What are the pros and cons of circumcision? My DH wants to get our baby boy done, but I think intact. We can't decide.. I have done research and we are still undecided.. Please give me pros and cons and your opinions
Your best bet as far as pros and cons go would be to ask your dr. You're likely to get a lot of responses here that you may not like...... Is there a specific reason you DONT want it done other than "I don't want to traumatized my newborn?" Because if you ask your husband, i highly doubt he remembers his willy being snipped, unless he was older.
Your best bet as far as pros and cons go would be to ask your dr. You're likely to get a lot of responses here that you may not like...... Is there a specific reason you DONT want it done other than "I don't want to traumatized my newborn?" Because if you ask your husband, i highly doubt he remembers his willy being snipped, unless he was older.
I agree OP should ask their doctor for the pros and cons. Everyone has their opinions and reasons for their opinions.
The reason of not wanting to "traumatize" a newborn is as valid as wanting a boy to have surgery so his penis looks like dad's. (even though a baby or small boy will in no way look like a grown man) A man not remembering a circumcision doesn't mean it wasn't a big deal when it was done. That being said, if someone did research they could find many reasons for not doing it other than possible trauma. You can also find reaons to do it other than looking like dad.
There are so many reasons to do it and not to do it. Search old posts and you will find many, many opinions.
I believe current research says that circumcision slightly reduces chances of infections/STDs. Of course, the initial wound could become infected itself. I don't believe that there's very strong evidence to support one side or the other except if you are very worried about the pain inflicted on your baby. I've never seen a circumcision and can't speak to that, so I leave it up to DH. He had one and wants the same for his boys.
I believe current research says that circumcision slightly reduces chances of infections/STDs. Of course, the initial wound could become infected itself. I don't believe that there's very strong evidence to support one side or the other except if you are very worried about the pain inflicted on your baby. I've never seen a circumcision and can't speak to that, so I leave it up to DH. He had one and wants the same for his boys.
What are the pros and cons of circumcision? My DH wants to get our baby boy done, but I think intact. We can't decide.. I have done research and we are still undecided.. Please give me pros and cons and your opinions
What are the pros and cons of circumcision? My DH wants to get our baby boy done, but I think intact. We can't decide.. I have done research and we are still undecided.. Please give me pros and cons and your opinions
What are the pros and cons of circumcision? My DH wants to get our baby boy done, but I think intact. We can't decide.. I have done research and we are still undecided.. Please give me pros and cons and your opinions
What are the pros and cons of circumcision? My DH wants to get our baby boy done, but I think intact. We can't decide.. I have done research and we are still undecided.. Please give me pros and cons and your opinions
What are the pros and cons of circumcision? My DH wants to get our baby boy done, but I think intact. We can't decide.. I have done research and we are still undecided.. Please give me pros and cons and your opinions
I say wait and see, when my son was born the pediatrician said his foreskin was extremely tight and would cause infections and discomfort down the road. So for us it was an obvious choice to circumcise.
We are getting our son circumcised, we didn't even need to talk about it. Id' personally talk to your doctor, asking a bunch of people on The Bump isn't really going to help you one way or the other. Most of us are not doctors and most of us do not have a penis.
Me: 31
DH: 29, SA - Great
Married: June 12,2011
TTC #1: 1/2014
Diagnosis: Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
Treatment: Clomid: 50mg, 100mg, 150mg - not successful and not monitored
We are getting our son circumcised, we didn't even need to talk about it. Id' personally talk to your doctor, asking a bunch of people on The Bump isn't really going to help you one way or the other. Most of us are not doctors and most of us do not have a penis.
We are getting our son circumcised, we didn't even need to talk about it. Id' personally talk to your doctor, asking a bunch of people on The Bump isn't really going to help you one way or the other. Most of us are not doctors and most of us do not have a penis.
I don't need to have a penis to have an opinion
Make sure to keep this mind when a bunch of men want to make rules and decisions on what you should and should not be able to do your body without your consent....
We are getting our son circumcised, we didn't even need to talk about it. Id' personally talk to your doctor, asking a bunch of people on The Bump isn't really going to help you one way or the other. Most of us are not doctors and most of us do not have a penis.
I don't need to have a penis to have an opinion
Yeah but chances are no one cares about your opinion.
