Natural Mommies' Views on Circumcision

mghnmouse

Mrs_Liberto:

We will not be cutting off any bits of our children unless medically necessary, and I don't think routine circ falls in that category.

And I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut when my IRL friends do it "just because"--the only justification IMO is a religious requirement.

 

Agreed.

14years

JellyMama:

Another unpopular response... we did circ. DS.  I didn't feel strongly one way or the other and saw the drawbacks and benefits on both sides.  Ultimately DH and I decided to do it based on the reduced risks of STDs later in life and b/c DH is circ'd and that's what DH knows and felt comfortable with.  That being said, we did not have him circ'd in the hospital by the OB, we waited until he was about 6 weeks old and had it done by a pediatric surgeon.  The surgeon used 3 different methods of anesthetic including a penial block and DS didn't even fuss so I at least feel like we did it in the most humane way possible.

 The day of his procedure and the day or so after I really regretted my decision.  I really beat myself up.  I felt like I put so much effort, thought and research into trying to have the most natural birth possible- taught myself to trust in nature and my body but then I reject nature and chose to let science win when it came to the circ, it just didn't feel right.  Now that it's all healed up and after talking to the pedi surgeon about the many circs he does on boys in their late teens (at the boys' request) and how much more painful it is on a mature male I feel a little better about it all.  Still if I had it to do over again I probably would have done more research and most likely would have left him intact.

We had a remarkably similar story, especially the bolded parts.  The MW did it when DS was 3 weeks old and used a local, and we were with DS during the procedure.  I felt awful about the whole thing for about a week.  I am OK with it now, and I think I would do it again, but it would be a closer call.

HappyMommy28

DH and I are still deciding.  However, I don't see a problem with it and will most likely let DH make the decision.  I'm actually leaning more towards it but it will be interesting to see what he wants done.

jdoman

If our baby is a boy, he will not be circ'ed. I don't find it neccessary, and my DH is very strongly against circumcision. He wishes he wasn't circ'ed and is angry that he had no say in the decision. Neither he or I ever want our child to feel the same way.

alice2Bcheshire

triumphantreturnofplanningbug:

Like a few other posters, I'm more likely to respect religious tradition and ritual than I am "we don't want him getting made fun of in the locker room," because there is always something to make fun of in the locker room.

I think I respect religious ritual as different because I see it as having more solid, comprehensible ground than "he should look like everyone else" or "I don't want him to be different." Because, really, difference is inevitable. I have friends who are non-religious Jews who chose not to circ, because for them it's part of the religion aspect, and I respect that deeply. I also have friends who are very involved with the religious aspects of their Judaism, and for them circumcision was obedience to God's commandment and a ritual tie to generations of family. To me, that's a distinction that makes sense.

That said, this is a case where I'm glad I'm not Jewish, and so don't have to decide whether to weigh my beliefs about body modification against my religious culture. I truly don't know what I'd do then.

This. Well said.

pepomntpat

We are having a girl, but DH and I had already discussed it and were not planning on circumcising.

irishmorningstar

jteneback:

Mrs_Liberto:

We will not be cutting off any bits of our children unless medically necessary

That's how I feel.  DH is undecided (he is circed) but I plan on working on him before any potential baby boys arrive.  My nephew is not circed so I am hoping that helps.

Ditto...minus the nephew.  This is the first grandchild on both sides.  Our families are 100% cir...so it is a hard sell for my husband not to do it.  Also MIL which is typically great about not giving her opinion on things unless asked (yes, a blessing!) is adament that it needs to be done.  Her father had issues and had to have it done in his early 20s.  Her mother has told her how terribly horrible the experience was for him.  I am sure this is true--but my argument is this: Will it be any better for my baby?  No, he just can't tell us about it!  I hope this little one is a girl and we do not have to discuss it any further!

kesrya

Lovies103:

I would be on the fence if I hadn't dated a guy who wasn't circumsised. 

