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September 2016 Moms
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Any moms with intact sons?

heyheykleeheyheyklee member
in September 2016 Moms
So we're on the fence about circumcision. I want to hear from some moms with uncircumcised sons. Do they have any issues with infections or cleanliness? 

Lots of people bash me and tell me it's not clean and when I change his diaper I have to retract the skin BUT from the research I've done that doesn't seem to be true. 

My husband and I are so torn! Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!!! TIA!! 
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Re: Any moms with intact sons?

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  • ashtasht member
    edited July 2016
    I would think you have to pull back and clean it. My was son was done twice but it grew back partly. He never was good at keeping it clean and it would get infected. Luckily I had some medical grade soap from my piercing days that took care of the problem with only a medium amount of whining regarding pain.
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  • AshleyB09042015AshleyB09042015 member
    I do not have a son and am currently pregnant with a daughter but I do have a story for you. My cousin ended up getting a really bad infection at 9 years old from not cleaning it properly and had to get cercumsized at 9. He was is the hospital for 2 weeks and it was a huge traumatic experience. I know this is rare and I'm not trying to scare anyone but I do know that it can happen as my poor cousin can attest to. 
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  • ruemcclanahanruemcclanahan member
    You never ever pull back the skin to clean it, it will tear it and then cause all sorts of problems
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  • kcl219kcl219 member
    We did not circumcise our son and won't with the next.  We've had no issues, and to clean it we just gently pull the foreskin back a little which is what the pedi told us to do.  It's not difficult to clean and you just have to make sure as the boys get older that they know to clean it themselves!  And we never fully retracted the skin when he was a newborn, his skin actually wouldn't even pull back until he was about 3 years old.  
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  • heyheykleeheyheyklee member
    Thanks everybody! There really is a lot of mixed info out there about this. Thank God for google and mom forums!
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  • jeversjevers member
    My first was a girl but my nephew is uncircumcised and at the age of 7 has constant issues and infections. He is in that odd age of being too young to take care and clean it well enough and too old/proudfor his parents to do it daily. It's been a nightmare for my SIL but I know that it's not always a bad experience. 
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  • marajay6marajay6 member
    My 20 month old son is intact. We do not retract the foreskin to clean it. The tip of his penis gets a little bit red if we go too long between baths. But a soak in the tub always takes care of it. He did get a minor infection in the tip 1 time - it was red, slightly inflamed, and it did seem to bother him a little bit. We let him soak in the tub and then used some ointment (nonprescription) and it cleared up really quickly.



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  • sept52016sept52016 member
    I do not have a son yet but soon :). We will be leaving him intact. My cousin was circumcised and had to have reconstructive surgery throughout his life because of his circumcision. Ultimately I think there are pros and cons to both and it really comes down to what you believe and what you think is best.
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  • Soon2bemissGSoon2bemissG member
    I not having a boy and don't want to get into the debate. However I will share a story that happened to my brother. 

    He he was born at 27w 2d weighing a whopping 1lb 15oz and spent 3 months in the NICU so my parents never got him circumcised because there was so much else going on with him they were more concerned about keeping him alive. Anyway fast forward to the time he was about 10. He was still peeing the bed, having bowel problems and a few other things. The doctors chocked it up to being a side effect of being premature. 1 year later and he started getting bladder infections (which is very rare for a boy) so they went to see a specialist. Turns out that because he was uncircumcised the forskin wasn't pulling back enough to let his bladder properly empty. He had a stretched bladder needed to have surgery to clip the skin (he was 12 when he got this done and it totally devastated him). Anyway no he's a perfectly healthy 14 year old with no problems with his bowels, peeing the bed etc. 
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  • Soon2bemissGSoon2bemissG member
    I not having a boy and don't want to get into the debate. However I will share a story that happened to my brother. 

    He he was born at 27w 2d and spent 3 months in the 
    <a href="http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Parenting Tips"><img src="http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt1cfd59" alt=" Pregnancy Ticker" border="0"  /></a>
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  • kcl219kcl219 member
    edited July 2016
    Soon2bemissG said:
    I not having a boy and don't want to get into the debate. However I will share a story that happened to my brother. 

