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January 2011 Moms
UnexpectedlyMom11
member
ladies who are having boys.
UnexpectedlyMom11
member
Have you made a decision regarding circumcision yet? I really am on the fence about it as I feel (after hours of research) there is no major medical benefit to do so. I know it is mostly religious or cultural but since my husband and I are not jewish then our decision to do so would be based on what society deems as "normal."
So if you are doing it for non religious reasons please share, also if you are not doing it I would love to hear from you as well. I am assembling a pro/con list and would like to hear everyone's opinions.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: ladies who are having boys.
We circumcized DS solely for cosmetic reasons. DH is, so we thought it would be nice if they "matched".
It was a really quick procedure, and he was back right away. He wasn't cranky and didnt seem uncomfortable at all.
Good luck with your decision!
This, well... this is what we have decided for our LO.
I've never understood the whole baby's-penis-matching-daddy's-penis thing. That said, DH is circumcised and Pip will be, too. I don't really have a religious or cultural reason. That's just the way our family has done it.
Ditto
I used to work in a nursing home and due to many differant factors usually out of the workers control an uncircumcized penis may not get taken care of the way it should 100% of the time and when that happens it is really a nasty situation and I won't go into details. I've seen the same working in a hospital when older gentlemen come in and aren't taking great care of themselves anymore.
That alone was reason enough for me to do be doing it, just to save him any pain and/or infection later in life.
We will be circumcising our son because that is the norm for us. DH, both of his brothers, his father, my father and my brothers are all circumcised. For us, there's no reason not to.
And for reasons simliar to this. DH doesn't want the risk of infection
Our LO will be circumsized. I taught first grade and one year one of my first graders was out for a week, he had to be circumsized. I would just rather do it when he's a baby and won't really remember it.
This is a strictly personal decision, and it really should not matter what others are doing (or their reasons for doing it)-the only thing that matters is what you and your SO think is right for your child.
That being said, yes, we will be doing it for a number of reasons.
Aidan will be circ'd. i've done a fair bit of research and while I don't honestly believe there's any medical or hygienic reason to do it, it's what is "normal" in both of our families. Also - as a girl in my 20's - I've heard quite a bit of "girl talk" about how strange they look (they just look - different) and don't want my baby's penis to be the topic of that discussion.
I totally understand why people opt out though. I think it's pretty unnecessary.
~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
[spoiler]
Yeah, this too. My best guy friend got a horrible infection in college and ended up having to get circumcised at age 22. He said his whole life that he wished his parents had just gotten him circumcised as a baby.
ETA: But I agree with PPs that it's a really personal decision between you and DH, but I know you are asking for opinions so you can weigh the options.
This...we don't know if we are having a boy or a girl yet but if we have a son he will be circumsized.
This all of it, exactly is why we circumsized Aiden.
I will say he never seemed to be in pain from it except with the first few diaper changes, but make sure you get all the info on how to care for it afterwards. I know it seems odd because I'm a peds nurse but I'd only had to take care of one baby within a week of circumcision and I had no idea what was normal as far as wound healing for such a thing. And because I was a nurse they didn't bother to tell me either (even though I asked at the hospital).
Well, as a girl having to deal with the "down below" of my DH I can say that I'm really HAPPY that he is snipped....the look and thought of personally dealing with a man that is not is just not my cup of tea! Not saying there is anything wrong with it, but, as another person already pointed out, there also seems to be a lot of girl talk regarding boys/men that are not snipped and it never seems to be favorable. So, my opinion would be to snip, not because of religion or anything else - its' just "normal" in my life to be such.
That-being-said, I did defer to my DH on the final decision as the guy in the family and what he thought each way and just told him I would leave it to him if he had strong opinions' either way. He ultimately made the decision to snip my 7 year old back when he was a newborn and we will do so again with the one I'm carrying.
My DH's opinion....he was a dude in the locker room with all the other guys and guys he knew back in the day that were not snipped got teased quite a bit. And, its just easier to deal with on a day-to-day basis if they were snipped off. But, its personal and I don't think there's a right or wrong answer...just a preference.
We're not doing it. DH is circumcised, and I would certainly respect his opinion and we would talk about it if he felt Owen should be as well-but he pretty much said right away, no way, I don't want it done. It's not necessary, and he can keep it clean himself (just like a majority of the world's population.)
Food for thought-I have a Scottish friend who is an anesthesiologist, and she was absolutely astonished that-
A) we circumcise brand new newborns at 2 days old (they wait in the UK, if they do it at all, which isn't often- and is usually due to religious reasons) and that
Honestly, I don't judge anyone for doing it, but when so much of the world doesn't, I don't really understand why it's so important to a lot of Americans when it is often cited as being cosmetic from the parents themselves.
No, ma'am. We don't feel it's necessary.
We're opting for circumsion for the above reasons. Even though my background is Jewish, the choice was for hygenic reasons and not for religious reasons.
5lbs 9 oz, 18.5 inches long
6 months: 16lbs 15 oz, 27 inches long
Being that I don't have a penis myself, I let DH make the final decision on this. He never blinked an eye about wanting Jack circumcised. He said that, as an athelete, he knew guys that felt embarassed or were made fun of because they weren't, and if we could spare our son any anxiety why wouldn't we?
