We had a kind of unique situation when it comes to the whole circumsion debate.
Our son had a penial/scrotal web, was seen by a urologist and discovered that if the web was not fixed, our son would have painful erections for the rest of his life. Of course, this was not an option. A circumsion was necessary to fix the webbing issue, and was done at 6 months old when he could be put under general anesthesia to have it done.
With all of that said, our initial agreement was that if we had a boy, he would be circ'ed. And,if this next baby is a boy, he too will be circ'ed...hopefully without as extensive of a procedure!
*stuck in my own quote box...good grief!*
Ugh...it won't let me edit, but I realize circumcision is incorrectly spelled multiple times in my post...sorry...its late, and spelling is hard ;-)
definitely doing it this time around ... didnt with our first son and eventually had to get it done at 5yrs old because his foreskin was not opening to come over the head. really dont want to put another little guy thru that pain when it could have been done right off the bat so to speak.
Female circumcision can range from a nick on the prepuce of the clitoris, all the way through to amputation of the external glans clitoris and labia lip.
Male circumcision, amputates the foreskin, which is around 15 square inches in an adult male. The male looses 22,000 nerve endings [the external glans clitoris contains around 8,000]. The glans of the penis in an internal organ of the human body [like your tongue], it is kept moist and protected by the foreskin. The foreskin also contains the most sensitive nerve endings of the penis.
Genital Autonomy for all - women, men and intersex.
My thoughts are that it's illegal to circumcise a girl so why is it OK to do it to a boy?
Also, statistically speaking a boy is more likely to die from the procedure itself than any of the reasons one might decide to circumcise for.
Well, female 'circumcision' is really more like castration, so the two aren't directly comparable.
This. One involves a piece of skin and the individual loses neither function nor feeling, and in the other case, an individual is brutally mutilated to ensure that she cannot experience sexual pleasure. Not at all the same thing.
We did not with DS and will not if #2 is a boy. While it seems like a big deal right now when you are pregnant and making the decision, it's not something we spend any time thinking about now.
We had DS circumcised. I watched the procedure and he didnt cry or fuss at all. He nursed well afterwards and we had no complications. He was healed in under a week. We found out on Wednesday that this one is a boy and he will be circumcised too. I've done research for both sides and am happy with the decision.
If someone chooses to not, that is their choice. There are pros and cons to both sides of this issue.
My insurance covered it for both sons. Every medical community seems to have a different custom about who does it. My first son was born in NC and his was done in the hospital. He was a preemie so the pediatrician recommended a pediatric urologist do it (pediatrician would've done it otherwise). My second son was born in Ohio, and in our city, the OB usually does it when the baby is still in hospital.
We haven't discussed this at length because we don't know the sex of our baby yet. I'm inclined not to because it seems like an unnecessary surgical procedure that is perhaps sometimes undergone from habit rather than reason (minimal health benefits acknowledged). I also understand it reduces sexual pleasure, and I sure don't want to cause that! I'm also puzzled by the "like father, like son" line of thinking. I'm a FTM and just have a sister, so I'm really asking, do boys sees their father's penises frequently so that a little one would note and be concerned about the difference? Goodness knows I never saw my father's, and husband doesn't recall seeing his father's.
My nephew couldn't be circumcised right off because he was preemie and the risk was too great. So they had to wait until he was over a year old and he needed to have surgery to do it because of the size. He had the surgery when is was about 18 months.
My DH's entire family were talking about it like, " well it HAS to be done eventually." That bugged me... because it doesn't HAVE to be done regardless of circumstances.
It sort of bothered me that they were taking their one year old in for an additional surgery, with anesthesia, higher chance of infection and pain medication.
I am fine with whatever decision a parent makes--it is their choice, but if it isn't able to be done for medical reasons I think parents should just let it go.
Thanks posters! Early bathing we may not remember as adults make sense-although as Ginny5683 noted, I think the more obvious difference with my husband and a little boy would be (lots of) body hair.
We're having a girl, so it's not an issue for us this time. But...
I think it's a personal decision and I don't have strong feelings about it with regards to other people's babies, but my DH and I would not have it done. DH is not circumcised, being first-generation European-American, (Parents from a country where it's not as common). I've traveled around the world and seen penises from Italy, Germany, Australia, Chile, etc. In my own informal, uh, "field research" let's call it, I've found it's not too common worldwide.
