do not circumcise (unless medically needed) , there is no reason to circumcise and boys that have not been done do not need to have it pulled back to clean (it will pull back on it's own as it grows). The other poster who said her friends husband had infections because he was not done , that it rubbish , he is just unfortunate OR not washing properly!!

The only issue I can see you having is that you have 1 son done and 1 (possibly) not , they will notice they are different and will ask many Q's , but if you are prepared for that then go with whatever option you decide is best and not what other people try to tell you is best.

I agree with previous answer...my brother in-law is in medicine, and he is 100% for circumcision. He stated many more males than one realizes will need a circumcision later in life, and the one thing he's heard from all of them is...'I wish my parents would have had me circumcised at birth.'

a lot of us are opting out! i know if i had learned about things just a few months earlier, i would NOT have circ my son! :) :)
congrats to you for making this decision!

Hi A., I think a lot of people have really strong opinions on this subject and some people do feel that it's stupid to circumcise when there "is no medical reason." I think it is a completely personal decision. Do your own research. don't take any one's opinion for it. The truth is there can be medical problems later in life no matter how diligent the hygiene is. That being said, they are extremely rare. There are probably just as many ill effects (like what you are mentioning with bridging) from having it done as from not. If you and your husband feel more inclined to go a certain way, go with it. Don't worry about the social norms, many people are opting out these days. There are still a great deal who are having it done. It might even be getting close to half and half. I like many of the moms here let my husband decide with our son. I felt comfortable with his decision. I hope this helps (not sure if it does at all!)

My husband and I were divided as to whether to circumsize our son, and in the end we made the decision not to. My OB didn't make a recommendation either way, but basically said it was our choice. There was really no reason to do it. Once we made the final decision and told our pediatrician in the hospital, he said, "Good, its unnecessary torture, but I wouldn't have told you that if you said yes." He then told us that he had two sons and had no circumsized them either. I figure if there is no medical reason for the procedure according to our pediatrician, then there's no point in putting our son through the ordeal or ourselves through any complications that could arise. We did have some people think it was strange though that we made the choice not to. I think its a personal choice and one that is fairly evenly divided.

We opted not to circumcise our son. I couldn't bare to do that to him. My husband knows several men who are uncircumcised, and they are fine.

I only have a girl, but have many friends with boys. About half did and half didn't circumsize. Of those that did, at least one was botched and had to be redone when he was six. This was extremely PAINFUL!

I would not worry about what other boys think in the locker room or what girls will think, because of the trend away from this procedure.

If I had a boy, I would not have done it. If someone had suggested I have a piece of my baby daughter cut away, I would have thought they were crazy!

I have two boys who are not circumcised. We have not had any problems with either of them.

I'd say about 40% of the boys I know that are babies or young children are not circumcised.

Good luck with your choice!

I chose not to circumsize my son. I dont see a need and thinks if he wants to have it done he can do it in the future. I do worry about when he is older and in the locker room, but it really seems like people are half and half these days. We will deal with it when it happens.
It made me feel good when the dr walked in and asked if we were doing it and I said no, he said "good choice" There are always pros and cons, just go with your gut.

We didn't have it done with either of our boys. I always assumed we would, but my husband was VERY against it. He was circumcised and feels like he was mutilated. So then I figured, if they get to be older and want to have it done then, they can always have it done, but they can never have it UNdone.

Another issue you may want to look into is some insurance companies no longer cover it.

My son and all of my friends sons are not circumcised.
My Pediatrician's sons are not circumcised.

We have had no problems.

In the U.S., circumcision is more common.

Nowadays, there are many un-circumcised boys.. and many that are. So there will be many different looking penises in the proverbial "locker room", in this generation. The boys nowadays will just grow up in a more diverse generation. Versus those that were "always" circumcised.
It is a personal decision.

All the best,
Susan

I opted out because my boys are adopted. My older son was 7 weeks when I got him, and the younger one was four weeks, and I just didn't want to put them through a trauma as their first experience with me. As time went on, I thought more and more that it was a good idea to just leave them in their natural state. My big boy's 19 now, and it doesn't seem to have "slowed him down" at all --- the young ladies just run after him like nobody's business... and no problems for my twelve year old yet, either. Seems every few years there's a new research study saying that circumcision is good, or circumcision is bad, so I figure if there's no consistent scientific opinion on it, might as well go with mother nature.

circumsions were started on american boys b/c they thought it would prevent them from masturbating. What a crock! There is no reason to do it unless your religion requires it.

