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Preemies
Circumcision?
I am currently on the fence wether to have DS circumsiced. My family is Jewish, so it is kinda a big deal if I don't. But my main concern is that his penis is so tiny and besides the religious and cosmetic aspects, there is really no reason to have the procedure done. I have 2 more days to make up my mind. I am leaning towards not doing it, but DH, my father, and brother are throwing a fit about it. My question is:
Did you have your preemie son circumcised and if so how old were they and how much did they weigh? Any other opinions are welcome! TIA!!!
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Re: Circumcision?
Yes we had DS done. He was 8 weeks early and the pedi that did it wouldn't do the procedure until he was a month past his due date so that "things had time to grow". He was between 7 - 8 lbs when it was done.
I personally left the decision up to my DH because he has first had experience with those parts. Honestly though I'm glad he had it done and if it had been my choice I would have had it done as well.
Good luck with your decision.
I don't think being a preemie has to play a role in making your decision - you just need to decide whether or not you want to do it and then make arrangements if your decision is yes.
We knew we wanted to have our son circumcised but obviously they weren't doing it to a 32wkr a day or so after birth like they do with full term babies. His was done right in the NICU by the perinatologist when he was about 2.5wks old and he was under 5lbs. It was 100% healed within about 5 days.
We were on the fence about it too. We talked with our pediatrician about it, and he told us that it is mostly a cosmetic procedure and that there is really no health benefit. I was still on the fence until the day I saw my preemie getting his eyes checked in the NICU (they held his eyelids open with a clamp and poked around in his eye socket with a metal instrument). I decided our little boy had been through enough! He will not be circumcised.
That being said, though, I think the only reason I would do it would be for religious reasons. Religious traditions are important.
my OB did my son's when he was 4 days old. he was born at 35w6d and weighed 4 lb, 3oz, but the day it was done he was 3 lb, 14 oz.
Owen Matthew 11/1/2009 4lbs 10oz 16.5in
Born 5 weeks early by C/S | Severe Pre-Eclampsia
BFP #2 5/1/2011 | M/C @ 7 weeks | D&C 5/25/2011
TTC #2 | HSG Clear | SA 2% Morph otherwise great
3 failed Femara/TI cycles moving on to IUI
I felt bad but we had our little man done last week. He was 5 lbs 5 oz. It didn't seem to bother him at all.
The reason we had it done was for health. My mother-in-law does medical transcribing and said she does many reports of 8 and 9 year old boys getting it done because of infection and so on. I would rather have him get it done now when it doesn't bother him so much and he can't remember rather than it getting infected later in life. I have also read that uncircumcised boys have a higher risk of STD's when they become sexually active.
My DS was circed when he was 2.5 months old in the Peds office, a few weeks after he was discharged from NICU. He was around 7lbs.
yup we did. it was done just a day or two before he came home (that was the policy at the hospital for preemies) so he was right around 7lbs.
ETA: policy for those who chose to circumcise.
We had DS circumcised.It was done the day he was discharged. He weighed about 5 pounds and was 11 weeks old (37 weeks gestational age). They gave him sugar water during the procedure and he really didn't seem to be in any pain.
I think you should do what you feel comfortable with. I wouldn't change my decision just because he is a preemie though. For DS it was actually better because his circ was done by a pediatric surgeon not an OB.
I was very on the fence about it. DH really wanted it done. I finally decided the potential for disease prevention was worth it.
He was too small to do it before he came home (the surgeon said so, he was 4ish pounds)
We ended up having it done when he had his 2nd stomach surgery last March, so he was 9 months old, around 9 pounds then.
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This. Also, keep in mind that there really is no true health reason involved in getting it done. Our pedi, neo dr's and my husband who also is a doctor all discussed this at great length. However, if it's a religious peace that's something to keep in mind.
Our twins were both circumcised by their (former) pediatrician, who is also a mohel. I thought they would be in goood hands, since he's supposedly a circumcision expert. Well, he seriously botched my boys circs. One of my little guys had to have corrective surgery under anesthesia when he was 1 months old because the douchebag doctor cut him on the diagonal, so his foreskin was short and tidy on one side and huge and long on the other side. We're still trying to decide if we want our other son's circ to be fixed.
I STRONGLY, STRONGLY urge you to have a pediatric urologist do the procedure if you decide to have your son circumcised. I didn't even know this was an option when my guys were little, and it sure would have saved us a ton of heartache, pain and medical bills if we had known.
DS had his done a week before discharge from the NICU at 36 weeks. So far DS doesn't even look like he had a circ. We have talked to the pedi about it on many occassions and he thinks that once DS begins walking and loses the fatty pouch, the skin will pull back more.
I personally didn't care either way and left the decision up to DH. My understanding is that it is a "guy" thing and they will be self conscious if they are uncirced.
I know lstaylor had her boys done around 18 months.
DS will have his inguinal hernias repaired prior to discharge, so he'll have his circumcision at the same time.
I'm not a preemie mom but I am a NICU nurse so I browse this forum often trying to figure out ways to make families happier in my day to day work.
This thread makes me so sad. To read women saying that intact men/boys are not as clean, are harder to clean, are more self conscious, and are more prone to disease is dead wrong. I have an intact family and inlaws and I can promise you that the men in my family are well adjusted, happy, sexual men with clean penises.
If you choose to leave your son intact, they are so very easy to keep clean and teach the child to clean it. Simply wipe it as you would a finger or an arm. DO NOT retract (pull back, gently tug, slightly pull...any combination of words you want to use) the foreskin for any reason at all. The only person who has any right to pull the skin back is the owner of the penis. As the foreskin naturally retracts (anywhere from 2 years to puberty) the child should be taught to pull it back to clean it with while showering and to always return it to covering the glans afterward.
Most American doctors only know how to cut the foreskin off so many peds will try to retract as soon as they can get the diaper off. It is your job as a mother to know that this is wrong and stop them. Most boys who supposedly develop infections that require circ later in life are being treated by docs who do not know what they are talking about. It is not the doctors fault, it is that we live in the US where circ is the only thing truly taught in medical school re: the infant penis. This should change soon (I can only hope) due to the increased percentage of intact boys. The US is close to a 50/50 split for intact and circ'd boys.
I am a strong intactivist but I am not here to berate those of you who have had your sons cut. I am simply here to correct some mis-information that is being given by people who simply don't know any better.
Here are some great websites for anyone who wants to learn more about leaving their sons intact
https://www.intactamerica.org/
https://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/
https://www.nocircpa.org/4642.html
Here is a UK site that should be a great place to learn about the intact penis. Afterall, they have a much lower circ rate than the US.
https://www.norm-uk.org/circumcision_myths.html