I am a strong proponent of everything natural and avoiding unnecessary medical procedures in all other arenas of life.  But like Lovies, our decision to circumcise if we have a boy is based off of personal experience.  not to be graphic, but I have had sexual relations with several uncircumsised men throughout my life, and it was always a terrible experience for both myself and the man involved.

MamiMoore

This is one of the many reasons why I'm SO happy we're having a girl so we don't have to make this decision this go around. I used to for it, until I saw a video of the procedure and it was horrifying. It looked so painful, and of course baby doesn't remember, but I know it's painful for them during and maybe sometime afterwards. I've heard it called genital mutilation and only cosmetic, which I don't necessarily agree with either. DH isn't circ'ed and has never had any problems and he was a jock in middle and high school and was in the military and played sports there too.

I guess I'm leaning against.

monkeyqueen

Do babies in the states not get local anesthetic when getting a circumcision?     At our hospital, a local anesthetic is definitely used.   I was just curious about that one thing.....   Anyway, we are getting our little guy circ'ed.    DH insists upon it.    I've done my research and strongly believe that this is definitely a "to each their own situation."   

kathleen02

kesrya:

Lovies103:

I would be on the fence if I hadn't dated a guy who wasn't circumsised. 

I am a strong proponent of everything natural and avoiding unnecessary medical procedures in all other arenas of life.  But like Lovies, our decision to circumcise if we have a boy is based off of personal experience.  not to be graphic, but I have had sexual relations with several uncircumsised men throughout my life, and it was always a terrible experience for both myself and the man involved.

I hear this every once in awhile, not that often but I am curious as to what would make having a sexual experience "terrible" with an un circ'd man....because basically you're saying a majority of the men in the world are terrible sexual partners.

smilelari

We did not circumcise.  At the end of the day, if not circumcising was the wrong decision, you can always go the other way.  If you circ and that's the wrong decision, there's no going back.  I felt pretty uncomfortable with making that irreversible decision for my baby.

BriAndSean

smilelari:

We did not circumcise.  At the end of the day, if not circumcising was the wrong decision, you can always go the other way.  If you circ and that's the wrong decision, there's no going back.  I felt pretty uncomfortable with making that irreversible decision for my baby.

I agree. DH and I went back and forth on this issue. There didn't seem to be a clear answer... so we went with the option to delay the decision and allow DS to decide for himself.

madalynnsmommy09

I will give that choice to DH. He is not and said he will get his child. I feel it is his decision to make.

kesrya

kathleen02:

I hear this every once in awhile, not that often but I am curious as to what would make having a sexual experience "terrible" with an un circ'd man....because basically you're saying a majority of the men in the world are terrible sexual partners.

 Perhaps it is different in parts of the world where the majority of men are not circumcised.  I live in an area where the majority of men are circ'd - so coming across a man who is not is very very rare.  Most of the women I know have never experienced an uncirc'd man, and unless they have had male children of their own, they don't even know what it looks like.  Some of the men I encountered while in foreign countries. Again, to be honest (not intentionally graphic, but to explain as you've asked), having never encountered it before, I had no idea what to do, and the men - having never encountered a woman who was raised in my country, didn't know how to explain what to do.  Therefore, problems that arised included inability to properly apply contraceptive protection (condoms) - and that's a complete deal breaker in my book.  Other problems: it makes the man so sensitive that the sexual relations are extremely short.  The biggest problem was with regards to hygiene and the increase occurrence of yeast infection (again a deal breaker in my opinion).  I do know that this falls largely upon the uncirc'd man to keep proper hygiene and is easily done - but I've come across men who didn't seem interested.

I would assume that if you grew up somewhere that the majority of men were not, it would seem second nature to you, but having had the opposite experience, after a few bad experiences, I just had no interest in sexual relations with a man who wasn't circ'd.  It didn't seem worth the trouble and potential risk that comes with casual sex with anyone - circ'd or not.