Tuesday, 28 October 2008
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Decisions, Decisions: Circumcisions
Guest post submitted by LilMama1204
Okay, I know this is a weird post, but I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Cory and I made the choice to have both of our sons circumcised. They were born at different hospitals and different parts of our state, so they ended up getting different kinds of circumcisions. Dulaney got the one where they actually cut the foreskin and Nicholai got the one where they put the cap on it and it eventually falls off. After Dulaney had his Cory and I took care of it like we were supposed to, but noticed that there seemed to be extra foreskin there and have worried about it since. I've asked a couple of pediatricians and they said that it's fine, but if he wants to later on he can have some more of the foreskin removed. I also found out in the hospital that the reason there is more left on there is because that is actually how it is supposed to be. I guess it has become more of a cosmetic thing to remove more than necessary. Anyway, with Nicholai's they told us to put triple antibiotic cream on the tip and let the cap fall of naturally. After about a week of it still being swollen and the cap not appearing to be any closer to falling off we realized that they gave us the wrong instructions and that we were supposed to be putting the triple antibiotic cream around the base of the cap to keep the skin from growing over the cap, which is what his skin was doing. We had to pull it back and let it re-heal. The cap fell off two days later. Now I'm having to put cream on it three times a day for a few days to keep it from getting infected.
The reason I am posting this is because I always thought it was healthier to get your boys circumcised, but have found out that it's not. I'm wondering what other mothers have done about getting circumcisions and if they got them done, did they have any problems with them.
Did you choose to have your son(s) circumcised? If you chose to have him circumcised did you experience any difficulties afterwards?
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Comments (127)
My first two sons are circumcised because we didn't know any better. I let my husband decide and because he is, he thought our boys should be too. While they healed just fine, I always felt guilty about it, putting my just days old babies through that for really no reason. Our third son is not circumcised for these and other reasons.
i had S circumcised and sometimes i regret it.
while he was a champ and didn't even flinch
now he's got lots of foreskin
and while i'm assured he'll "grow into it"...i worry i may have done more damage then good.
if we have another boy...i'd really question doing it now.
There is no way I would circumcise a baby. It's not my body, so it's not my choice to cut a normal part of it off. Most parents do it because it's considered the normal thing to do (only in america!), but that is thankfully changing now and circ is not the "norm" anymore. If you are considering doing this... please look at these links first: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=207626
We got our son circumcised. His ped did an awesome job! No foreskin whatsoever.
The reason why we did was because my husband was not circumcised. Even though he cleaned under the foreskin like he was suppose to it came to a point where he could no longer pull the foreskin back. (it actually happens to a small percentage of men who are uncircumcised).
So my husband ended up having to get circumcised a month after our son.
We chose not to circ. my son. Neither of us felt particularly strongly about having it done, so we opted not to. Besides, my husband isn't. There have been times I've worried we might have made the wrong decision. But then I realize it's how he was made and why would we want to put him thru something that would change how God intended him to be. Any subsequent boys we may have will not be circumcised either.
I never understood why boys got circumcised... I still don't understand. I honestly don't see a reason to at all, and if I had boys, I would not have them circumcised.
We circumcised for sanitary reasons, thank God his wasn't a bad experience!
We plan on circumcising our sons, mostly for sanitary reasons. The medical community has stated that there's no long-term benefit to it, but at the same time they will admit that the chances of infant urinary tract infection are less, STD risk is slightly less, and there's a slightly lower risk of cancer later on in life. Sounds like it's worth it to me.
Girls have many more folds and crevices down there than boys do (plus they get a period each month!). It makes no sense to circumcise a boy for "sanitary" reasons, if you are not willing to circumcise your girl for the same reasons.
I read an article not too long before my son was born about the advantages of having a boy circumcized. They included ease in keeping the area clean, in addition to the chance of contacting an STD lower. So we made the decision to go through with it. Plus my husband is circumsized and we thought it would be easier to explain things if the boys looked like dad.
I was glad that the pedi did the procedure the old fashioned way. From what I've heard the plasti-bell method is harder to care for and takes longer to heal.
Neither of my boys are circumcised.
Neither is my father
Neither is my grandfather
The united States is the only country that routinely circs their infants
@Amyld@xanga - exactly
All 3 of my sons are circumcised. We didn't have any problems with theirs healing, but we never used any of those other methods. We used Burt's Bees ointment and gauze to cover the area. My youngest son healed the fastest, we waited until the eighth day for his to be done. It hardly bled afterward and looked completely healed in only a few days.