Good topic. My first 2 sons (biological, now ages 25 & 22) were circumsized and both times it was a nightmare. They were done by different surgeons and are both "botched". My 4 year old (born in my heart in Guatemala) came home at 6 months old, uncircumsized. I knew before he came home that I could not do the circ again to a child. He is doing just fine and has had no issues with this. I would recomend NOT doing it.
E.

My son is 3 months old and we did not circumsize him. There is no medical necessity for doing this, and no matter what people have told you, IT IS VERY PAINFUL. I can't imagine hurting my precious and otherwise happy and healthy baby just to follow the norm.

my son is not. I could never imagine doing that to him. His dr. is also very against it. There is no reason at all to have it done other than cosmetic, which is silly in my opinion. But research it first and only you and your husband can decide what is best for your family

As others have said, there is no medical reason to circumsize. It's just a cultural habit in America, and getting to be less so. Insurance usually doesn't pay for it because there's no reason to do it. My pediatrician flat out refuses to do it because it's painful and there's no reason. We didn't want our son circumsized anyway, and were glad to find out what the pediatrician really thought about this question. I also thought about the "locker room" question, but it seems that many boys are not circumsized these days, so being different from everyone else won't be an issue.

We had both our boys circumcised. I feel no need to explain or defend our decision. We would do it again and feel good about it just as I am sure parents that don't circumcise feel about their choice. To each their own. We are blessed indeed to be free to make the decisions that are right for us and our families, aren't we?

Only practical advice I can offer: With our first, they did a ...bell?...method. Not sure that is the right word. But the gist of it is they put a plastic cap on the tip and twist the top off and as it twists, it cuts. We did have to be vigilant and keep it vaselined and pulled back the first few months. With the second, the pediatrician whipped out a scalpel and did it the old fashioned way. Fantastic! I would request that method if you opt to do circumcision again.

BTW -- My father in law had his done at age 58 and it was not pleasant. In fact, I wish he hadn't felt so compelled to share his story with everyone. Blech!

We aren't doing it. My hubby is from Ireland, and he thinks it's barbaric. Americans are really the only people in the world that circumsize.

This is a touchy subject. I don't know that there is any right or wrong answer to this. You really just need to do the research, talk to your husband, and to your pediatrician about what you think is best. Just know that it heals quicker the sooner you have it done. So if you decide to wait and either have it done later or have him choose to have it done when he's older, the pain and the healing process will take longer. Both of my boys were circumsized as a newborn, and have had no problems at all. If you are feeling that strongly against it, then don't listen to anyone but your own instincts.

If it were up to me, I probably would have opted out, but since it didn't seem to be a huge health concern either way, I bowed to my husband's preference on this issue. We have five boys, who have all been circumcised, and none have ever had any problems with it. He felt that they would prefer to be like him, and later on, like the other boys in the locker room. Didn't want them to feel like they were standing out. Now there seem to be more and more people opting out, so that's probably not even much of an issue anymore. But to me, since I'm not a man, and he had strong feelings about it, I didn't have a problem letting him decide. Best of luck to you.

As you've heard already a lot, this is a hot button topic. We chose NOT to circ. My sister did circ her boys. Our choice was right for us; her choice was right for her. That being said, I have some informative articles I could send you via email if you're interested. Also, if you've never actually seen a circ done, check this out.... http://video.yahoo.com/watch/163488/562046

Good luck with your decision.

We did have our son circumsized, but my husband really debated it when we were at the hospital.

It used to be argued that it was more sanitary to have a circumcision than to not, but these days, the scientific evidence just doesn't seem to be there. When I attended the national conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics in October, there were several groups protesting circumcision. The doctor who accompanied us fought them vigorously on their rationale.

The main reason we decided to go with it was because of concerns later in life when he looked different in a locker room or with a girl physically.

I do know that almost all the boys in his class (he's now 3.5) are circumcized - unfortunately, they tend to walk around with their pants down after they go to the bathroom for the world to see their splendors.