We're having a girl, so it's not an issue for us this time. But...
I think it's a personal decision and I don't have strong feelings about it with regards to other people's babies, but my DH and I would not have it done. DH is not circumcised, being first-generation European, where it's not as common. I've traveled around the world and seen penises from Italy, Germany, Australia, Chile, etc. In my own informal, uh, "field research" let's call it, I've found it's not too common worldwide.
Yup, MUCH more common here in North America.
I was reading something about the APA no longer recommending routine circ due to there not being enough evidence to show the benefits outweighing the negatives in not circing. I'll admit I haven't researched that but I will and if I find anything I'll be more than happy to share the info.
Female circumcision can range from a nick on the prepuce of the clitoris, all the way through to amputation of the external glans clitoris and labia lip.
Male circumcision, amputates the foreskin, which is around 15 square inches in an adult male. The male looses 22,000 nerve endings [the external glans clitoris contains around 8,000]. The glans of the penis in an internal organ of the human body [like your tongue], it is kept moist and protected by the foreskin. The foreskin also contains the most sensitive nerve endings of the penis.
Genital Autonomy for all - women, men and intersex.
I'm letting my husband take lead on this one. I don't have a penis, so I don't want to make a life long decision for my son based off of no experience.
My husband is circumcised and I believe he's going to want our son circumcised as well, so that's probably what we'll do.
We did talk about not circ'ing, but ultimately, like @salsy said, I let my husband make the final decision and we had him circ'd.
My husband is circ'd and assumed we would just do the same thing for our son. Once I did more research into it, I was on the fence. We looked into both sides of the research together and were able to open the discussion and talk about the benefits and possible risks with each choice. Possible TMI, but we also were able to openly start discussing that whoever did my husband's circumcision as a baby did a crap job and he has some decreased sexual sensation because of it. I think once his fears of not doing it were answered (locker room- it's about 50/50 nationwide, not looking like dad-we'll cross that bridge when we cross it; not all vulvas look the same so I'll have to have that talk with any girls) we ultimately decided against doing it. We fully understand that there *could* be medical complications down the road but for now, we would rather leave him intact and not risk creating unnecessary damage now. We are having another boy and he will also be intact. It's a difficult decision and there are definitely reasonable benefits on either side. I don't judge what any parent decides because there is no black and white clear answer, you make the best choice for your child and family. I just hope that everybody looks at both sides of research instead of just saying "DH has a penis, I'll let him decide". It's your kid too, whether you have a penis or not.
If I have a son (and my hunch is that I will), he will be circ'd. My stepsons are, my husband is, and my husband prefers it. Personally, I like it both asthetically and hygenically (my stepsons won't even brush their teeth without being coerced). As PPs have mentioned, I will be making lots of decisions that will affect my children for a lifetime, and this is one of them.
Having performed a small number of circs myself, having cared for children who were not properly cleaning themselves and had to be treated for (irritating and painful but not serious) infections, and having cared for adults who were recently circ'd, I think the lesser of the evils is to perform the procedure while they are young and it is relatively atraumatic. Is the procedure without risk? No such thing. Do I consider it an acceptable risk? Yes, and my children will get vaccinated (bwahahahaha!!!) and take prescribed medications, etc., etc., because I judge the benefits to outweigh the risks.
This is the right decision for my husband, myself, and our family. Do I judge you in any way if you choose not to? Absolutely not. You need to make the best decision for your family, and frankly, given the available evidence, I would be hard-pressed to make a strong medical argument for circumcision for children living in a first-world country.
I was researching trends, because I know that circumcision rates definitely vary in different countries; however I found an article showing how much they vary across different states. I wanted to share…the source appears to be a progressive Jewish paper, though I haven't heard of it: https://forward.com/articles/161642/circumcision-rates-vary-widely-in-us/?p=all
I have had boyfriends that were from both sides of the fence and I preferred an uncircumcised man so we will not be circumcising our son. My husband thinks it's a cruel practice but I know the child will be much to young to remember it so that didn't really effect me.
Im going to totally throw my husband under the bus on this comment but since he wont be reading it and none of you know us .. oh well ..
