To circumsize or not?

KTGush · February 2009

Okay I realize this may be flamed....oh well. I've noticed a lot of people are NOT circumsizing their little boys lately. Not sure if its a trend change, or just something I'm noticing now more that I'm pg.

So my question is do you plan to or not and why? religious reasons, personal preference, etc.

Thanks!

I'm planning to. I personally just think it looks better and is cleaner.

oscarkat · February 2009

DH and I are, personal preference.

Danielle43043 · February 2009

I think this is 100% a personal decision and should NEVER become a "Trend" of any sort.

FWIW, I plan to.

nicolehoppe · February 2009

Danielle43043:

I think this is 100% a personal decision and should NEVER become a "Trend" of any sort.

FWIW, I plan to.

I definitely agree!

Temp159135562506975 · February 2009

we did with my son and will with the twins.

he never even flinched when it was done and afterwards - so the whole pain issue is a non-issue IMO.

studies have come out showing that circ'd men decrease the spread of many STDs. If you do your research you'll also find many men who were not circ'd having it done later in life b/c it has caused them problems.

some people feel very strongly against- and IMO- do what you want with your kid's penis - but do your own research and make your own decision- don't read one or two little blurbs on the internet made by crazy people and decide based off of that.

Aug Bride · February 2009

Dh and I are going to do it because it is cleaner and less proned to getting infections in that area.

MeghanF13 · February 2009

If we have a boy we will definitely NOT have him circumcised. In Canada it is no longer common, and the Canadian Pediatrics Society is strictly against it. It is not medically necessary, and therefore not covered by our health care. Also, a recent study showed that, in Canada, the number of boys circumcised since 2005 is less than 10% of the population. My brother i snot done so I asked him if he had a boy would he have it done and he said absolutely not. And about half his friends are done and half are not. It is a personal preference, but I am against it. FWIW - DH is done and would never do it do a baby....

MidwestTexan · February 2009

Yes, we are having our son circumsized.

lunamanzana · February 2009

Yes, we are. I told my DH I would support whatever decision he made, and he wants to. He is circumsized, and it does seem like it's easier for men in the long run. I think it will difficult for me to send my little newborn off for the clipping, but it will probably be harder on me than on him.

MommaDall · February 2009

We are planning to. I think this is something that is totally up to the parents.

theduck808 · February 2009

Danielle43043:
I think this is 100% a personal decision and should NEVER become a "Trend" of any sort.
FWIW, I plan to.

most definitely!?

we're going to have it done as well.

IU_baby · February 2009

I left the decision up to DH and he said yes, so we will circumcise.

F&G777 · February 2009

honestly, I think people should do whatever your husband is - just so there is no confusion (make sense?)

TheBrowns · February 2009

We will if it is another boy. I left it up to DH and he wants them to match.

dkolody13 · February 2009

Yes we will. DH and StepSon are so we want baby to match.

JGM281207 · February 2009

You know that just reminded me that I should ask dh about that ...lol. But he didn't have it done so I'm assuming he wouldn't go for it. I'm not leaning one way or the other.

JNicMTek · February 2009

I left this decision up to DH. He said absolutely, so we'll do it if it's a boy.

dmstar79 · February 2009

We are if we have a boy. I also agree it's cleaner. I've dated both and can tell you I've experienced the difference up close and personally.

clyoungsey · February 2009

we did with first and will if this is a boy too...personal preference, looks like dad (no explaining later), and cleaner and easier for us.

However, if you fear the procdure, I will tell you that my students who work in the OB say 90% of baby boys sleep thru it, my son included.

ck_wallace · February 2009

My son is 2 1/2 years old and we had him circumsized, and if this baby is a boy he too will be. I think it look kinda odd if it's not circumized, but that's just my opinion. Our dr. told us that it's less prone for infections and diseases if they are circumsized. Parker (the first son) had hypospadias when he was born and they were unable to clip him in the hospital. Hypospadias is where the pee pee hole is not directly on the tip of the penis and it has to be fixed with surgery. They told us that they could fix it, and he would NOT have to be circumsized, but we still wanted it, so he had the surgery and got circumsized when he was 3 months old. He was all patched up and had a cathater for about a week, and then he was completly healed. SO.. even if you are considering or not, remember this.. babies don't really feel the pain so much, they heal very quickly. So, don't be so worried about it hurting. I'm glad we did the curcumsizion, his pee pee hole was fixed and his penis looks normal!

)

Mrs.Foreste · February 2009

Yes we will. Same reasons as you... it looks better & it's cleaner. (I'd prefer not to clean up the gunk that goes with uncircumsized ones)

KellyAhrens · February 2009

If our baby is a boy we will have him circumsized.

toospooky · February 2009

I agree with pp that the decision to circumcise should never be based on the current trends.

Our son will be circumcised - that was DH's decision. DH is not circumcised and said it would have been so much easier to keep clean if he had been. Circumcision will also make sex less painful, since if we're not careful the foreskin will pull back too far and cause DH pain.

ck_wallace · February 2009

another thing too... when baby boys aren not circumsized, you have to push their penis down to clean inside the skin, and also to make sure the skin does not reattach to the head of the penis.. so if that is something that does not bother you..

