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Attachment Parenting
KorieAngela
member
Vitamin K & Circumcision? 8th Day Circumcision?
KorieAngela
member
I would really like non-judgmental help and advice on my question. Please do not tell me I'm a bad mother for wanting to circumcise my son. I have done plenty of research and my husband and I feel comfortable with our decision. I am not looking for anyone's opinion on circumcision....
My husband and I told our OB we didn't want our son to get the Vitamin K shot after birth. She was okay with that until we told her we were going to circumcise...She said that the Vitamin K shot would be helpful if we were deciding to do a procedure like that...I guess my question would be...If you got your son circumcised did you still opt out of the Vitamin K shot? I would be more comfortable with the oral Vitamin K but my hospital doesn't give that option...What are your thoughts/experience?
We have also considered 8th day circumcision...Has anyone done this?
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Re: Vitamin K & Circumcision? 8th Day Circumcision?
What about oral vitamin K? Is it the shot or is it the vitamin K?
This is a strange board to be posting about circumcision. You have to realize that almost everyone on an AP board is going to be pretty horrified at the notion.
My hospital doesn't do oral Vitamin K...and I thought this would be the proper board since I am asking about not getting the Vita K....where would you suggest I post this instead?
I'd recommend posting on 0-3 months board.
Thank you! That's what I was looking for
I have looked at local Mohels (sp?) and urologists. I would feel MUCH more comfortable with someone like that doing this procedure. I want to avoid shots as much as possible, especially that early on. I have also looked into 8th day circ...which would be a lot more comfortable to us since (according to what I have read) at that time he won't need a vita k shot.
Thank you!
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If I were going to circumcise I would elect to have a pediatric urologist do the procedure not the OB. I've heard of a few too many "botched" circ stories that have to get fixed by the specialist. That may be a good route for you if you're looking to avoid the Vit. K shot.
I'm not sure whether a mohel would perform a circumcision outside of the religious ceremony.
1) We did vitamin K in the hospital, but I honestly couldn't tell you if it was the shot or oral. I do know it didn't make a difference to me - he was going to get it.
2) We did 8th day circumcision - with the brit milah and everything. There was no blood, it was quick and (relatively) painless.
3) You may be able to find a urologist mohel - we did! Our Mohel was also the head of pediatric urology at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. Given the number of Jewish doctors out there, I would imagine it's not that uncommon.
Speak for yourself. I am AP and believe in the benefits of circumcision.
To answer the original question, we did not decline the Vitamin K shot and I'm not really sure what the benefit would be in avoiding it so I can't say.
Yep. We did both as well. I felt more comfortable doing the circ in the hospital before going home vs returning to have it done a week (or 8 days) later.
Right, because there are no Jewish APs. Get your head out of your butt.
IMO AP is about respecting your child and listening and responding to his/her needs within the context of the family. Yes there are tools - like baby wearing and breastfeeding and bed sharing that help facilitate those responses - but there isn't one right AP way to do things. Lots of APers formula feed, use cribs and strollers, etc. doesn't make someone more or less AP. There are no AP police enforcing the "rules".
We make decisions for our children all the time, including the decision to circumcise. It's one of many decisions that we come to based on our own experiences and yes, what is best for our particular family circumstances.
I don't see how circumcision and AP are so intricately intertwined that it's made you question your entire understanding of AP because no one else was "horrified" that the OP is choosing to circumcise.
I have to agree with you (or maybe I'm putting words in your mouth) that this board is not very AP.
To the OP, if I were to circ again (#1 is, #3 isn't) I would do 8th day. The body peaks in natural vitamin K on the 8th day. My first wasn't circ'd until 3wo (they didn't offer it in hospital, and we had some issues at his 2w appt that delayed us a week). Babies can and do bleed though, I don't want anyone to think that never happens. One of the reasons we got pushed back a week was because a baby was having severe bleeding problems after a circ and the pedi had to take care of that issue.
I circ'ed and gave vit K... if you want my AP "credentials" I also BW, EBF, and bedshare.
OP, what is your resistance to vitamin K? Is it because of the shot (which seems a little weird given your acceptance of circumcision) or is it something else? Most main stream pediatricians believe the research that suggests that oral vitamin K is not very effective at preventing post birth brain bleeds (which I have seen). That's probably why your OB is insisting on it. Sounds like a later circ might be the right choice for your family, but I would make sure you've carefully thought through the risks/benefits of vitamin K, even without the circ. GL! This parenting stuff is tricky!