We are team green so we wont know if the discussion is worth it or not until August. Anyway, I asked DH if we had a boy what he thought we should do about circumcising. His response was "I don't think I'm circumcised ... right?" REALLY?!?!?! He obviously knows nothing about this topic even being one with a penis! BTW He is cut which I made him aware of. With this type of response I don't think leaving it up to him completely is the right thing to do :-)
I have done research and can't find any medical/logical reason to remove a completely functional part of a babies body. It is very painful for baby (although I understand they wont remember it 30 years later). But I see no medical reason to do this at birth. If needed down the road then so be it.
I am leaning towards non-circumcision. With that being said I have been with both types of guys and do prefer a cut guy, but I think that is in part to one VERY BAD experience with a guy that had no clue how to clean himself properly as an uncircumcised man! Bring shivers just at the thought!
Im going to totally throw my husband under the bus on this comment but since he wont be reading it and none of you know us .. oh well ..
We are team green so we wont know if the discussion is worth it or not until August. Anyway, I asked DH if we had a boy what he thought we should do about circumcising. His response was "I don't think I'm circumcised ... right?" REALLY?!?!?! He obviously knows nothing about this topic even being one with a penis! BTW He is cut which I made him aware of. With this type of response I don't think leaving it up to him completely is the right thing to do :-)
I have done research and can't find any medical/logical reason to remove a completely functional part of a babies body. It is very painful for baby (although I understand they wont remember it 30 years later). But I see no medical reason to do this at birth. If needed down the road then so be it.
I am leaning towards non-circumcision. With that being said I have been with both types of guys and do prefer a cut guy, but I think that is in part to one VERY BAD experience with a guy that had no clue how to clean himself properly as an uncircumcised man! Bring shivers just at the thought!
This made me laugh. I don't know why I thought it was so funny, but it was. It was the other way around for us..I had no clue what the difference was until my husband explained it.
I left this decision up to my husband, and he doesn't want to circ, even though he's cut. He says he wishes that he wasn't? I don't know. To each their own.
We chose not to circ ds after researching, based on the fact it is considered cosmetic and there is no medical recommendation for it. I do not judge those who do circ, but I do side eye the following:
"We circed/did not circ because we wanted him to look like dad"
Um yeah neither my DH or ds are circed and their penises look quite different, but they both look even more different from girls because,well they have a penis.
"I am letting the dad decide"
This just rubs me the wrong way because DH and I make all parenting decisions together. Of course dad should have a say but not the whole decision.
We chose not to circ ds after researching, based on the fact it is considered cosmetic and there is no medical recommendation for it. I do not judge those who do circ, but I do side eye the following:
"We circed/did not circ because we wanted him to look like dad"
Um yeah neither my DH or ds are circed and their penises look quite different, but they both look even more different from girls because,well they have a penis.
"I am letting the dad decide"
This just rubs me the wrong way because DH and I make all parenting decisions together. Of course dad should have a say but not the whole decision.
I agree with all of this.
I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around these types of responses.
How does the dad have "more experience"? I get that I don't have a penis, but just because dad does, doesn't mean that he has first hand experience of being both cut and uncut, and has something legitimate to compare either option to.
We chose not to circ ds after researching, based on the fact it is considered cosmetic and there is no medical recommendation for it. I do not judge those who do circ, but I do side eye the following:
"We circed/did not circ because we wanted him to look like dad"
Um yeah neither my DH or ds are circed and their penises look quite different, but they both look even more different from girls because,well they have a penis.
"I am letting the dad decide"
This just rubs me the wrong way because DH and I make all parenting decisions together. Of course dad should have a say but not the whole decision.
I agree with all of this.
I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around these types of responses.
How does the dad have "more experience"? I get that I don't have a penis, but just because dad does, doesn't mean that he has first hand experience of being both cut and uncut, and has something legitimate to compare either option to.
In my case, DH does have firsthand experience being uncut, then cut. He also researched the options and found pros and cons for each sidebut his personal experience pushed him more towards circumcising shortly after birth.
He is one of those few cases that I would consider an opinion on, because he does have a legit way to compare the two.
Somene whom has no exoerience on both sides of the fence, IMO, is no better or qualified then anyone with a vagina to make a decision.