When I found out that I was going to have my son, the first thing I did was asked my husband. But he wasn't much help, he didn't really have an opinion about it. So the next thing I did was went searching on the internet for both pro's and con's. I didn't find much as far as pro's for doing this to my little guy. So I opted to not have him circumsized. This is how his body was made and that is how it was going to stay. He is now 3 yr old and has never had a UTI or bladder infection. Good luck on your decision!

I asked this question on here about a year and a half ago when I was getting ready to have my son. I got MANY responses, but I think the best advice was to just go with your gut. When I asked my kids' pediatrician and my ob for their advice, they basically said the same thing. There are reasons to do it, and reasons not to do it, but in the end it's a personal decision. You will decide to do it, or not do it, and then you'll live your life. I don't know about Mankato, but in my area, most parents are still circumsizing. In the end, I left the decision up to my husband since everyone I talked to was so 50/50, and there wasn't a clear-cut "right" answer. (He's also much more familiar with the "equipment" involved.) He decided that our son should be circumsized (we also called our insurance to make sure the procedure would be covered).

Many, many people are opting out! My son is not circumcized, even though my husband is. I know there are lots of arguments for and against and I am not one to argue about all that. I just think it makes sense to leave his body how it was intended to be. I don't think your son will feel strange in locker rooms, etc. when he's older. I'm sure there will be a mix and it won't be that big a deal.

Just my two cents.

B.

I strongly recommend that all women DO have their son's circumsized, and yes of course its going to look different and I would also have to say that it depends on the doctor that does the circumsizing. I had my son circumsized and am happy about it. But I will tell you one thing, I had my friend that married a man that was'nt circumsized and he always had problems with keeping his self clean and always got infections and so then he decided to have his circumsized, mind you he was 32 at the time, Ouch! But really if you think about it, it really is alot cleaner to have him circumsized rather then have problems down the road. I hope that this bit of information helped you! Take Care!

My son is two and IS circumsized. My whole pregnancy I researched and was really leaning towards not doing it. But my pediatrician and ob both said that there ARE higher incidents of STD's found in uncircumsized boys. Maybe that has changed again in the last couple years, but at the time, that is what the medical community was saying. I did lots of online research and found that studies were showing higher rates. They used to say there were more infections and such, and then the tide kinda went the other way and they were saying it is an elective and unnecesary surgery, then the studies were saying that there were real health reasons to do it. I deferred to my husbands preference once I read that.

I did NOT just let anyone do it. And only because I was questioning it did I realize that I had other options. When I asked, they said they would just have whoever was on call in the hospital do it if my ob didn't get to it first. I didn't really feel like my ob/gyn was the best choice for doing this surgery. I know they do them all the time, but that is NOT their specialty. I trusted my care to her completely, but for a circumcision I thought it should be performed by a pediatrician or a urologist. I also did NOT let the hospital resident pedi on call do it. I found a pediatrician's office that had a doctor on staff that would do them when he did his hospital rounds. It took some looking but I felt more comfortable with a doctor who specializes in babies doing it. My insurance paid for it, and I haven't heard of anyone's insurance not paying for it. Some will only pay in-hospital, and some will only pay out of hospital, I do know that. And they wouldn't pay for a urologist, though. That was an unnecessary specialist. Which is why I found the pediatrician I did. He did an amazing job.

As for the circumcision itself- there are a couple different kinds. My sister had a baby 2 mos before I did and she had the kind that is open and you keep it clean, pulled back, and vaselined and it heals, Is that the kind you had? My son had the kind where they put a band around the cicumsized area (sort of a hard plastic) and when it is fully healed it just falls off. Maybe ask about that type of circumcision. It seems like the bridging you described wouldn't really be possible with the type my son had.

It seems to be a very regional thing/trend. There is NO medical reason for circumcision, but many do it as "tradition" or what have you.

We did not circumsize our son. More doctors are recognizing that there is no medical reason to have a baby boy circumsized. Personally I think it's silly to do a surgical procedure on a newborn that is unnecessary. However, I'm sure others feel it is quite necessary. To each their own.

We opted out! Was a struggle to convince my husband, but I was very convinced.