Baby boy- circumcision?

J

JANE892

Registered User
I just suddenly realised today that if I have a boy we have to make the decision to circumcise him or not (5.5 weeks till I'm due so a bit late to just start thinking of this!!).

I'm from Australia- and most men from my generation (and older) are all circumcised.
I have no idea what the trend is now? Does anyone know?what are others doing in Australia right now? I thought I heard that more and more boys were not getting done and its actually hard to get a boy circumcised these days?(a lot of doctors won't do it?).
I'm not sure if its even done much in HK........
Does any one know the stats on this? Obviously I don't want my little boy done if none of the others are being done?I wouldn't want him to be the odd one out in the class.
I am not religious and obviously there are no real hygiene issues related to this decision in either HK or Australia so these items are not a factor in my decision.

I am going to give birth at the QMH? Does anyone know if the doctors there do the circumcisions? A friend of mine in Australia said that if parents do opt to do this they usually wait till the baby is 6 months old now (and goes into surgery completely asleep).

Can anyone shed some light on this topic- both here in HK & Australia...obviously at the end of the day the choice is very personal but I feel I need some real information before I can make it.

Thanks very much
 
We had our son circumcised 4 days after his birth.Used Dr Roulin Fong.She did an excellent job.My research showed that now days in North America its about a 50/50 split,but there was recently a New Zealand study done in favor of circumcision with regards to the prevention of STD's

It is a very personal decision.My husband is circumcised and was done so later in life at his choice.I was with my little man throughout the procedure.

You can PM me if you want anymore info.
 
Hi, I think as ever it remains a matter of personal choice.

You will find plenty of Drs. who will circumcise baby boys, I would reccomend Dr. Chan from the Matilda. We didn't use him as we eventually had our son circumsised overseas but we would have used him if we had had the op. here.

Our son was circumcised at 4 weeks without aneasethic (can not spell this word, sorry!), and just a numbing gel and wine! It was pretty traumatic for me and him and next time I would circumcise any son before he was a week old.

In my husband's home country every newborn baby boy is circumsised.

And yes there is new research that shows that circumcised men are less likely to contract and pass on HIV.
 
In Hong Kong, it's not a tradition to circumcise baby boys (at least among HK Chinese).

In my home country, when I was growing up, it was rare not to have baby boys circumcised. Nowadays it seems about 1/2 and 1/2.

Back in 1998 (when my son was born) at PWH, the doctors told me they wouldn't perform any circumcisions without medical cause (there were none), so if we wanted him cut, we'd have to go to a private doctor.

It wasn't a religious thing for us, so we didn't bother.

If it is a religious thing, you might be able to contact the Jewish Community centre to find out about a mohel.
 
When making the decision about circumcision please consider how the timing will affect the breastfeeding. I see many babies who are circumcised on day two or three. This timing can easily interrupt the breastfeeding with the babies crying and difficult to get to latch on correctly or too sedated with pain relief medications to be interested in feeding correctly. If the baby is already having difficulties learning how to breastfeed then an early circumcision can cause lots of problems. Often these problems are easier to cope with if the mother?s milk supply has increased (usually between the third and fifth day).

I?ve talked to LLL leaders from Israel and asked how circumcision affects their breastfeeding. They told me that in their experience circumcision has no effect on breastfeeding. Jewish circumcision is performed by expert practitioners, on the eighth day after birth, or later if there are medical complications.
 
Hi,

we decided to have our son circumcised based on NO religious or other issues, simply because my husband is circumsiced; so like father -- like son, some kinda men thingi, I guess!

We had it done on the 3rd day at the Matilda Hospital since I had Elective C-sec by our Dr, he did an excellent job -- and by the time we left the hospital after 5 days, it's almost healed and a week later everything was good with NO complications whatsoever, ALSO didn't have any negative impact on breastfeeding issues at all (probably BF helped to reduce any discomfort after all) and still BF a year later.

Once again, it's kinda personal decision -- do whatever feels right and have a chat with your hubby about this.

Good luck!
 
We did not circ our boys partly due to the fact that medically there is no reason to , and party b/c my husband is chinese, he didn't want to anyways as it is not a common thing for asian people to circ their boys.

I 100% agree with sarah about breastfeeding and circ. Wait till the baby is a little older and less hungry, there is no reason it has to be done the first few days. Especially if the baby is having some trouble latching he may not be gaining weight yet, and it is just another stress on their little bodies.

If you are not sure, just don't do it. It is not like you have to make the decision now. The pain of circ. is the same if the baby is 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 years or 12 years old. Wait until you are sure what you want.
 