We typically go by the AAP's recommendations and the benefits of circumcision do outweigh the risks. But as they point out in this article, it is completely the parents' choice and I won't judge anyone who chooses not to, of course. But my decision TO circumsize wasn't based on aesthetics (although it is nice that daddy and son look alike for potty time purposes). :-)
We typically go by the AAP's recommendations and the benefits of circumcision do outweigh the risks. But as they point out in this article, it is completely the parents' choice and I won't judge anyone who chooses not to, of course. But my decision TO circumsize wasn't based on aesthetics (although it is nice that daddy and son look alike for potty time purposes). :-)
To be clear though.. the AAP does not recommend routine circumcision. The first line in the article you linked to is this: "New scientific evidence shows the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks of the procedure, but the benefits are not great enough to recommend routine circumcision in boys..." It goes on to say the revised policy says the decision should be left up to the parents.
Re: Circumcision
My thoughts are that it's illegal to circumcise a girl so why is it OK to do it to a boy?
Also, statistically speaking a boy is more likely to die from the procedure itself than any of the reasons one might decide to circumcise for.
Doula, Placenta Encapsulator, Childbirth/Lactation Educator
Corin Andrew Dec 24/09
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This. One involves a piece of skin and the individual loses neither function nor feeling, and in the other case, an individual is brutally mutilated to ensure that she cannot experience sexual pleasure. Not at all the same thing.
If someone chooses to not, that is their choice. There are pros and cons to both sides of this issue.
My DH's entire family were talking about it like, " well it HAS to be done eventually." That bugged me... because it doesn't HAVE to be done regardless of circumstances.
It sort of bothered me that they were taking their one year old in for an additional surgery, with anesthesia, higher chance of infection and pain medication.
I am fine with whatever decision a parent makes--it is their choice, but if it isn't able to be done for medical reasons I think parents should just let it go.
I think it's a personal decision and I don't have strong feelings about it with regards to other people's babies, but my DH and I would not have it done. DH is not circumcised, being first-generation European-American, (Parents from a country where it's not as common). I've traveled around the world and seen penises from Italy, Germany, Australia, Chile, etc. In my own informal, uh, "field research" let's call it, I've found it's not too common worldwide.
ETA: clarified DH is American.
I was reading something about the APA no longer recommending routine circ due to there not being enough evidence to show the benefits outweighing the negatives in not circing. I'll admit I haven't researched that but I will and if I find anything I'll be more than happy to share the info.
Having performed a small number of circs myself, having cared for children who were not properly cleaning themselves and had to be treated for (irritating and painful but not serious) infections, and having cared for adults who were recently circ'd, I think the lesser of the evils is to perform the procedure while they are young and it is relatively atraumatic. Is the procedure without risk? No such thing. Do I consider it an acceptable risk? Yes, and my children will get vaccinated (bwahahahaha!!!) and take prescribed medications, etc., etc., because I judge the benefits to outweigh the risks.
This is the right decision for my husband, myself, and our family. Do I judge you in any way if you choose not to? Absolutely not. You need to make the best decision for your family, and frankly, given the available evidence, I would be hard-pressed to make a strong medical argument for circumcision for children living in a first-world country.
Logan 10/20/2010 ~ Addison 8/26/2014
I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around these types of responses.
How does the dad have "more experience"? I get that I don't have a penis, but just because dad does, doesn't mean that he has first hand experience of being both cut and uncut, and has something legitimate to compare either option to.
I've been with both. H is cut.
I have no real preference. H will make that decision. He has voiced the opinion of getting it done.
Somene whom has no exoerience on both sides of the fence, IMO, is no better or qualified then anyone with a vagina to make a decision.
https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/New-Benefits-Point-to-Greater-Benefits-of-Infant-Circumcision-But-Final-Say-is-Still-Up-to-parents-Says-AAP.aspx
We typically go by the AAP's recommendations and the benefits of circumcision do outweigh the risks. But as they point out in this article, it is completely the parents' choice and I won't judge anyone who chooses not to, of course. But my decision TO circumsize wasn't based on aesthetics (although it is nice that daddy and son look alike for potty time purposes). :-)
"New scientific evidence shows the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks of the procedure, but the benefits are not great enough to recommend routine circumcision in boys..."
It goes on to say the revised policy says the decision should be left up to the parents.
Logan 10/20/2010 ~ Addison 8/26/2014