Circumcision

icajesica82 · December 2014

First off, I'm not doing this to start anything. Just looking for opinions.

We haven't found out the sex yet but I've been thinking if its a boy not to circumcise. I probably would have if my DD would have been a boy, but my BFF had a son had didn't with him. Looking more into the facts makes me think not to. I'm sure this will turn into a huge thing with my husband and him wanting to because my DH is. Looking at articles online looks like the US is starting to decline in the number of circumcisions each year. Just curious if you are/do have a boy do you plan to or not.

MAdams728 · December 2014

Yes, it's a boy. Yes, we will definitely circumcise him.

sevillanagal · December 2014

DH feels very strongly about this issue. His parents were both born in Europe and so they did not have him circumcised. I was born in Spain, and so had I been a boy I wouldn't have been circumcised either. I don't feel strongly either way, and the science doesn't seem to clearly identify which is the better choice, so I'll go with DH on this one.

poteetpartyof3 · December 2014

Yes we will. We still haven't decided if we'll do it at birth in the hospital or wait a week and do it at a specialist. There are pros and cons to both options.

I know that boys that are uncircumcised don't like feeling different from the majority of people who are. There are also more upsides to being circumcised than down.

thegabymama · December 2014

We're having a boy. We're undecided but are leaning toward not. It's mostly cosmetic anyway. The CDC just put out a first ever policy on circumcision and for the most part the health risks associated with having a foreskin are not an issue in developed countries such as the US. My SIL gave me a bunch of her research since she just had a baby boy (healthy and happy boy) and it kind of swayed us to the no side. Still not entirely sure though...

Here's a link:
https://www.regulations.gov/contentStreamer?objectId=09000064819526cb&disposition=attachment&contentType=pdf

lakingsfan2015 · December 2014

My DH is intact and he wanted our boys to be circumcised.

My BIL was circumcised at 24 and ended up needing to be cut twice and the second time ended up in the hospital with bleeding and infection.

lgsdesigner · December 2014

Yep. I did for my DS, and if this is a boy, I will again.

RedCherry1109 · December 2014

byebyebooze said:
If we have a boy, we will. DH isn't and it's always bothered him. He wishes his parents would have had him circumcised.

The same with us. DH wanted the boys to be and they are and LO will have it done it too.

tinalovescauliflower · December 2014

We don't plan to, but we aren't crusading for penises either way.

sunnyday016 · December 2014

If this is a boy, we will. We went back and forth when I was pregnant with my son, but we decided to have it done. Our deciding factor was that one day he will be elderly and will need help keeping himself clean. That was really all it came down to. What my DH looks like didn't play a role at all in our decision. DS had a complicated birth and was not able to be circumcised then, so his was done under general anesthesia at 8 months old.

The AAP just recently came out with a statement saying the benefits of circ do outweigh any negatives, so that makes me glad that we did it for our son(s).

mpiemont · December 2014

Both of my DSs are circumcised. DS2's wasn't done well and had to be revised when he was 7 months old.

Snapdragon750 · December 2014

I will purely for religious reasons. I don't know what I would choose to do if that weren't a factor, and I really don't care what non-Jews choose to do with their sons' penises.

I will put it out there, by the way, that a circumcision from a mohel is very different from one at the hospital. If you want to circ but have been turned off by horror stories of hospital circs, look into how a good mohel does it and if there's one who services your area. (I can rec you one if you're near St. Louis or Dallas)

cassietegtmeier · December 2014

I'm leaving this up to my husband. I don't have a penis so I feel like he has more input/experance on the matter.

lauranicole91 · December 2014

If it's a boy, we will have him circumcised.

melissak1q · December 2014

byebyebooze said:
If we have a boy, we will. DH isn't and it's always bothered him. He wishes his parents would have had him circumcised.

Mine, as well.

samiamagirl · December 2014

My husband isn't circumcised and if we're having a son he probably won't be either, but I told my husband I'd leave the decision up to him. After all he's the one waaay more familiar with the day to day function of a penis than I am and will probably be the main one teaching our son certain potty training elements as well as keeping stuff down there clean.

Pintobean39 · December 2014

We just had this conversation over the weekend. My son is mad at me because I circumcised him. Although, he just realized 2 years ago he was circumcised because he didn't know the difference, that was a funny conversation. Of course he thinks it's pointless because we aren't Jewish and just cruel. I'm leaving this decision up to my husband because I think either way is fine. My husband on the other hand says yes we are.