Me: 31
DH: 29, SA - Great
Married: June 12,2011
TTC #1: 1/2014
Diagnosis: Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
Treatment: Clomid: 50mg, 100mg, 150mg - not successful and not monitored
We are getting our son circumcised, we didn't even need to talk about it. Id' personally talk to your doctor, asking a bunch of people on The Bump isn't really going to help you one way or the other. Most of us are not doctors and most of us do not have a penis.
I don't need to have a penis to have an opinion
Yeah but chances are no one cares about your opinion.
When we had my son (baby #1), I asked my husband what we should do. His opinion and preference was for him to have it done after birth, which we did. His belief was that if something were to cause him to have/want to have one in the future, he would have less pain as a newborn. Again, as many others have said, I would definitely discuss this with your doctor. This was our choice and why though.
My husband is not circumcised and originally he didn't want our baby to be either, if it's a boy. But then he changed his mind because he said he got several UTIs when he was a kid (apparently it's more likely for uncircumcised)
This thread is way too tame for a bump circumcision discussion... Can someone please chime in already about how circumcision is genital mutilation and will inevitably lead the child to a life of shame, dispair and grief over the loss of his foreskin?? Anyone?? seriously though, Google is your friend. Circ is a personal choice that is best decided between you and your significant other
We waffled for awhile, but after reading the July thread (it was a FFFC thread, not specific to circumcision) we decided we wanted our son to be the same as my husband.
I say wait and see, when my son was born the pediatrician said his foreskin was extremely tight and would cause infections and discomfort down the road. So for us it was an obvious choice to circumcise.
I'm just curious to how the pediatrician could see that at birth since you are not supposed to retract an intact penis?
@ecwk I hadn't realised it was so common over there, thank you for the insight.
Is it a cosmetic thing? (That seems so weird...) or like a hygiene thing?
I guess everyone has their own reasons for having it done. It does have health benefits but of course there are always risks. It's got a cultural element too I suppose. I'm from Ireland and it's not common practice but dh is from the states and I let him make the decision. I wouldn't call it "weird" it's just not what we are typically accustomed to in our part of the world.
I'm am passionately against circumcision. Humans are designed to work the way we come out of the womb. Foreskin is not a birth defect. I personally don't feel that permanently surgically altering your child to (theoretically, maybe, possibly) aid in preventing sexually transmitted diseases is really a necessary or appropriate action. My infant isn't having sex and I, again personally, think it's weird to assume he'll be promiscuous. Condoms, monogamous long term relationships, or abstinence all also reduce the risk for sexually transmitted diseases and none of them require surgery to be performed without consent from the person receiving surgery. Pain is pain. The infants I've known who have been circumcised have never answered me when I asked them to rate their pain levels or how traumatized they do or don't feel after surgery. Cause they can't talk. If they can't talk they can't give consent and they can't object and they can't complain. Is that maybe a little overly dramatic way to express it? Sure, but it's how I feel when I hear people say it hurts less for infants as opposed to grown men. Cause see, grown men act like they are dying if the get a cold*. Seriously. Think about that one. They get a cold and they can't even make toast for themselves. So yeah, I imagine they would complain long and loud over surgery on their penis. Where as a baby can only cry and they cry for everything so it's really hard to know how they actually feel about anything. My other thought on the subject is if you look at the bigger picture, ie a longer timeline and the whole planet, circumcision for other than religious reasons is fairly new and not prevalent in most parts of the world. As far as I can tell it really boils down to religious and cosmetic appearance reasons. I feel it very much infringes on the rights of an individual to perform cosmetic surgery on them without their consent. My pediatrician's practice clearly states it is not required for medical reasons, they don't recommend it, but they can perform a circumcision if the parents request it. So to me, if it's not required for medical reasons, it's not something I think should be done. These are my OPINIONS on the subject. Not looking to argue with anyone on this one as my mind is firmly made up on the subject and I'm not looking to change yours if you are firm in your convictions. Just merely offering my views, thoughts, opinions and whatnot on the subject. For the record amongst my friends and family there is a 50/50 split on circumcised vrs not males and I have offered zero opinions after the fact and only offer my opinion before hand when asked. The OP asked and that is why I am offering.
