Circumcision yes or no?

Atlasmom · August 2015

None of the men in my family or my SO's family (including their children) have ever been circumcised. They claim they have never had issues...I'm neutral at the moment. Just curious what other parents are doing/did? Any issues? Etc. My brother is pretty passionate against it. He says I don't understand because I don't have the "equipment". He fought doctors and his wife and didn't circumcise their son who is now almost 20.

Thanks!

mommyofX · August 2015

Were not doing it. My BF, nephew and BIL r not so he won't feel out of place. They never had issues, just make sure the know how to clean it properly when they get old enough. It's the way God made them. I'm leaving my son as is. Good luck

jbettles · August 2015

I let my husband decide, as I am far from an expert on this! He wants to, so we will. It's a pretty personal topic, and I know lots of parents feel strongly one way or another. This came up awhile ago (and led to a very heated debate on this board). If you use the search tool if you're able, you should be able to find the thread to read additional viewpoints. Not saying you should not have posted, because it was a LONG while ago, but many of the people who responded I believe have left the board for one reason or another, so it might be worth a look for more viewpoints

chelseajeanene · August 2015

I let my husband decide and he was very passionate about wanting to have it done, but then again he is as well so that's probably why

Atlasmom · August 2015

jbettles thanks! I understand it is a personal preference and folks can get passionate about their choice. However I'm looking more for personal experience with one choice over the other...issues no issues etc. Hoping to keep the thread friendly.

jabeauty90 · August 2015

My son didn't have one until a little over a year old when he had hypospadias repair, he was already born partly circumcised. I'm waiting to see if this baby is a boy with it as well.

amp61470 · August 2015

We are doing it. Like Daddy, like son. I
Left it up to him and while I wanted it, I thought it really is Dads choice since he lives with it daily.

KERJF · August 2015

Personal choice momma

I would just do your research and see what you are comfortable with.
Not being snarky AT all - polling strangers on it wont give you an answer in the end you should be comfortable with. Everyone will have personal reasons why/why not - but they are personal reasons.

Knottie1457011059 · August 2015

We are doing it as well. I'm a nurse in the the OR and have seen so many cases of serious infection because it hasent been done. Not only babies or young children but Especially in elderly people who aren't cleaning themselves well enough or being taken care of in assistant living homes. If it's done, it will save one illness they won't need to worry about early or further in life.

jen83mn · August 2015

We will be circumcising our baby if he is a boy. DH is, and if it can lower the risk of infection even a little bit we personally think it's worth it. To each their own though!

DChunt09 · August 2015

Yeah, a very personal choice, indeed. I really left this decision up to my husband when we found out our first was a boy. My DH is not circumcised and he wanted our to be circumcised. I was fine with that decision. Now that we know this little one is a boy, we'll be cicumcising him as well.

shelbydd · August 2015

That's a pretty personal decision and can be a hot topic (or turned into one with a previous post a few months ago.) We've chosen to circumsize after doing a lot of research. The CDC has recently released new data on circumcision. Overall, for our family, I feel like it's the best option. It may not be for yours, though.

piscesmommy222 · August 2015

In Europe men don't do it.My hubby is Italian, no one in his family is and there's never been an issue.we will not put our son through unnecessary surgery, that is what is right for us.

bnwillia3 · August 2015

My husband is circumcised, but we are opting not to for our son. Our decision was based upon a review of medical pro/cons and a gut feeling about it (particularly for me - I just couldn't bear the thought of it, but I also cry at Disney movies so...). My husband is Jewish so not doing it felt more odd for him, but ultimately research convinced him against it.

My brother is not circumcised - and is a very stereotypical "bro" prone to forgetfulness and typical "guy" behavior and he has never had any problem with it - health or otherwise.

It's definitely a personal decision - and one people get verrrrrry passionate about. In the end, it is about what you want for your little one.

ktbkitten · August 2015

My son's father isn't circumcised and he didn't like that his parents didn't have it done, so when we had a son he wanted it done. He is now completely out of the picture. My DH and I are having a son, he is circumcised as well, but we talked about it and I have mostly left it up to him. He is leaning towards not doing it. I'll respect his decision but I feel like we still need to talk about it. I don't like that two of the are and one of them won't be. I've heard about infection being an issue. I even (unfortunately) know of one person who has had it happen to them. I feel like it is so common, but I wonder if it isn't common because most men are circumcised.

Someone mentioned the CDC releasing new information. That would be a great place to look and get your own person opinion. I agree with a post from before with someone saying that it would be better to research instead of seeing the general opinions. When my son was circumcised he was taken away for 15 minutes, came back just as normal as ever, and we had no issues with the healing process. Good luck with your decision.