    He he was born at 27w 2d weighing a whopping 1lb 15oz and spent 3 months in the NICU so my parents never got him circumcised because there was so much else going on with him they were more concerned about keeping him alive. Anyway fast forward to the time he was about 10. He was still peeing the bed, having bowel problems and a few other things. The doctors chocked it up to being a side effect of being premature. 1 year later and he started getting bladder infections (which is very rare for a boy) so they went to see a specialist. Turns out that because he was uncircumcised the forskin wasn't pulling back enough to let his bladder properly empty. He had a stretched bladder needed to have surgery to clip the skin (he was 12 when he got this done and it totally devastated him). Anyway no he's a perfectly healthy 14 year old with no problems with his bowels, peeing the bed etc. 
    My sons foreskin didn't naturally retract on it own and before he turned 4 the pedi prescribed a cream that helped loosen the skin.  We had to apply it 3 times a day and gently move the skin to stretch it.  It worked and everything is fine now, no infections or issues, but yes that could definitely be problematic if the doctor isnt watching to make sure that the foreskin retracts on its own!  
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  • ThemaritimemamaThemaritimemama member
    My son is 5 and I have never retracted his foreskin, he has never had any issues with infections or cleanliness... I feel like it would be weird now to try to retract it? Haha. Anyone with an older child who hasn't either? (Sorry, piggybacking on this thread lol)
    Wife to A; Mama to C (2009), N (2011), H (2014) & baby F due 09/16/16
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  • camichael84camichael84 member
    drmh22 said:
    This is why I'm glad I only have girls. 
    I said the same thing when the giant thread about circumcision was posted. One less decision to make.






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  • mjpatzwamjpatzwa member
    Soon2bemissG said:
    I not having a boy and don't want to get into the debate. However I will share a story that happened to my brother. 

    He he was born at 27w 2d weighing a whopping 1lb 15oz and spent 3 months in the NICU so my parents never got him circumcised because there was so much else going on with him they were more concerned about keeping him alive. Anyway fast forward to the time he was about 10. He was still peeing the bed, having bowel problems and a few other things. The doctors chocked it up to being a side effect of being premature. 1 year later and he started getting bladder infections (which is very rare for a boy) so they went to see a specialist. Turns out that because he was uncircumcised the forskin wasn't pulling back enough to let his bladder properly empty. He had a stretched bladder needed to have surgery to clip the skin (he was 12 when he got this done and it totally devastated him). Anyway no he's a perfectly healthy 14 year old with no problems with his bowels, peeing the bed etc. 
    This. Some things happen that are sad. My brother got in a wrestling accident and had to be circumcised at age 6 and he was devastated, as well. But to me, i know these things are not normal occurrences and now seeing two stories where  the boys have been "devastated" is argument enough for me not to question my choice to not circumcise.
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  • ashtasht member
    kcl219 said:
    Soon2bemissG said:
    I not having a boy and don't want to get into the debate. However I will share a story that happened to my brother. 

    He he was born at 27w 2d weighing a whopping 1lb 15oz and spent 3 months in the NICU so my parents never got him circumcised because there was so much else going on with him they were more concerned about keeping him alive. Anyway fast forward to the time he was about 10. He was still peeing the bed, having bowel problems and a few other things. The doctors chocked it up to being a side effect of being premature. 1 year later and he started getting bladder infections (which is very rare for a boy) so they went to see a specialist. Turns out that because he was uncircumcised the forskin wasn't pulling back enough to let his bladder properly empty. He had a stretched bladder needed to have surgery to clip the skin (he was 12 when he got this done and it totally devastated him). Anyway no he's a perfectly healthy 14 year old with no problems with his bowels, peeing the bed etc. 
    My sons foreskin didn't naturally retract on it own and before he turned 4 the pedi prescribed a cream that helped loosen the skin.  We had to apply it 3 times a day and gently move the skin to stretch it.  It worked and everything is fine now, no infections or issues, but yes that could definitely be problematic if the doctor isnt watching to make sure that the foreskin retracts on its own!  
    I wonder if this is the same sort of thing that was prescribed to my daughter to "unseal" her hole for lack of better words.
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  • jenkar01jenkar01 member
    @heyheyklee I just had this conversation with my midwife because it is up to me if little man gets circumcised or not. She told me you do not pull the foreskin back. It will adhere to the penis like it is suppose to to prevent infection. She said to care for it, you just wash it like you would a finger and make sure it is good and clean. And just an FYI, we are not getting him circumcised.
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  • ashtasht member
    KimmySchmidt said:
    You know, for all the drama and hand-wringing that circumcision tends to bring out (I assume because there is a choice to be made on the issue), I think girl parts are way more prone to infections and complications than any boy parts regardless of weather they get cut or remain in tact. 

    And we've all survived life to this point with our vaginas. Obviously it is or can be a life long decision that you make for your son, but in the end I think it's easy to put a little too much stock in it.
    I agree. I never realized how common girl part issues are because I have never had to deal with it. However after talking to my ob and nurse who are always surprised that I have never had to deal with anything especially while pregnant it makes sense
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