*Yes, I realize that is a sweeping sexist generalization and my apologies to my strong brothers who CAN and DO make their own toast and even heat their own soup when they are sick. But for many of us I think we've encountered a fellow or 2 struck down by the dreaded He-bola so I gotta monopolize on that imagery to illustrate my point.
TL;DR : my research, pediatrician's stance, and my personal opinion is circumcision is a cosmetic procedure, medically unnecessary and I am personally passionately against them.
We are getting our son circumcised, we didn't even need to talk about it. Id' personally talk to your doctor, asking a bunch of people on The Bump isn't really going to help you one way or the other. Most of us are not doctors and most of us do not have a penis.
I don't need to have a penis to have an opinion
Make sure to keep this mind when a bunch of men want to make rules and decisions on what you should and should not be able to do your body without your consent....
I personally don't think the issue is men making decisions for women, women making decisions for men- I think the real issue - for me- is the one word you used there.
Consent.
Infants can't consent.
So it makes no difference if it's mommy or daddy making the choice, it's one human having something done to them chosen for them by another human without their consent or input and I don't think that's cool regardless of it's circumcision for a male or birth control options for a woman.
The AAP no longer recommends routine circumcision for all male newborns. Our insurance does not cover it and I've had friends who've had to pay several hundred dollars to get it done. My pediatrician believes that in 50 years, circumcisions will not be common at all.
The term "cosmetic" in this circumstance just seems very strange, like, how many people are looking at it that it needs cosmetic surgery?
I realise now that perhaps I am mis-understanding the use of the term, and it in fact means "cosmetic" as opposed to "required".
It's not a subject I've ever looked into, since it's just not a thing over here, so I'm finding this all quite interesting.
I wonder if we can get a medical professional to chime in on the definition of "cosmetic" with regards to medical procedures? I'm under the impression that anything that is medically unnecessary and primarily cultural and for aesthetic purposes is deemed cosmetic. If that's the case then foreskin removal is cosmetic because the infant's penis functions the same regardless especially because of the foreskin being fused for the first year or so of life (it doesn't retract initially). The primary difference between a circumcised and uncircumcised penis is what it looks like= cosmetic.
See, my idea of the word cosmetic is to make something more aesthetically pleasing. Something people look at that you feel could be more attractive.
This is why I get hung up on the idea of circumcision being cosmetic. As I said above, I now see the error in my thinking, certainly from an insurance point of view.
Your insurance should cover it now that it is recommended by the AAP.
Interesting. It's still not covered by mine.
For me cosmetic equals not medically necessary, and meant to change the appearance of. Whether changing the appearance makes the body part more attractive or appealing is more about the culture and society in which it's viewed. It's weird to think of an infant's penis being more or less attractive, but I do think that in some cultures and societies a circumcised adult penis is considered more attractive or at least more "the norm" (and in general what is considered normal for any body part is viewed more favorably, that's why it's the norm).
Re: Pro and Cons Please
The reason of not wanting to "traumatize" a newborn is as valid as wanting a boy to have surgery so his penis looks like dad's. (even though a baby or small boy will in no way look like a grown man) A man not remembering a circumcision doesn't mean it wasn't a big deal when it was done. That being said, if someone did research they could find many reasons for not doing it other than possible trauma. You can also find reaons to do it other than looking like dad.
There are so many reasons to do it and not to do it. Search old posts and you will find many, many opinions.
Me: 31
DH: 29, SA - Great
Married: June 12,2011
TTC #1: 1/2014
Diagnosis: Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
Treatment: Clomid: 50mg, 100mg, 150mg - not successful and not monitored
Menopur 75ml (upped to 112.5ml), Ovidrel, & IUI IUI #1 8/31/2015
9/15/2015: BFP HCG - 400, 9/17/2015: HCG - 827, 9/21/2015 - HCG 3,327!Yeah but chances are no one cares about your opinion.