ANB620 · August 2015

We are doing it mainly for cleanliness and some other reasons due to research. However, it's each parents individual decision.

whatever works best in your case is what you should do.

rachelkawesome · August 2015

I agree with PPs that you should research it yourself and then make a decision, because people can look at the same research and make a different conclusion. Like, studies show it cuts down a man's chances of getting a UTI, so that might be compelling enough evidence for you to have it done. Or, a person could say "But men so rarely get UTIs anyway that it's not something I'm super concerned about" and use that as a reason to not have it done. It's really going to be up to you (and your partner) to decide together.

If it really matters, we are not circumcising our son, because the research wasn't compelling enough FOR US to make it worth it (plus DH is not circumcised).

WDDCH · August 2015

I have no problem with either decision. It's so private and personal. What we did for our sons isn't going to be what others wish to do for their sons (we did circumcise). If you're neutral and SO isn't circed then why not let your little guy make the choice for himself later, if he even wants to at all?

lauramichelle58 · August 2015

100% yes on our end.

PickledPlums · August 2015

I was always against it, but was willing to defer to my husband to an extent. He is and so wanted it done, but I had a crisis of conscience and told him I wanted him to look at its history, arguments for and against, and watch a video of the procedure being done because I couldn't allow a decision like that to be made about my baby by someone uninformed, and if he did that and still truly wanted it done I wouldn't say a word.

Our baby won't be circumcised.

Rachelsbaby · August 2015

I had a very tramatic experience with my 1st born getting circumcised. Long story short he almost died at 3 weeks due to a botched circumcision, He required a blood transfusion and spent 5 days in the PICU. I'm having another boy and will NOT being doing that again. Just thinking about it makes me tear up I have tons of regret doing it in the 1st place. They are born that way why did I even mess with nature.

cjstats87 · August 2015

We had our son done to be like daddy, cousins and family, and it was a simple 5 minute procedure, we did have a few issues with re attachment bc our dr does "loose" circ but he healed and is perfectly normal...if we had another son he would be too! Choose what's best for you!

PregNancyClark · August 2015

Personally, I'm so so so glad we did the research and left our older son intact. We have had zero issues. There is a lot of confusion out there about retracting and cleaning the skin from an early age. There is no need to do that and the misinformation is responsible for almost all of the problems with irritation and infection. It's no one's fault- there's just a huge amount of misunderstanding- very widespread.
Basically if you choose to leave him as is- don't let anyone mess with him, not a nurse not a pediatrician, not a caregiver. I had to ask anyone who would be changing his diaper, "do you know how to care for an uncircumcised baby?" And they would immediately start giving me this drawn out, nervous explanation of how to pull it back and clean it.... Then I would stop them and explain that they should do nothing and they would be SO relieved. We were able to keep him safe and enlighten a few family members in the process! hahah.
Good luck with your decision! I hope you find the answer and feel peace about it. He's your baby and it's your call.

booksandcleverness81 · August 2015

We're not doing it. My SO isn't and has never had a problem. But as you have read there are potential risks either way, just be informed on whatever you choose to do. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about what anyone else thinks, honestly not that many people are going to be spending a lot of time around your son's penis to notice (unless he's very popular with the ladies, in which case uncircumcised men have more fun, lol)

piscesmommy222 · August 2015

New statistics show more and more people are choosing NOT to circumsize so it's becoming more 50-50;

senl18 · August 2015

I would do it mama your son would thank you in the future... It will be healed in a few days, just make sure that u ask for a rabbi to come into the hospital and do it for you. Talk to your OB and make sure they do it at the hospital. I have had it done with my first and I'm now expecting another boy with my 3rd it's totally worth the small fee. I have never had to give him any special cleaning and its spoken about in the bible. Just make sure that you don't just let anyone do it. My brothers wife thought it would be a great idea to let her OB do it and she had to get it done 3 times please have a rabbi come into the hospital and do it correctly the first time it's not something you want to play with

sgleave · August 2015

Just to clarify PP, the Jewish rite of circumcision is performed by a mohel and happens on the baby's 8th day of life. Not all mohels will perform on a non-Jewish baby, so you really have to do some research if this is the route you choose (and it typically happens in your home, not the hospital as if performed by a dr).

TabulaRasa25 · August 2015

Still undecided.

It's not a cultural thing for us, we have no religious stance on the practice. My husband is uncircumcised, and I asked him if he had any strong leanings either way, and he said he does not (he's never experienced any difficulties or problems being uncircumcised, but it's also not something he feels strongly about our son having done or not having done).