My only requirement is to have it done before we leave the hospital. My oldest son was done at 2 weeks old at my OB's office when I had my check up and that poor baby screamed the entire time. Now I'm sure he wasn't screaming because of pain but because they took him away from mama but it was traumatic for me. As soon as I held him back in my arms he got quiet. My youngest was done in the hospital by a neonatologist and they brought him back to me without a tear in his eye.

BrittianyM · December 2014

I let my DH decide since he knows more about that part then I do. Lol! He decided hands down this baby boy will be.

KellyFM522 · December 2014

I let DH make this decision with DS. We did circumcise him and honestly have never thought about it since. It's not a topic we discuss very often.

Lalalady54 · December 2014

If you just want facts- Id suggest looking at the statement from the American academy of Pediatrics you can find it here: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Newborn-Male-Circumcision.aspx

I do actually think they don't support one way over the other in their official statement but they provide risks and benefits.

samiamagirl · December 2014

FYI your kid will get teased a lot more about other stuff than his penis. The liklihood of seeing other men's penises (penii???) during the teasing ages is doubtful. Most guys don't stare at each other's junk anyway, it's weird. And it's even weirder to comment on his junk if they do happen to catch a glimpse. My husband has played water polo since high school so I've asked him about this stuff, especially if he got called out for being uncircumcised, and he never did.

MaMaOf2Blessings · December 2014

we will not if this bean grows a penis.. with our first we were 100% sure we would. then he was born very early and that plan blew out the door. and only because when he was in the NICU I was taking him to a back room to breastfeed and made a wrong turn and seen the doctor and nurses performing this procedure and Holy Hell talk about being traumatized. so nope not for us. but I say go with what you feel there is no wrong or right way it's what you and your DH want

Pintobean39 · December 2014

Beeorange said:
Nope, I will not.

I think doing it purely because he should look like his father is odd. How often will they be comparing penises? I also don't get the "he will be teased" reasoning; how often will his classmates be seeing his penis? I never showered in front of other girls and SO doesn't recall ever showering in front of other boys after a certain age. Either way, I don't care what anyone else does with their son; cut or uncut it doesn't affect me or my decision. I just wish people would make an informed decision and not decide solely on how DH looks or if you are a male or not.

Edited to fix font.

I definitely think those reasons you mentioned are stupid reasons for one way or the other. I just wanted to say kids do know if one isn't uncircumcised. When my son was in prek he got in trouble for wanting to see a girls panties. The kindergarten teacher said don't worry that's normal, they see that kind of stuff a lot. She said it really causes a stir if one of the boys aren't circumcised because they all are talking about it. I don't think it's so much they get picked on, it's more out of curiosity.

My best friend dated someone that wasn't circumcised and we all sat on the porch on night asking her all about it because were curious too, even at our age. Yep, were like a bunch of 5yr olds. :-)

xxstephh · December 2014

If we have a boy, were really leaning toward not circumcising .

VeganOnTuesdays · December 2014

We are having a boy and will be circumcising. The stipulation to this is that it will be done in the hospital right away. We will not be waiting until a later date.

Unknown · December 2014

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CamoBride2010 · December 2014

Had I never done any research yes we totally would have. But after doing some research and seeing how it is done...nope, not a chance. I don't care if anyone else does or not I think it is a family's right to choose. But personally we will not be.

My_Matt · December 2014

Just out of curiosity, why would are some leaving it up to the father to make the decision? Is it because he has a penis? Again, just curious. If we have a boy, I want a say in what we do.

SassFrass · December 2014

I left the decision to my husband. We will be circumcising if we have a boy.

BrittianyM · December 2014

My_Matt For me, I just think that my DH would know more since he lives with it everday. He has done his research and feels very strongly about it. If I did not agree with him then I would not let it happen, I still have say. Hope that makes sense.

Pintobean39 · December 2014

My_Matt said:
Just out of curiosity, why would are some leaving it up to the father to make the decision? Is it because he has a penis? Again, just curious. If we have a boy, I want a say in what we do.

I'd leave it up to the father because I don't have a penis and could care less. I think their are pros and cons on both sides. Neither side to me has an argument that screams "you have to do it", it's more of a personal decision and I think since my husband has more experience with a penis he can make this decision.

sevillanagal · December 2014

My_Matt said:
Just out of curiosity, why would are some leaving it up to the father to make the decision? Is it because he has a penis? Again, just curious. If we have a boy, I want a say in what we do.