Me: 31
DH: 29, SA - Great
Married: June 12,2011
TTC #1: 1/2014
Diagnosis: Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
Treatment: Clomid: 50mg, 100mg, 150mg - not successful and not monitored
Menopur 75ml (upped to 112.5ml), Ovidrel, & IUI IUI #1 8/31/2015
9/15/2015: BFP HCG - 400, 9/17/2015: HCG - 827, 9/21/2015 - HCG 3,327!seriously though, Google is your friend. Circ is a personal choice that is best decided between you and your significant other
Married May 16th 2015
July BMB June Siggy
Married: October 2014
TTC #1 since September 2015
I have two kids (one male) and have never been asked about it, or even heard it mentioned... (I'm in the UK).
Is it a cosmetic thing? (That seems so weird...) or like a hygiene thing?
Married May 16th 2015
July BMB June Siggy
Humans are designed to work the way we come out of the womb.
Foreskin is not a birth defect.
I personally don't feel that permanently surgically altering your child to (theoretically, maybe, possibly) aid in preventing sexually transmitted diseases is really a necessary or appropriate action. My infant isn't having sex and I, again personally, think it's weird to assume he'll be promiscuous.
Condoms, monogamous long term relationships, or abstinence all also reduce the risk for sexually transmitted diseases and none of them require surgery to be performed without consent from the person receiving surgery.
Pain is pain.
The infants I've known who have been circumcised have never answered me when I asked them to rate their pain levels or how traumatized they do or don't feel after surgery.
Cause they can't talk.
If they can't talk they can't give consent and they can't object and they can't complain.
Is that maybe a little overly dramatic way to express it?
Sure, but it's how I feel when I hear people say it hurts less for infants as opposed to grown men. Cause see, grown men act like they are dying if the get a cold*. Seriously. Think about that one. They get a cold and they can't even make toast for themselves. So yeah, I imagine they would complain long and loud over surgery on their penis. Where as a baby can only cry and they cry for everything so it's really hard to know how they actually feel about anything.
My other thought on the subject is if you look at the bigger picture, ie a longer timeline and the whole planet, circumcision for other than religious reasons is fairly new and not prevalent in most parts of the world.
As far as I can tell it really boils down to religious and cosmetic appearance reasons. I feel it very much infringes on the rights of an individual to perform cosmetic surgery on them without their consent.
My pediatrician's practice clearly states it is not required for medical reasons, they don't recommend it, but they can perform a circumcision if the parents request it.
So to me, if it's not required for medical reasons, it's not something I think should be done.
These are my OPINIONS on the subject.
Not looking to argue with anyone on this one as my mind is firmly made up on the subject and I'm not looking to change yours if you are firm in your convictions. Just merely offering my views, thoughts, opinions and whatnot on the subject.
For the record amongst my friends and family there is a 50/50 split on circumcised vrs not males and I have offered zero opinions after the fact and only offer my opinion before hand when asked. The OP asked and that is why I am offering.
*Yes, I realize that is a sweeping sexist generalization and my apologies to my strong brothers who CAN and DO make their own toast and even heat their own soup when they are sick. But for many of us I think we've encountered a fellow or 2 struck down by the dreaded He-bola so I gotta monopolize on that imagery to illustrate my point.
TL;DR : my research, pediatrician's stance, and my personal opinion is circumcision is a cosmetic procedure, medically unnecessary and I am personally passionately against them.
Consent.
Infants can't consent.
So it makes no difference if it's mommy or daddy making the choice, it's one human having something done to them chosen for them by another human without their consent or input and I don't think that's cool regardless of it's circumcision for a male or birth control options for a woman.
Married May 16th 2015
July BMB June Siggy
I realise now that perhaps I am mis-understanding the use of the term, and it in fact means "cosmetic" as opposed to "required".
It's not a subject I've ever looked into, since it's just not a thing over here, so I'm finding this all quite interesting.
Something people look at that you feel could be more attractive.
This is why I get hung up on the idea of circumcision being cosmetic. As I said above, I now see the error in my thinking, certainly from an insurance point of view.
Interesting. It's still not covered by mine.
For me cosmetic equals not medically necessary, and meant to change the appearance of. Whether changing the appearance makes the body part more attractive or appealing is more about the culture and society in which it's viewed. It's weird to think of an infant's penis being more or less attractive, but I do think that in some cultures and societies a circumcised adult penis is considered more attractive or at least more "the norm" (and in general what is considered normal for any body part is viewed more favorably, that's why it's the norm).
Married: October 2014
TTC #1 since September 2015