Circumcision?

[EbonNelumbo]

Due in a couple weeks with our first son, Lucas.

That being said...found out at Drs. appt today that my insurance doesn't cover circumcision. That being said, it brought up lots of questions, and in that, wanted to ask some here...

What are your thoughts on circumcision? Aside from the religious reasons people have, what do you think about it? Yea or Nay?

I've done lots and lots of reading today. Prior to finding out about the insurance my husband and I had agree to have our son circumsized, but now we face the decision with a great more thought.

Help!Thoughts please?

 

[sparassidae]

We decided against it, on the grounds of being an unnecessary alteration of my baby's body without his consent.

I have heard that circumcision lowers the risk of certain STD's, including AIDS, but there are other, much better, ways of reducing that risk (like abstinence/faithfullness, or condoms).

Supposedly intact boys need to learn to clean very carefully to avoid infection. A friend of mine had her sons' done later (ages 2, 4 and 6) because of recurrent infections. We only bath our children a few times a week and since our son is now 8 he cleans himself. I'm not sure how adequate a job he does because he's too busy playing but he has never had a problem with it (ie no infections).

Mind you, in 8 years of parenting we've never had any ear infections or UTI's either, so maybe it's just us.

 

[BeanMak]

My sons are 22 and 24 and when they were born we decided not to have them cut. We did our research and even back then the medical community was not endorsing the surgery. I too decided not to alter their bodies without their consent. I am a nurse and had seen the procedure done during my OB rotation and couldn't allow my precious child to be strapped to a board and cut without anesthesia for cosmetic reasons.

 

[HeyHomie]

It's not medically necessary, nor is it particularly dangerous. I'd say that unless you're willing to pay for it out of pocket, and your doctor is willing to do it, don't give it a second thought.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

We didn't get our son done. In our opinion any possible benefits did not outweigh the possible risks from surgery. We also didn't feel we should alter our son's body without his consent for "benefits" that were minor at best.

 

[seamonster]

We decided against it after much research. I highly recommend "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations." It offers a lot of helpful insight (as well as other resources) as to what exactly happens during a circumcision and any risks or benefits thereof.

The biggest reason I hear people say they get their son circumcised is that "it's cleaner," but as long as your son cleans himself in the shower each day, he should be fine.

 

[gracepaints]

We also did not circumcise. I was suprised when my husband agreed with me. I think what convinced him was that, in addition to it being medically unnecessary, infants are forced to go through the procedure without the benefit of proper pain relief or a specialist. Any circumcision done after 1 year (circs not done before a boy is a month old must be postponed until 1 year) is done under general anesthesia by a urologist and pain meds are administered afterwards. General anesthesia is considered "too risky" for newborn except under extreme circumstances so they are forced to go without. My husband felt this was just cruel.

If it becomes medically necessary in the future for our particular son, we would have it done. If HE wishes to have it done at any time, we would support him, but we feel more comfortable leaving it up to actual necessity or his choice.

 

[gracepaints]

BTW there are some interesting videos on youtube about circing that you might benefit from watching.

 

[Meshavrischika]

I don't believe it is necessary... IF (big if) you are responsible and believe you can teach your son to be responsible in caring for himself.

There are risks and benefits... but it's really a personal decision. If you feel you should circ... do it. You'll pay it off and life will go on. Don't let money stop your conviction or interfere with the care of your kiddo. If you aren't sure, research it. If you don't want to... just plain don't. It's not essential, like I said before and it's supposed to decrease sensitivity.

Happy deciding. Congrats on the baby. Great name.

 

[progressivegal]

It's interesting that so many of you chose not to circumcise (I would tend to agree with your decisions...).
On thing I've learned is this is a VERY touchy subject. When my SIL was pregnant I casually asked her if she planned to circumcise the baby if it was a boy. It ended up in a HUGE fight bewtween her husband and my other brother in law and then my other brother in law and his wife. I don't think I'll ever bring up that topic again.

Since it IS the topic here, I was wondering, mY husband is convinced that "partial circumcison" is an option. I have never heard of this before, has anyone? Circumcision in general is something I know very little about, but I would like to know about it.

 

[Beth1231]

I'm grateful we had a girl. I didn't feel comfortable with it and my husband wanted it done, so "it's a girl!" solved that problem...for now.

I think part of the "hot topic" issue is that men who were circumcized don't appreciate being made to feel like something was done to the most private/sensitive part of their body for no reason, without their consent. And worse, that their wives might want their own sons to look "different" than them.

