Circumcision- where do you stand?

thatgirlnicki · October 2013

I just thought I'd add to this, although I agree it's a personal choice and I think either choice could be well supported. My son was circumcised, as I also left it up to my husband at the time. He was without a doubt for circumcision. However, over the last year, the pediatrician has talked about possibly re-circumcising him due to his foreskin re-adhering because they did not remove very much. That upset me so much and I questioned whether I made the wrong decision to potentially put him through more pain in the future. We are still putting Vaseline on it daily at 18 months. I told my husband I didn't want to circumcise our next child if it was a boy and he strongly disagreed. I'm still on the fence about it and we will definitely be having another conversation with my husband about it. I'm pretty sure that he probably witnessed somebody getting picked on in a locker room about it at some point since he played a lot of sports. He wouldn't want his son to go through that, but he's also not a follower of the crowd when it comes to decisions. In favor of it, I do think the decreased likelihood of contracting an STD is positive, but there are obviously other ways we are going to teach our boys about avoiding STDs! Anyway, just something to think about.

Soupy84 · October 2013

Very personal decision, but as DH & I have already discussed this, if we have any sons they will not be having the procedure. DH is not circumcised. I honestly dont know if the men in my family are or not. DH has never had an issue - it comes down to extra care and cleanliness. Something that regardless of sex should be taught to our children.

Surreal123 · October 2013

dollface777 said:
My husband is not circumsized and when I asked him what he would do if we had a boy he said he would circumsize the baby for sure. He has never had an issue with cleanliness, but said he would want it done for his son. I don't have a penis, I wouldn't know, its DH's decision, so we'll get it done if we have a boy.

This exactly.

Peaceb0ne · October 2013

I spoke with my husband about this briefly, and he is in favor of circumcising our possible future son. While I'll definitely leave the final decision up to him, I'm leaning more towards not doing it. We will do a ton of research before deciding, but ultimately I'll leave this decision to my husband. He's the one with the penis!

MrsLeanna · October 2013

My husband is Jewish, if we have a boy, I will circumcise because it is important to him for religious reasons. All the other crap out there is unimportant to me.

elizabethb3 · October 2013

My DH isn't and we definitely won't be circumcising any of our children...even if they have a penis.

flutepharm87 · October 2013

We circ'd our boys and will do so again with this child as it's part of our religion. Well, my religion, but we're raising our children Jewish.

momthatlifts · October 2013

We will be having it done if it's a boy.

mikenjess113 · October 2013

DS is, Hubby is. We did A LOT of research and ultimately I left it up to my husband. If this is a boy, he will be too but I completely agree with not doing it. There is no reason to do it in my opinion. I guess I wish that I would've fighted DH more but DS is perfectly happy and healthy.

CamrynnsMommy · October 2013

If this is a boy, he will be circumcised.

MissLadyTay · October 2013

We had our son circumcised but I felt and still feel extremely conflicted about it. I'm not sure I would consent again if this baby is another boy. My son didn't have complications or anything I just felt very conflicted. MH felt very strongly so I went along but didn't feel good about it.

perezfcc · October 2013

I have an 18-year-old son who came to me recently and thanked me for leaving his skin on ( not sure why and frankly I didn't want to ask LOL). Also my husband got it done when he was 28 because he thought he looked different and he says that sexual sensitivity was cut in half after he was circumcised. (I am not saying that men who are circumcised don't have good sexual experiences it's just rare that you can hear from someone who had it both ways.) Since there is something supposed to be there, when you have the skin removed, the skin at the head of the penis just toughens up. We would never think about doing that to a little girl. We would consider that mutilation. If parents are worried about infection, teach your sons to pull the skin back and wash it. Clearly it is up to individual parents but I think it's good that we talk about this so people can see both sides.

toboddy · October 2013

I don't understand why this subject could turn into an argument.. its personal preference. Anywho, I don't care either way. I'm surprised at how many people are against it, BF is the first guy I've been with who isn't. Perhaps it will be more common in the future.

MegCullen · October 2013

Not my body. Not my choice. I have one circd son, before I knew anything About it and one intact son. I will never circ another son unless its dire medically necissary which I don't see happening. I am protected from genital cutting, mutilation being female. Boys should be too..

starskristen79 · October 2013

We are Jewish, but I feel pretty strongly about not doing it. We haven't discussed it recently, but I am pretty sure my husband is on the same page. If we were going to do it simply because of our beliefs, we would have a traditional Bris, because if there is a spiritual reason to do it, it needs to be part of the actual ritual, instead of in the hospital, where people who feel it is simply a common medical procedure would have it done. Also, it is hard to watch, for the parents, and I think that is part of why the ritual is deemed important. There are not many good reasons in my research. I think it is an antiquated, unnecessary ritual. Why don't we pin back baby girl's labia for easier cleaning? I think the tides are turning and none of the next generation's boys are going to feel out of place either way. Just my humble opinion!

