I am expecting our second baby/first son in a few weeks and was wondering what all you moms think about circumcision. What made you decide to circ or not to circ your own children?
You're probably going to get a lot of strong opinions on this one, but I think it's just a personal, family choice. After doing a ton of research, we decided not to circ our son. My husband is not circ'd, and he's had no issues. Also, I didn't see the point in putting our son thru an unneccesary medical/seemingly painful procedure. I'm really glad that we didn't do it, and if we have another son, we won't circ him either. I can see both sides of the coin though, and I'm sure whatever decision you and your spouse make will be the best one. Congrats on your impending arrival!
I actually left this decision up to my husband because I thought he'd be more knowledgable about it! :) We did end up doing a circ. and haven't had any issues with either of our boys. You just need to keep the area clean and use a bit a vaseline so there are no issues with the diaper... After a couple days, the baby and parents don't know the difference. Whatever you decide will be fine!
The decision was made for us. We lived in Ireland and they did not circ boys unless it was medically necessary or upon very special request (real pain). We were leaning towards not doing it anyway.
My husband is circ and our 2 boys are not, but that doesn't seem to be any issues like "why is Daddy's penis different then mine?". We haven't had any infection issues either.
Some insurances will not pay for it so you'll need to check that. Otherwise, it's a personal choice. I did hear something about uncirc penis' passing on a virus that can cause cervical cancer. Not sure about the facts on that, so you should look into that if you want.
Good Luck and Congrats!
It's really a very personal decision. My husband is; our son is not. After reading a couple articles my brother & sis-in-law had forwarded to me, we decided it really didn't matter if he "looked like dad" or not. We've had no troubles and would make the same decision if we have another son some day. Good luck on your decision.
We chose not to circumcise our son. My husband is European, not circumcised, and didn't understand why I would even consider it. I do daycare and I've noticed that the boys are almost 50-50 nowadays, so there isn't the issue of being different from the other boys. Hygiene isn't really an issue if you talk to doctors. There is a slightly higher risk of cancer and getting and transmitting STDs, but using condoms is effective. I finally decided that it was a deed that couldn't be undone, but that could easily wait until later. If we had a problem with hygiene, which we haven't, or if he decides that it is something he wants to have done later it could be done at that time with pain killers.
Congratulations on your son! Reading these posts have made me feel better. We did not have our son circ. Sometimes I am wondering if we did the right thing, but now I feel better. It is definatly a personal choice. We decided not to do it because of the risk of infection and pain (i was a nervous first time mom with my son) I figured if it was something that bothered him later in life that he could make the choice to get it done (although I imagine it would be pretty painful) The hardest part of not having it for us was him being different. I know that one of my friends had her son circ. and they had to do it again when he was 3 because they did not take enough skin off--which I guess is pretty common.
I also kinda left the decision up to my husband. He got circ'd when he was 13-- still not by choice, so he knew truly how it felt and what it was like to have and not have =) Anyways, he did decide from his own experience to circ our son and to do it young. It truly is a personal choice of hot debate =) Congrats and good luck!!
i have 4 boys and i also left it up to thier dads (married twice). they both said to have it done. he said kids can be mean and pick on one another if things are different. i have not had any problems with it, the cleaning, getting infection, having to have it redone. after it was done the dr said that they had no problems and they boys weren't in any pain when i got them back to the room. two of them even slept threw getting the numbing shots. they said the younger they are the easier it is to do it. two of them had the "ring" the other two did not. there is no differnce in looks to either way. but what ever choice you make is your choice. talk to your ped dr and they can give you the plus and down side of either choice and go from there. good luck and congrats on the little one!
Congratulations on your baby! I would NEVER circ a son. It is not medically necessary and if it were so important to have that little piece of skin removed, why would he be born with it? Babies are born perfect, why does the medical community think that they need any alteration? Many people will say we want him to look like other boys or his dad. When do boys compare parts and how important is this? Most of Europe does not circ their boys, there is no reason. There is a movement for no circ and the reasoning and information is quite helpful. Try googling a site about no circ.
God is giving you this wonderful perfect baby, leave him alone, the way he was made.
Congratulations, good luck and enjoy your kids!
Julian
If you decide to have it done just by choice and not for medical reasons, be prepared, several years from now, with the answer when he asks 'why did you do it?'
My son was born 47 years ago overseas and it was done as a matter of course at the time. I was never able to give a satisfactory reason, that he could understand, when he first asked.
We didn't and it has been fine. They don't wonder why they aren't like daddy or anything. I scanned through the responses and didn't see that anyone had shared this so...you can find more info at nocirc.org
We decided not to circ our son. After watching the Penn and Teller episode about it we decided to do a little research. We found that the only reason to do it was for cosmetic reasons. We also found that doing it can damage some of the nerve endings in the penis. When it came down to it, there was no way I could allow anyone to hurt my son like that. When we were in the hospital, we found that it is just so common to snip boys that many nurses and doctors are not well educated about natural boys. We got allot of bad advice from medical professionals regarding care of our son that we knew was wrong. What ever you decide, be sure to read read read before going to the hospital.