@Amyld@xanga - If you knew what a female circumcision entailed I doubt you'd be so flip about it. It's a disgusting and barbaric practice that leaves the female genitals mutilated. It is not used for sanitary purposes, it is used to control when a female will have intercourse. There is a HUGE difference between male and female circumcision and the reasons they are done.
Both sons were circumcised. No problems. No extra foreskin left. No trouble healing. It really never occurred to us not to have it done.
Both of my sons are circumcised. Both times they used the plastibell, I did nothing to it as I was instructed and they both fell off in about 10 days with no infection or issues. If I were to have another boy I would do it again.
DH is very adamant that we not circumcise our boys (when we have one). He was circumcised, but wishes he wasn't. Here are his reasons (and I fully support him)
*There is no medical reason for it
*You are taking away a bunch of nerves from the tip of the penis that enhances sexual pleasure later in life
As for looking like daddy - as they get older and asking questions we can explain it to them. But no one looks exactly alike, so why should this matter to look identical?
no. here in northern Ireland it's not done at all
Circumcision hurts both men and women. Â It removes important, functional tissue and changes the physiological function of the penis during intercourse.Â
But even before I knew of the functions of the foreskin, I knew something just wasn't right about strapping an infant down and cutting off perfectly healthy tissue. Â As with most things about parenting, if it doesn't feel right, it usually isn't. Â
I am so proud to have an intact son who will have all the benefits of his reproductive organs as nature has intended.
@Kristenmomof3@xanga - I seriously doubt that the US is the only country that routinely does it since it is a religous requirement of both Jews and Muslims.
We chose to have ours circumcised for a variety of reasons. Scriptually the Lord asked the Jews to do it. Now we are not Jewish but decided that there might have been a physical reason as well as a spiritual reason to do it. The other main reason was that studies have shown that women whose husband was circumcised had lower incidences of cervical cancer. It is also easier for a woman who has a yeast infection to share it with her uncircumcised husband.
@neverdie373@xanga - It doesn't matter WHY it is done, they are both mutilation. Both remove normal, functioning body parts.
Circumcision of the Old Testament Days has absolutely nothing to do with the skinning and mutilation of today.
We have an intact son, even though his dad is circ'ed. It is a very loving choice not to inflict UnNecessary pain on an infant for cosmetic reasons. No other civilized developed country (except for Israel and some muslim nations) does this. It HAS to be outlawed just like female genital mutilation is. Let's call it by it's real name - strapping down an UNCONSENTING (and not able to give consent) days old infant and cutting up his/her genitals to make them look more to our "taste" is MUTILATION. (every credible medical organization in the world has said that ric is "cosmetic")
WHOSE BODY, WHOSE RIGHTS?
I am glad that you have thought about this. I am a male and a father. I had daughters so this decision was not "in the area of decision making"-but, if I were in some east african nations it would. Circumcision, has, in my opinion become obsolete. There is always the general 'cleanliness' argument, but I think this is a coverup for parents secret aesthetic beliefs of genetalia. For, if cleanliness was an issue then we would circumcise girls because they have higher rates of UTI's and other bacteria infections. The removal of their 'labia minora' while disgusting in act, and in practice, because of unnecessary pain-would, in fact, be more 'clean'. However, this seems ridiculous in our western culture-only because we teach our daughters how to clean themselves. Which can be done with sons.
It is their body. If they choose to do so when they reach their majority then it is their decision. But I have no right to alter something of theirs for cosmetic reasons in ways that cannot be reversed and causes undue suffering. Most of the world does not practice this, and, I have heard Americans are starting to reverse the trends-also, for those Christians that keep hounding people about it being 'religious' should really partake of their new testament and what it says about such things.
Be well
G
If & when i have a son, he will be circumcised. Mostly for the benefit of not having to teach him how to clean it because they're probably wont be a male figure in our lives to teach him to do so & to lower the risk of an infection or an STD. The little flaps of skin make it easier to carry things which can then intern be spread to others. I'm not saying that without it, spreading can't be done but without it, it lowers the risk.
Wow. There are some real ignorant, selfish mothers on this area of the Web and I feel sooooo sorry for the 100% totally unnecessary, sexually damaging, human rights violations their sons (sons, not daughters!) have been inflicted w/... permanently marked w/ their parents' ignorance.
"12 Reasons To Say 'NO!' To Circumcision":
http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/5-bc/64-no-to-circumcision.htm
"Top Ten (10) Ways Circumcised Male Sex Hurts Women!":
http://www.sexasnatureintendedit.com/
circumcision video:
http://www.intact.ca/