LunaBug924 · October 2013

DH was raised Jewish and feels very strongly about having a bris. I have no strong feelings one way or another, so ultimately it will be his decision. Pretty sure all the men in my family are. I respect those who choose not to, but we most likely will if we have a boy.

Lild09 · October 2013

What's with the std catching thing? Last I checked as long as that penis is in an infected vagina or mouth std is coming your way. A fully erect uncircumcised penis is not much different than a circumcised one. I feel this std thing is as silly as the 80s when you touched a person with HIV you got it even through clothes lol or hand shaking oh my!

I just think that's a ridiculous way to decide! I'd hope you'd teach your sons to wrap it always, always, always!

GracieLou Freebush · October 2013

If we have a boy, we definitely will.

jfletcher3113 · October 2013

I say do it.

But I also don't judge those who don't want to. I don't think circumcision is all that controversial of a topic. It's just a discussion. People's views vary and it's a personal decision.

typeset · October 2013

Please consider not leaving it up to your significant others simply because they have the penises. The men have insight, but you don't have to abdicate on this because you don't have a johnson.

We don't amputate healthy tissue 'round these parts. The foreskin protects the glans and contains a slew of nerve endings. We intend to tell the kid he and Daddy are both normal, but that Grandma and Grandpa made a different choice.

pandadair · October 2013

typeset said:

Please consider not leaving it up to your significant others simply because they have the penises. The men have insight, but you don't have to abdicate on this because you don't have a johnson.

I've never understood that line of reasoning, either. If I wanted to surgically remove our daughter's clitoral hood for aesthetic reasons, my husband would damn sure have some strong (and valid) thoughts about it.

typeset · October 2013

I will add to new moms considering not: many pediatricians and care providers are woefully ignorant about intact care. Be prepared to explain that the foreskin should never be forcibly retracted for exams or cleaning, that your son should be the first person to do it. Medical professionals like to jump to UTI as the source of all fevers, too.

CMDR513 · October 2013

We didn't even discuss not doing it. We did with DS and will do it again if #2 is a boy.

CandaceMarie321 · October 2013

8 years ago the current research left what we thought was a good reason NOT to circ. It seems that the evidence in favor of/against it has changed with the birth of each of our 3 sons.
Ultimately, the final decision belonged to my husband. This doesn't mean I didn't have an opinion or that we didn't discuss it. The only thing I insisted on was that we would make the desision once and all our sons would be the same. Penises are very important to little boys and yes they do compare them.
As far as cleanliness, we have never had more than the start of one breif infection that cleared up after one washing. Even my 8 year old who you'd think was allergic to soap has no difficulty taking care of it.

awknyc · October 2013

I guess I never really thought about it b/c I just assumed it was a no-brainer that we would.

Junebug060609 · October 2013

Didnt do it with DS, won't be doing it this time either (if it is even an issue).

vcusano · October 2013

CMDR513 said:
We didn't even discuss not doing it. We did with DS and will do it again if #2 is a boy.

This. 100%.

sammy.k · October 2013

I ultimately gave the decision to my husband, but agreed with him 100%. DS was circumcised and so will #2 if its a boy.

Kate070 · October 2013

Having researched it, I just can't think of any reason to circumcise (and can think of a few good ones not to). DH and I discussed it while TTC and have agreed not to circumcise any boys we might have.

Empireceo · October 2013

I'm kind of surprised it seems to be 50/50. I've never seen an uncircumcised penis IRL and thought it was much less popular than it apparently is.

typeset · October 2013

Empireceo said:

I'm kind of surprised it seems to be 50/50. I've never seen an uncircumcised penis IRL and thought it was much less popular than it apparently is.

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/u-s-circumcision-rates-are-declining/

Only 58.3% in 2010. Check out the regional numbers.

CJPowers · October 2013

We will absolutely have it done. I have a stories to share.

My husband and I are both teachers (my husband a PE teacher) and we both have experience with young boys in our classes who have had the circumcision done when they can make up their own mind (middle school age). It is absolutely TERRIBLE for the child. It is extremely painful to have the procedure done when you are older and walking/running/playing sports and have the demands of school on you. It takes weeks to recover from the surgery and it is mortifying for the children.