I'm leaving this one up to DH because I have very strong opinions on most things and make a lot of the decisions. This is a decision where I see benefits to either choice, and since DH has a strong opinion on this issue I will defer to him this time.

maritimeme · December 2014

I am in Canada and where we live we are not given the choice when the baby is born. If you want it done you can have it arranged at a later date and pay for it (not covered by government health care) as it is considered cosmetic. Circumcisions have become pretty rate where I live.

That being said, in any case we would choose not to circumcise as our personal choice. DH is not and hasn't ever had any issues.

DawnLilly · December 2014

DH and I did a lot of research the first time. After all the literature was read, he decided to start asking people. He's kind of blunt. He never had a problem being uncircumcised so he went out and found out if anyone he knew had a problem either way. He asked his dad, brother, and uncles (all uncircumcised) and the only problem was that two of them said they caught yeast infections from their wives. He asked a couple friends who were circumcised and one had an issue where the cut wasn't done right and he had to go back in twice when he was little to try and get it fixed.

DS wasn't and never has had an issue. He's 2.5. Potty trained at 20 months and he goes all on his own now. He's never had an infection. He's only partially pulled back at this point.

If number 2 is a boy we won't circumcise.

amylee545 · December 2014

We're having a girl, but had she been a boy we definitely would have circumcised. As a nurse, I've had so many uncircumcised old men with terrible infections from shit getting trapped in the foreskin from not cleaning well enough. Yes I know, if u clean well enough it's not an issue. But when ur old, everything becomes an issue for you.

As @ramy3‌ said, I'm 100% ok with either choice that anyone else makes. This is just my personal preference.

katietopaz · December 2014

Interesting that this is coming up today. Last night I started searching around other BMBs to see what discussions had happened about this topic--March 2015 has a good one that stayed pretty civil and presented logical reasoning for both sides. I can link if people are interested and can't find it, it's a 10-page thread.

That said, we're having a boy, but we haven't decided yet. It's just not a discussion we'd ever thought to have before, and haven't really had yet, but from our initial conversation it sounds like we're both leaning towards circumcising. We'll do our research and I'd also like to speak with our pediatrician about it.

lisalisanorgren · December 2014

I don't think people are saying baby boy should look just like his dad - rather that Dad understands the pros and cons.

I was on the fence about circumcising and mentioned this to my mom. She took this opportunity to inform me that my dad is not circumcised (oh the horror of discussing my dad's penis with my mom) and that based on some of the health issues he's had as an adult, she absolutely recommends circumcising. My dad is the most fastidious person I know but he has still had multiple nagging UTIs - an issue I've never heard about with circumcised men.

Pintobean39 · December 2014

@jko454‌ I can't speak for everyone in the US but when my boys were circumcised it wasn't covered under insurance. I had to pay OOP for it, I think it's pretty much always considered cosmetic which most insurance plans don't cover. I don't remember with my first but my second son cost $100.

sunnyday016 · December 2014

Starbuck128 said:

sunnyday016 said:
If this is a boy, we will. We went back and forth when I was pregnant with my son, but we decided to have it done. Our deciding factor was that one day he will be elderly and will need help keeping himself clean.
Just want to point out that labia need to be pulled back to clean the area, and some how girls survive.

Labia don't need to be cleaned that way-soaps can lead to more infections. Girls and uncirc'd boys don't need to pull anything bacAnd elderly women as well as men get UTIs all the time. So if it's one less issue for him when he is old, then that is worth it to us.

Starbuck128 said:

sunnyday016 said:
If this is a boy, we will. We went back and forth when I was pregnant with my son, but we decided to have it done. Our deciding factor was that one day he will be elderly and will need help keeping himself clean.
Just want to point out that labia need to be pulled back to clean the area, and some how girls survive.

Elderly women and men get UTIs all the time. It's a common issue. If it's one less thing for DS to deal with at that time it will have been worth it to us.

Like I said, this was the deciding factor for DH and I. Everyone has different reasons that stand out the most to either do it or not do it. I don't think there is a right and wrong here.

Unknown · December 2014

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tashad18 · December 2014

Both of my boys are circumcised. If this is a boy, he will be as well.

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