MattresMuffin69 · February 2009

We're not doing it because it's our preference.

jetgrrrl · February 2009

DH is Jewish and we plan to raise the baby Jewish, so obviously yes. We will likely do it in a religious ceremony in our home. I was very uncomfortable with that idea at first but as I learn more about it I am less so. But we don't know what it is yet at this point so we haven't really gone too far down the road of making that decision.

babes12 · February 2009

we did not circ. our DS. however that was not our initial choice. we thought we'd get him circ. but they wanted to wait to do it so they could test him for a blood clotting disorder that DH has. well the tests were inconclusive at the time so they made us wait and wait and get more blood tests etc... the process was so draining and DS was nearing a year old at that time so DH said forget and not even bother getting him circ.

i also had many conversations w/ DS's pediatrician about circ. and he said that on the west coast circ. rates are about 50/50 compared to a few years ago when it was more like 70/30 in favor of circ. research (per pediatrician) has shown there is no real benefit to getting it done and most people do it for cosmetic or religious beliefs.

i still think about it b/c i don't want to DS to feel uncomfortable that he may be the "different" boy when he gets alittle older but i'm hoping others have made the same choice not to circ. for DS's sake. Wink

but like everyone said it's a personal decision. this has just been my experience.

jetgrrrl · February 2009

I mean - we haven't gone too far down the road of making the decision about whether it will be at home or in the hospital.

babes12 · February 2009

just to add about the post above, our pediatrician said to NOT push the skin back and clean inside. however i'm guessing that may change when he gets older but for now it's a no-no per my pediatrician.

hillausky · February 2009

We decided to. Personal Preference. It's cleaner and looks better.

Mrs.Boeck · February 2009

Danielle43043:

I think this is 100% a personal decision and should NEVER become a "Trend" of any sort.

FWIW, I plan to.

Ditto

Aliliv · February 2009

This is taken from the Canadian Pediatric Society website:

Risks and benefits of circumcision

Problems from the surgery are usually minor. Although serious complications are rare, they do occur. Newborn circumcision has been associated with surgical mistakes, such as having too much skin removed.

Of every 1,000 boys who are circumcised:

20 to 30 will have a surgical complication, such as too much bleeding or infection in the area.
2 to 3 will have a more serious complication that needs more treatment. Examples include having too much skin removed or more serious bleeding.
2 will be admitted to hospital for a urinary tract infection (UTI) before they are one year old.
About 10 babies may need to have the circumcision done again because of a poor result.

In rare cases, pain relief methods and medicines can cause side effects and complications. You should talk to your baby?s doctor about the possible risks.

Of every 1,000 boys who are not circumcised:

7 will be admitted to hospital for a UTI before they are one year old.
10 will have a circumcision later in life for medical reasons, such as a condition called phimosis. Phimosis is when the opening of the foreskin is scarred and narrow because of infections in the area that keep coming back. Older children who are circumcised may need a general anesthetic, and may have more complications than newborns.

Circumcision slightly lowers the risk of developing cancer of the penis in later life. However, this form of cancer is very rare. One of every one million men who are circumcised will develop cancer of the penis each year. By comparison, 3 of every one million men who are not circumcised will develop penile cancer each year.

Caring for an uncircumcised penis

The foreskin covers the shaft and head (glans) of a boy?s penis. During the early years of a boy?s life, the foreskin separates from the glans. This is a natural process that occurs over time. You do not need to do anything to make it happen.

When the foreskin separates, it is said to be ?retractable,? meaning it can be pulled back.

An uncircumcised penis is easy to keep clean and requires no special care:

Keep your baby?s penis clean by gently washing the area during his bath. Do not try to pull back the foreskin. Usually, it is not fully retractable until a boy is 3 to 5 years old, or even until after puberty. Never force it.
When your son is old enough, teach him to keep his penis clean as you?re teaching him how to keep the rest of his body clean.
When the foreskin separates, skin cells will be shed and new ones will develop to replace them. These dead skin cells will work their way down the penis through the tip of the foreskin and may look like white, cheesy lumps. These are called smegma. If you see them under the skin, you don?t need to force them out. Just wipe them away once they come out.
When the foreskin is fully retractable, teach your son to wash underneath it each day.

We most likely will circumsize if it's a boy. DH feels very strongly about this.

Fluffy · February 2009

I'm not into plastic surgery on babies, so no. My first son isn't circumcised either. We do not have to pull the foreskin up - we just keep him clean.

whatyoudotome · February 2009

If it is a boy, I don't want to have him circumsized, as I feel it's not my body and there for, not my choice. I think it is terrible people would make those kinds of permenant decisions based on trends.

If he wants to get it done later in life, then I have no problem, but I think he will be perfect just the way he is when he is born, and I don't feel it is my right to make that decision.

My DH on the other hand completely wants to have it done. It's a point of disagreement between us and will be a difficult decision when the time comes if we do come to find we are having a boy.

cathy_and_matt · February 2009

A few years ago, I saw something on TV about circumcision, which admittedly I had never thought about before-then I did a bunch of research on it, and am now pretty against it for my baby. It seems like most people get it done for either conformity's sake or aesthetic reasons, and neither of those are compelling enough for me.

As to it being cleaner...well, we live in the US where we have ready access to soap and water.

DH originally wanted to get it done, but when he found out I was opposed to it, he started asking his friends/co-workers(!) Turn out a large majority of parents of sons that we know choose not to get it done. They gave different reasons: one actually told him that he didn't want to deny his son the extra pleasure and another said to him that it was akin to genital mutilation. DH's main reason was the whole locker-room scenario, but it does seem like less people are automatically doing it, so now he's on board with not getting it done.

Besides, he can always get it done later if he wants.

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