These are the types of questions that usually start debates. :( I'll just say I curcumcised my first boy and not my second. They are 8 years apart. If you do research on it, watch videos of the circumcision i'm pretty sure your choice will be NOT to do it. IT is not something that needs to be done. They don't get infections or have problems from not having it done and he wont' get teased later in life because it's getting more and more common NOT to have it done. Good luck with your decision. Just do some research please!
I never even considered circumsizing my son, and luckily more and more people are choosing not to, so he will not feel out of place compared to other kids these days. (Which is why some people still do it) Also reading about the procedure and how awful it is and how different some peoples son's were after the procedure (seemed like they had been tortured) Its an easy enough decision. Lots of parents get guilted into doing it by older members of the family, but new research shows that it is more clean and healthy to NOT circumsize him. Good luck with your decision.
My father-in-law had to get his circ done at age 55 and a friend of ours had it done in his 20s. They found the experience at this age to be unpleasant.
Whatever you decide will not have enormous physical or emotional impact on your son. You will either not do it and never think about it again or you will do it and never think about it again. But you know who might have a good opinion? Your husband or brother. Ask them.
I agree with another poster that this question will start heated debate and you may find some of it hurtful; especially if, in your heart of hearts, you have already made a decision.
We have two sons who are both circumsized. We decided to do it for several reasons. First of all dad is. Second, easier to keep clean. I worked in a nursing home, and a few of the older guys that were not always had issues with keeping it clean and preventing infection. I have also heard that sometimes they have to be circumsized later due to infections. Also increased issues when sexually active with spreading and getting a STD, so I hear. Plus it is so much easier to do when they are newborn. Yes it does cause a little discomfort, but they do not remember it and then it is done, less traumatic.
I know that the trend is now moving the other way on this one. But I guess you should weigh how your son might feel down the road. This is a hard one, there isn't really a right or wrong answer, just personal preference.
This is a very controversial subject. I let my husband make the decision for our son because he was the parent with a penis himself. He chose to circ him. He went with him while it was done and said it was quick and easy. He didn't even cry. The healing was also easy and it didn't seem to cause him any discomfort. According to my DH, it was rather painless and not at all torture. Maybe that is due to the way they did things at our hospital. So, if your reasoning boils down to pain (which I was concerned about) - that is our story for you.
Hello Amanda,
I'll start out by saying that I have 1 son and he is circumcised. I am also a nurse who used to work in a nursing home and now works in labor and delivery.
I would say that almost every caucasian newborn baby at this time are being circumcised ( at least where I work, in a major metro hospital) . Many/most immigrant families do not circumcise, truely it appears to be more of a cultural related thing.
I have worked in nursing homes where the little old men have had to have circ's as they can't tend to themselves as well as they should and end up with bad infections because of lack of hygiene attention. (very common)
When my son was very little it was discovered he had a bladder problem that would put him at risk for bladder infections and the ped urology speacialist said to us before even examining our son... " I don't know if your son is circumcised or not, but he should be. I recommend that as a primary source of infection defense to all of my patients with this problem or any other." On that same note... I know that in Africa they are recommending circumcision for helping decrease the transmission rates of HIV. It has been shown that uncircumcised men had a higher rate of HIV infection than uncircumised. (I know this is getting a little far out there)
These are the reasons we circ'ed our son. 1)To "look" the same as everyone else in his class. 2) To decrease chance of urinary infections and more serious infections. 3) To avoid the possibility of having it done later in life (more painful, embarressing and hospital stay), 4) To decrease chance if STD transmission later on in life. 5) Basic hygiene is easier. 6) They say it is a cosmetic procedure but it does have health benefits for it.
Hope that helps give you a little more info to help make up your own mind. Some people can get a little crazy when you bring up the topic, but what matters is that you feel good about what you decide for your own child in the end.
Good luck
Amanda,
First of all Congrats on the upcoming addition to your family!
On your question: It is certainly a personal family choice whether to have your child circ'ed or not.
I have assisted with many circ procedures. I am a Nursing Assistant on an OB floor. The dr's at my hospital are required to use a nerve block anestetic and are required to use sugar water as a pain control. Some also give tylenol before the procedure gets underway. My sister is an RN on an OB floor in a different hospital from me, and her dr.'s are required to do tylenol, nerve block and sugar water for all circumcision's performed.
I just wanted to warn you that the research websites seem to be either very for circumcision or very against it. Those against it may be going for the shock and amaze type of approach with their video's. I checked out some of the video's online about circ procedure's. In most of these video's the dr is not using any anestetic. Which is the way circ's used to be done, and some may still be. In my experience assiting with many circ's (with nerve block and sugar water), I have NEVER had a baby boy cry like the baby's in these video's during a circumcision. (The procedure is the same, but with anestetic.)
My advice would be to talk to your dr. or pediatrician that would be performing a circ. procedure on your child to find out what their standard of care is. I did have my own son circ'ed, but I am rather neutral on the subject. I just wanted to give you a bit of my experience knowledge of the procedure. Whatever you choose, I hope this info helps.
Vicki