Also, circumcision is the norm in both our families and I would be worried that we wouldn't know how to properly care for (or teach him to care for) and uncircumcised penis.
Its just the right decision for us.
see this is my biggest reason for questioning it, I just can't see putting my 1 day old through this extremely painful (doesn't matter if it is quick it still hurts) surgery for cosmetic reasons only. I think my husband and I have a lot more discussing to do.
This. DH is circumcised and so will our baby.
Ditto this.
There is no question, our son will be circumcized.
This was a big part of our reasoning as well that I didn't mention in my previous post. I thought to myself would he ever feel bad about being circumsized and wish he could get that skin back? Highly unlikely. If we didn't circumsize is it possible he would wish he was as a teen/adult? That's definitely a more likely possibility. I figure do it while he's a baby and won't remember/won't feel much discomfort as opposed to an adult or older child where it would be a very painful procedure.
We will be circumcising DS when he's born. Our current insurance pays for it, which is a plus since they won't pay for hardly anything elective. Of course, that's not our only reason, or the main reason.
We'll be circumcizing b/c it's considered "normal" where we live. Both DH & I grew up in our small, rural area. This subject came up w/ some now-ex friends a few years ago when one of them got pregnant, and we all agreed. I've seen maybe a dozen guys down there (including a couple strip poker games), but some of those friends were VERY promiscuous (sp?), who've probably seen close to 100 guys, and none of us have ever seen a guy who's not circumcized. Same with DH - all his friends are circ'd. DH & I plan to stay in this area for good, and we don't want our DS to be the subject of teasing or gossip when he gets older. Plus, it's easier for little boys when learning to be hygenic & care for themselves.
Wow - agree with all of these in some fashion.
I felt pretty strongly against it because I felt that if it's normal to be born wth it, then why cut it off? But ultimately, I let DH make the decision, which I am completely happy with. I knew a guy who made the decision when he was in his mid-twenties. A friend of mine was dating him and, let's just say, didn't take his medical condition into account when she was flirting etc over at my place - a big mess ensued. I would hate to have that happen to my son when he was older.
I myself had to have a little snip when I was born, and now I am none the wiser....
We will likely circumsize. I have a friend who is a nurse in a nursing home, and she has said that for uncircumsized elderly men who can no longer care for themselves, it can pose a significant risk of infection. I can't stand the thought of my LO as an 80+ year old man with dementia or something, unable to clean himself properly, ending up with dangerous infections because of it.
Plus, DH is circ'ed, and since I basically have left this decision up to DH, that seems to be the direction he's leaning in.
I should add that my friend in the UK did say she has seen it done on a lot of Muslim boys and for health reasons in some cases-but always at 6-9 months old. At that age, they use something similar to an epidural, a caudal block. She was so bothered by us doing it as newborns here because of course that means there's no way we use that kind of pain relief and can't risk general anesthesia -instead it's a cream or injection, and they aren't sent home with anything for the pain/ache they may have after that wears off. (Even if the pain management was adequate, that part makes no sense to me, personally. Wouldn't it hurt afterward?)
Also, just my two cents from what I have read about newborn care-you have pretty specific instructions in some books on caring for baby after his circumcision, but - the instructions for care of an uncircumcised penis is to use soap and water, that's it.
Yet, no one seems to think female circumcision is an acceptable practice? I don't really understand this, and find it ever so hypocritical. We're both agreed that we won't circumcise a son, for the simple reason that it is cosmetic, and more and more americans aren't doing it. So the lockerroom adages that we grew up with are becoming more out dated. My DH is, and he actually wishes he could've had a choice in the matter, as it is his body. I've had grown friends who have had the procedure done, but the pain was worth having a reason to do it, vs never being given a choice.
I wouldn't consider cutting off any part of my child's natural body, so why would I give into social pressures to deform what god gave him/her?
It wasn't even a question for DH and I nor did we ever talk about doing it or not. I'm not a man so I don't know what it's like to be circumcised or not so if anything did come up it would have been DH's decision and I'm pretty sure he is all for circumcision. So I guess we chose to because that's what the norm is in our society these day's and we were both comfortable with it.
That said DH was the one to take DS to get it done. I guess my answer isn't much help.
I am going with this.
Both of my other son's are cut and they didn't have any problems and they healed quickly so the whole the baby will be in pain thing doesn't bother me. Also because my DH is cut he wants his son's to match him.
I know there isn't a medical necessity but when he gets older there is a good chance that he could end up infected and have to have the surgery later on. That seems to me to be something that I can avoid him having to deal with at a very early age.
But it is a personal decision.
No, we won't be circ'ing. Rates are going way down every where, so the 'he will be made fun of in the locker room' arguement just doesn't hold true anymore. Even if it did, I would not make this kind of decision for my son based on what other may or may not think.
Just like I would never consider altering any part of Neriah for cosmetic reasons. Why would that opinion change just because I'm having a boy?
Female and male circumcision are 2 completely different things and done for diff reasons. Female circumcision is done so the female is unable to derive any sexual arousal from clitoral stimulation. The idea is to prevent females from having sex for any other reason but to procreate. In fact many studies say that sexual satisfaction is increased in circumcised men.