Circumcision or no?

howe567

Hi everyone! I know this is a personal subject, but how did you decide whether you circumcised your baby? Any things that weighed in favor one way or another? Thanks in advance!

.BlueMoon.

Yes

kat_vegan87

@howe567- we didn’t circumcise our son because we felt that we couldn’t/shouldn’t permanently change his body without his “permission.” He can always get it done when he’s older, but you can’t take it back. I had to convince my SO not to get him circumcised because I personally feel like it’s mutilation, but that’s my opinion only. 

amandax22095

I did the same, doesn’t really seem like my decision to make for my sons. 

swizzlemalarkey

I told my husband to decide 🤷🏻‍♀️ He is happy he is circumcised so he wanted our son to be. And with the amount of times my son pooped in a day when he was a newborn, I’m glad I didn’t have to worry about poop getting stuck under foreskin. But that’s just me. I do worry about him one day wondering why we chose it, but I hope that he is glad we did. 

knottiec1bd6c5399b4642a

I'm Jewish, so it's a pretty non-negotiable thing in our culture. That being said, I have a lot of reservations about circumcision and wouldn't do it if it wasn't such a big deal in our community.  This has been a really difficult issue for me to deal with and is the only reason I was hoping for another daughter instead of a son.

knottiebfd900207cc045ea

We decided no. It feels like too much pain to incur on a child so early and not necessary.

knottie698027be326bc808

We chose not to do it for the same reason as many other mothers on here. Not our decision to decide for our son, and it is unnecessary pain.

knottie39ef974a5fa7d74c

I chose not to do it. I felt I shouldn’t change the way he came into this world

sarahsays25

I let my partner decide since I felt like it's not something I could decide as a woman. Like I wouldn't know what my son would prefer as a man. My partner is uncircumcised, they don't really circumcise where he's from. He personally didn't care either way, but ultimately decided not to since there really wasn't much of a benefit to circumcise him. As far as cleaning poop from it, you might not even have to since the foreskin doesn't retract until atheist age 1 and that's generally if you're doing forceful retraction. Otherwise the foreskin will retract slowly on its own until he hits puberty. 

jelliebeen27

We had it done. I relied on my husband to make that decision. Baby was just fine and healed in about 4 days. He wasn’t bothered by it. 

turtletaylor0522

We did circumcise our son based on a few things. I was initially against it, my husband wanted it done. I spoke to my sister in law right before he was born. She’s a CNA. She said she sees so many complications due to men being uncircumcised. She told me horror stories about her patients. So even though you can keep it clean and teach your son to keep it clean, when he’s old an unable to care for himself properly it can cause serious problems. 

Overall, I am glad we did it. It’s easier and more socially accepted once he’s older. I don’t want to give any kid a reason to be picked on. I remember it getting out in my high school that one of the football players was uncircumcised. He was ridiculed for the rest of high school. It didn’t die out. People called him Turtle. He was so embarrassed he became a whole different person and ended up on antidepressants. Granted, this may not have been caused by the bullying, but I’m sure it didn’t help. 

It’s such a hard decision, especially if you’re leaning towards not doing it. I will say, it’s a simple “yes” in the hospital and they bring the baby back in like 30 minutes. It takes 5 days of extra care (gauze and petroleum jelly at each diaper change) to heal up. There are possibilities of complications. That was my hang up. What if my kid is the 1 in 10000 that gets injured further? I asked the pediatrician who did it how many she had done. She said she does up to 15 every day. I asked her complication rate. It’s was less than .2% which seemed really good to me. It satisfied me to have it done. 

knottie_knottie1

Like PP, my vote was no, but my husband was more strongly for it than I was against it, so we ended up getting our son circumcised 

josiahs_mom

Like many others have said, I let my husband decide! He was very much against it, and I understand why. Most of the time the procedure goes just fine, but there are instances where it doesn’t, and the end result is terrible. Not worth the risk in our opinion. Also, it’s becoming more and more common not to circumcise here in America, so we’re not too worried about potential bullying. It’s interesting also that most of the world does not practice this commonly, including many European countries from what I’ve learned. Just a thought! 

katemama11442364

Both of my sons are circumcised as is my husband. We chose to for religious reasons and hygiene reasons. We think their penises look great lol..it’s such a personal decision like you said..depends on your family culture. 

austinjl

No, not medically necessary.

knottie1c550164f6547569

We’ve never had poo under the foreskin. Not really a concern. 

knottie1c550164f6547569

It’s considered cosmetic surgery now, like a nose job, and my Ped. 7 years ago said there was no insurance coverage because there was no longer a justifiable benefit. So, yeah, putting my baby through that trauma was so not worth it. 

adeal15

We did it for hygiene reasons and really its very quick and heals quickly as well. 

knottiee0478e397714bb88

It is negotiable. Our Jewish son is not circumcised. : )

knottied799b496b2eeb162

I let my husband make the decision as I felt I should not have a say being a woman. My husband is circumcised and after doing some research decided to go ahead with circumcision. Little guy just needed a little extra TLC down there for a few days, then everything was fine/healed up. 

knottied8dd7295d4252893

We did, I let my husband decide, and he is, so we said ok. My parents were also really pushing for it. I think it was more traumatic for us than for the baby lol. 

msc2167

Agree that it's negotiable as our Jewish son is also not circumcised. We chose not to because it's not medically necessary AND tradition is really just peer pressure from dead people. We valued our son's ability to consent to procedures around his body more.

knottief89f378aa5d70558

Please watch Elephant in the Hospital by Professor McAllister on YouTube before deciding on circumcising your son. There is a growing movement in America right now and I believe this will be an obsolete practice for those electing this procedure when our children have children. It is painful & it is unnecessary. 

SummerBaby969

I have 2 boys. A 14 year old and a 12 week old. Neither are circumcised. Neither have ever had any issues (including poo. Lol. That's not a concern, though I can see why people may assume it is). Make sure if you decide not to, don't forcibly retract the foreskin and look up intact care. My husband was and is extremely against it. I was on the fence and not comfortable with it, so I'm glad my partner was on the same page. We'll pay for them to get it done if they decide to later. And we'll also educate them that later in life if they're starting to decline, they should ask their Dr's opinion on getting it done then. But that's just me. You should definitely decide for yourself. 

Either way, do your own research, ask multiple Dr's (not just the OB that will get paid for it), and discuss it with your partner. Follow your heart. It really isn't anyone's decision but yours. Also, European countries (that only preform them if medically necessary or for religious purposes) have studies out on risks. It really does come down to cosmetics statistically. And don't let anyone shame you.