We talked with our pediatrician about it, and she doesn't lean one way or another recommendation-wise, herself. She said that in our region, it's probably around an 80%-20% split in those who who choose to circumcise v. those who don't, with people who choose not to gaining traction in recent years, but going the uncircumcised route is still less common locally. We don't really care about regional norms, or anything like that. I'm just trying to weigh benefits of elective surgical procedures v. risks. If it's not necessary, I lean away from doing it, and my pediatrician doesn't consider it necessary, just a personal choice. But, on the other hand, if there are physiological problems like adhesions that occur, I would hate to have to do it later, when it's more painful. My pediatrician did say that she's only had ONE instance of where parents opted not to do it, and it became medically necessary later, though.

So, not totally decided yet. I do lean away from unnecessary procedures, but I'm not firmly in one camp or the other on the necessity in this case.

megs1409 · August 2015

This is a pretty personal decision and not one that internet strangers can probably help you make. You and your SO should do your research and based on that information, together make an informed decision.

TabulaRasa25 · August 2015

I don't think there's anything wrong with getting others' perspectives, in addition to doing other research and getting professional medical opinions.

Other people's thoughts and experiences can bring to light angles that one may not have considered. I wouldn't base my decision solely on stranger opinions, no, but I don't think that asking others their thoughts and experiences to try to get different perspectives is a terrible idea.

DreaMak · August 2015

Not having a boy but my husband is military, and he says that all the men that never got it had terrible yest infections when they go in the feild because they were not able to clean there when dirt and stuff got in there.
Just a real life example between being circumcised nd not in that job feild.

jadetree1080 · August 2015

Nope. Not doing it. My husband is adimitly against it. We would never consider cutting the labia off a little girl, and really I don't see it as all that different. BUT I'm not judging, your kid, you do the best you can for them and make decisions. I'm just sharing my decision.

Atlasmom · August 2015

booksandcleverness81 said:

We're not doing it. My SO isn't and has never had a problem. But as you have read there are potential risks either way, just be informed on whatever you choose to do. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about what anyone else thinks, honestly not that many people are going to be spending a lot of time around your son's penis to notice (unless he's very popular with the ladies, in which case uncircumcised men have more fun, lol)

This made me LOL so hard! Thank you.

Atlasmom · August 2015

Thank you everyone for your comments and for sharing your experiences. I think I'm leaning towards letting SO decide after we do some more research on pros and cons.

WDDCH · August 2015

sgleave said:
Just to clarify PP, the Jewish rite of circumcision is performed by a mohel and happens on the baby's 8th day of life. Not all mohels will perform on a non-Jewish baby, so you really have to do some research if this is the route you choose (and it typically happens in your home, not the hospital as if performed by a dr).

We had a mohel come to our house for our second son (we aren't Jewish). Wanted to quote this comment because she is correct: they don't do it before the 8th day after birth so highly unlikely it'd be performed at the hospital. They're usually done at home or place of worship.

Edited because second son, mentioned above, was trying to help me type lol.

Gemartin · August 2015

The research I found stated that circumcision virtually eliminates the risk of penile cancer. With every person in my immediate family having battled multiple types/died from some form of cancer, my husband and I decided to make sure there's at least one type our son won't have to worry about. So, for us, the best route is circumcision!

troopersmom · August 2015

100% yes we will

ashmer10 · August 2015

I have 2 boys one is 15 the other is 6 and they have never had any trouble. I would not circumcise!

TabulaRasa25 · August 2015

DreaMak said:

Not having a boy but my husband is military, and he says that all the men that never got it had terrible yest infections when they go in the feild because they were not able to clean there when dirt and stuff got in there. Just a real life example between being circumcised nd not in that job feild.

My husband is military and not circumcised. He's never had any health problems, which is why he's ambivalent about whether or not we choose to circumcise our son. There are about a million career positions in all branches of the military where nobody is anywhere near a bunch of dirt or experiencing an inability to clean one's self. The military isn't a job field, it's MANY job fields. I personally wouldn't base my decision to circumcise or not circumcise my son on the possibility that someday he might be in the military and the even smaller underlying possibility that he might one day get a military field assignment where he has limited access to personal hygiene.

I also worked as an early childhood teacher and daycare worker on a military base, and did thousands of diaper changes on military babies, and it is VERY common for military families to not circumcise their boys. I would estimate that fully half of the male infants and toddlers whose diapers I changed while working with kids living on-base, if not more, were uncircumcised. Military families tend to be pretty multicultural, overall, and when you have that many varieties of ethnic/cultural practices in the mix, you get a completely different mix than in more homogenous populations.

Circumcision yes or no?

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