Second story - I dated a guy in college (for 5 years) who was not circumcised. It was excruciating pain for him when the foreskin was pulled back during sex. I could barely touch his penis because it was so sensitive and painful. Because of this he refused to pull the skin back to clean it in the shower. It was white and creamy looking under the skin. It was always infected. He was a swimmer and he had so many problems with athletics in college because of it.

1. I would never want my son to have to go through this.

2. I don't know any uncircumcised man who is glad that they are not circumcised. They just have stories of how they are the brunt of all the anteater jokes in the locker room.

typeset · October 2013

CJPowers said:
They just have stories of how they are the brunt of all the anteater jokes in the locker room.

We go with Shar Pei.

elizabethb3 · October 2013

CJPowers said:

2. I don't know any uncircumcised man who is glad that they are not circumcised. They just have stories of how they are the brunt of all the anteater jokes in the locker room.

I can tell you that my husband is perfectly happy with his uncircumcised penis. In fact, he has a few streaking stories from college, so I'd say he's quite proud. Lol!

I don't feel super judgy toward those that do choose to circumcise - it's a very personal choice. But I am kind of bothered by the reasoning that it should be done because it's the social norm and they might be teased otherwise. We need to be teaching our children that they are beautiful because of their uniqueness, not only if they look and act exactly like everyone around them. Let's not perpetuate the hate.

Marcilene1 · October 2013

We left our son intact and will do the same if this one happens to be a boy as well. We are not Jewish or Muslim so we do not have any reason to do so. I gotta say I am surprised by some of these horror stories that are floating around about intact penises. All of the men in my family are intact and I have been intimate with quite a few men who are intact and I have never heard of any of these horrors. I do have a friend though whose son is circ'd and has horrible and painful issues with adhesions. Her second son is intact, no issues. Also, if you do plan on having it done make sure your insurance covers it. Many insurance companies are not covering the procedure because it is deemed as unnecessary cosmetic surgery. Not to mention the fact that it often also requires an extra night in the hospital. Gets kinda pricey.

MerryLove · October 2013

As many seem to agree, it's a personal decision. I agree as well, except I believe it's a personal decision for the person who is having his penis cut, and an infant isn't capable of making that decision. If my parents mutilated my body when I was a baby without my consent, I'd be pretty pissed today. I really like my clitoris. Society is progressing; by the time these babies are old enough to compare dicks in a locker room, uncircumcised boys will not be in the minority and circumcised boys may be the ones coming home and asking mom and dad why they took away such a sensitive and pleasurable part of their manhood.

pandadair · October 2013

CJPowers said:

We will absolutely have it done. I have a stories to share.

My husband and I are both teachers (my husband a PE teacher) and we both have experience with young boys in our classes who have had the circumcision done when they can make up their own mind (middle school age). It is absolutely TERRIBLE for the child. It is extremely painful to have the procedure done when you are older and walking/running/playing sports and have the demands of school on you. It takes weeks to recover from the surgery and it is mortifying for the children.

Second story - I dated a guy in college (for 5 years) who was not circumcised. It was excruciating pain for him when the foreskin was pulled back during sex. I could barely touch his penis because it was so sensitive and painful. Because of this he refused to pull the skin back to clean it in the shower. It was white and creamy looking under the skin. It was always infected. He was a swimmer and he had so many problems with athletics in college because of it.

1. I would never want my son to have to go through this.
2. I don't know any uncircumcised man who is glad that they are not circumcised. They just have stories of how they are the brunt of all the anteater jokes in the locker room.

Me thinks you need a European lover. Hopefully your hypothetical son doesn't have a large, multinational group of friends, lest he gets made fun of for something most of the rest of the world doesn't do.

starskristen79 · October 2013

I really have no problem with anyone doing what they feel is best for them and their family. Your son's penis will certainly never be an issue for me! However, I am surprised at how many elect to do it with no question as to why, especially knowing that so many people are opting out. That is just the researcher in me.

Lild09 · October 2013

Just to put this out there

I live in Canada and here we have universal health care so therefore in pregnancy and child care as any other care we do not pay a cent.

However, the Canadian giverments have deemed circumcision an unnecessary medical procedure and now charge parents 350 dollars to get it done.

Just saying a government wouldn't start charging its people if they thought this is something that must be done for health care reasons.

We do not pay for anything medical here unless it's cosmetic and then only if it's unneccary so if someone's face got messed up from a car accident or burn then cosmetic would be covered but if you just don't like your nose it isn't.

Rachelnicole927 · October 2013

I'm doing it.... (If I have a boy)
He's not going to remember what happened and he'll be thankful I did when he finally meets a woman.

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