I could be over-generalizing based on my husband's reactions and a few other mom's stories of their husband's reactions....I'm curious what everyone else thinks about this.

I think it's "prettier" and "cleaner" (easier to keep clean), but I can't bring myself to give an infant son to the Dr. for those reasons. Some people feel differently and honestly....I really dont' care what they decide. I only care what my husaband and I decide for any future sons WE might have. *shrug*

ETA: I do think it's mildly insensitive, however, to proclam a baby boy "intact" and make another mom feel like her son is broken or something. Just my opinion.

 

[CelticRose]

Wow! We certainly went against the trend because all our boys are curcumcised ~ & grateful to have been done when they were too little to remember. Firstly they themselves think it is 'prettier' ~ lol ~ their words, not mine. Secondly quite a few of their friends have suffered numerous infections etc & thirdly several have had to be done in their teens. All I can say is OUCH! Our boys are more than happy with the choice we made for them. As an amusing aside, there is a little game boys of a certain age seem to delight in & uncircumcised boys are the distance kings. lol.

 

[seamonster]

I could be over-generalizing based on my husband's reactions and a few other mom's stories of their husband's reactions....I'm curious what everyone else thinks about this.

My husband honestly didn't care if our son looked "differently" than him. For us, I doubt my son is going to be staring at his dad's penis very often, so it wasn't a big deal and didn't influence our decision. I do understand that other men feel differently, but for us, that wasn't a factor in our choice

If my son chooses to be circed later on, that's fine with me, but my main concern with circumcising small children is that they can't receive general anesthesia, so they are forced to feel the pain. Older children can be numbed and it's easier to explain to them what's going on. They'll remember, sure, but it'll still be a lot less painful.

My entire family is circumcised and we were the first ones to choose not to circ, but it's really not a sensitive subject for me. I know it is for many people, but doing something because "it's prettier" doesn't seem any different to me than asking a woman to get breast implants or vaginal plastic surgery to make it "prettier."

 

[CelticRose]

Just for clarity, we didn't choose to circumcise because we thought it was 'prettier'. We circumcised for health reasons but one of the pluses for us is that the boys themselves prefer the look. They are a little vain so that's important to them.

 

[etmama]

We circumcise for health reasons and our son was numbed for his procedure with a local anesthetic. We'll be circumcising our upcoming son as well.

 

[jgonz]

We circ'd all 5 of our boys and will circ this baby when he's born. Our reasons are both personal and religious.

 

[faerieevaH]

We decided not to. The US is one of the few countries where it is semi routinely done. My husband has been, but his own idea was: if it's not a necessary procedure, why do it? I'll teach him how to have good personal hygiene.
Men in other countries seem to be able to keep themselves clean and there is no discernable statistical difference between countries where circumcision is common or uncommon as to sexual transferable diseases.

 

[Redstiletto]

First off.... Great choice in your upcoming baby's name!!!


Second, we got our Lucas circumsized. It was a discussion that my husband and I completely agreed upon. For us, it was the right decision, and for you, it has to be your decision.

I can tell you, he was not phased by it. He went to have it done and came back within 45 minutes, the doctors that did it were very nice and told us everything you could possibly want to know about the procedure before they did it and then they told my husband all about how it went afterward. (I was sleeping)

And Lucas had slept through the whole procedure (not do to setatives, they use only a local) but because it didn't bother him at all. He didn't seem upset when they took the bandages off later that day and when we would change him, it never bothered him. although you have to make sure you do take good care of it for the first few months, otherwise it can get infected or the skin can fuse back together and cause the whole circumsicium to have to be redone when he is at an older age when it will probably hurt more and he will more likely remember it.

If you have any questions about it, feel free to contact me.

Otherwise, congrats on having a Lucas!!!

 

[Linnis]

We decided against it, on the grounds of being an unnecessary alteration of my baby's body without his consent.

Yeah that. It's a cosmetic procedure and if he wants it he can choose to do so when he's an adult.

Beth, my DH is intact so he's against circumcision. We believe it's an unnesscesary procedure, done mainly for looks or religious reasons. Our feelings and our choices for our son and any future sons do not negate your feelings or your husband's. We just read the same information and came to a different conclusion.

 

[EbonNelumbo]

I read every response. Thank you all for your suggestions and thoughts, and everything else. Also, thanks for the compliments on picking the name

Having a girl would make this much easier at this point