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1) I do all vax, so I'm a bit ignorant of why you would want to avoid the vitamin K? My son wasn't clotting great to begin with, so we definitely did that one.
2) My pedi did the circ. Because DS was preemie, he advised us to wait it out a bit. We did the circ at his 1 month check up. I was very happy with that, and was able to take the time to be very confident in the decision.
Not sure if that helps you.... Also, I didn't read all the responses, but overall, don't worry about the drama. If you just take the parts that help you and ignore the rest, it will be fine. This topic will stir up any board you post on.
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To people wondering about the Vitamin K shot concerns, it has been linked to childhood cancer, especially leukemia. But it's not something I researched, that's just what I found when I googled, I don't know whether it's a credible link, how big of a risk, etc. TBH I have no idea whether LO got the shot
but I'm assuming he did, although perhaps not since we didn't circ?
You are certainly entitled to feel the way you do. My issue wasn't with people being horrified by or opposed to circumcision, but with the blanket statement that anyone who associates with AP is going to feel that way too. I don't care for people putting words in my mouth.
I've found this board to be more open and accepting to various viewpoints, and typically able to discuss different parenting choices without judgment. That is why I like coming here.
I am not saying this to be sarcastic, but I feel sad for you if you parent in such a way that you make choices for your child based on what other AP'ers say is right/wrong. AP states it's not a rigid set of guidelines but at the end of the day you should do what you feel is best for your child. The guy who coined AP also said that mothers should be at home, but I'm sure that many moms here do work because they feel it's best/necessary for their family. You can't follow AP by the book (and you shouldn't).
When making decisions for my own child, I do research on both sides of the coin so I can make an educated, informed decision. I felt that the benefits of circ'ing my son far outweighed any risk.
There are various health benefits to the procedure and it is recommended by the top ranked hospital in the United States. In light of recent research, the AAP will likely be changing their recommendation in the near future. See below.
https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/circumcision.htm
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/efforts_to_defund_or_ban_infant_male_circumcision_are_unfounded_and_potentially_harmful_johns_hopkins_experts_say
This
Do you know how many babies die of circumcision related complications? Why the HELL would you want to skip the Vitamin k (which aids in blood clotting) if you are planning on having your sons foreskin surgically removed shortly after birth? Your priorities are all wrong... lol
..and people like you are why AP get such a bad rep.
I would suggest you open a medical journal outside of an anti-circ site. The statistics on circumcision-related deaths are extremely low (like 1 in 500,000).
Not saying a person can't be AP and circ (I'm a pretty light APer myself), but to be fair, the cancer risk is blown way out of proportion. When pro-circers say that uncircumcised boys have twice the risk of developing penile cancer, that's true, but misleading. The chances increase from something like 1 in 100,000 to 2 in 100,000.
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BFP #3 10/6/12, EDD 6/16/12., Matilda born 6/17/13.
If we ever have a boy, we will be doing 8th day circumcision. I don't have info handy right now as it has been nearly five years since the last time I was pregnant and facing this decision, but everything we saw and read at the time from respected individuals and sources convinced me that this was the best thing to do if we were going to plow ahead with circumcision. (DH feels strongly about circumcising for cultural/religious reasons.)
I will go back and read responses to see if anyone addresses this/gives good links since the question comes up every once in a while among my IRL friends.
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PgAL and PAL always welcome...Our son had the Vit K shot because we didn't have any reason not to let them give it to him, it was very quick and he forgot about it right away(The heel pricks for other tests were much worse than the shot was, but still healed fast and he quickly forgot about the discomfort of them too).
We had our son circumcised on the 8th day because of the medical benefits. There was no real bleeding and zero complications. He healed very fast and we were very pleased with our Doctor and his cooperation with our request. He generally does the procedure after two weeks, but was agreeable to it.
We would have had to go elsewhere as well. DH had already lined up a mohel/urologist. I don't think the hospital saying they won't let you come back on day 8 negates the benefit of it. (Not that you were saying this, just wanted to add my thoughts in case someone else did interpret the policy that way.)
There is a HUGE difference. FGM prevents the woman from ever achieving orgasm.
To the OP- we circ'd and we also did Vit K.