Hi Jane, Been meaning to call you!
Still have that carry bed if you need it.

There is an interesting article on this site by Yvonne Heavyside.
Worth a read.
Also some other very emotional threads from memory if you do a search.

I have strong opinions on the subject, don't do it unless you have to!
 
Hi, we are having a baby boy due end of Jan 08. The question of
circumcision has been on our minds since we found out we're having a boy at 22 weeks.

Case for circumcision: health reasons (debatable), daddy had it done, catholic grandparents, better to get it done as a newborn, is it the norm?

Case aganist circumcision: no defined health risk, painful for the baby*, most of our friends back in Aus did NOT have their sons circumcised.

(* a friend's dad is a doctor who practised circumcision. He is now retired and adviced us not to do this to our babies because the baby does feel the pain.)

Below is a good article written by a mid-wife on this topic:
http://www.geobaby.com/articles/baby/circumcision-%96-is-it-still-a-decision-to-make?/

It is a tough decision on boy's anatomy - so I delegated this to the daddy. I don't know what it feels like...from the last i hear, he is leaning towards NO CIRUMCISION.
 
Tomi said:
It is a tough decision on boy's anatomy - so I delegated this to the daddy.
Click to expand...

It is a tough decision ? so why not leave it to your son (whose body it is) rather than the father?

It is a procedure that you can have at any time in your life. It isn?t necessary to make the decision and carry it out while your son is a baby. I know of two friends who had the operation as adults because they wanted it (both for religious reasons).

After all your can?t have an operation to give your foreskin back if when you grow up you deicide you?d rather not be circumcised. And if you don't think that could happened -read about it at NORM, National Organization of Restoring Men, http://www.norm.org/
 
it didn't even enter our minds to have it done. i wasn't concerned with what trends were or anything, and it wasn't a religious thing either.

i just couldn't imagine putting a helpless newborn through it, especially if it isn't necessary for a happy life.

i have other friends though that have chosen to have it done.

it's a very personal decision that only you and your husband can make.

good luck!
 
I think all the posts on this are from women so I thought I would put a man's point of view (Ashlea is my baby's name - I am Hullexile on geoexpat).

I was circumcised when a baby no for religious reasons and as far as I am aware not for health reasons either.

I have read stuff on how it causes psychological harm due to not being complete. All I can say is that I have never experienced that, quite happy with what I've got. Secondly it causes a lot of pain - well I don't remember the experience but I don't seem to be traumatised by it. We had our baby daughter's ears pierced at birth, probably just as painful. Thirdly it causes sexual problems due to insensitivity - well I do take longer than average to climax but most women don't complain about that.

A final point, most women seem to find a circumcised member more aesthetically pleasing, you don't find many dildos looking like uncircumcised penises.

Its up to you obviously but all I am saying is that I would not put too much weight on all the horror stories and I doubt your son will grow up hating you for doing it (or not).
 
Hi Ashlea (or Hullexile)

I laughed when reading your message, not because circumcision is a laughing matter but because I appreciated the truth in what you said. Thanks for giving us a man's perspective.

My husband is Canadian and circumsized and suffice to say I agree with all of your comments. We've having a son in April 08 (our first) and we plan to have him circumsized. Where I come from (the US) and in Canada, this is very common for hygiene reasons. It makes perfect sense to me that foreskin can trap bacteria and be the cause of hygiene/health issues later in life. As for the stuff you hear about the psychological damage (feeling a part of him missing), I have yet to hear a man complain about that. And most guys I knew growing up (friends, lovers, family) were circumsized and perfectly complete and normal in every way.
 
It was not my intention to suggest that psychological problems were a likely outcome from circumcision but a possibility ? even if very rare.

I?m not surprised that people haven?t heard men complain about this side of circumcision and your reply is exactly the reason why. Who would wish to bring up a subject where you are likely to be ridiculed and assumed to be less of a man? I know quite a lot of men and some every well but only one well enough to discuss such intimate personal details with. I don?t think I could even bring this subject up with my brother.

Would you be so quick to dismiss a mother?s feelings that she felt a failure because her birth had ended in a cesarean?
 
Wow I certainly got some great replies. Thanks to everyone who contributed.
I've done some reasearch and it seems that the trend to do this in Australia is decreasing at an astonishing rate...something like only 10% of boys are done (QLD is the state with the most boys done being 20%). It's important to me that my son looks like his friends...I think thats important to kids.
My husband is still very concerned about the hygiene factor...but really it shouldn't be an issue these days...
I guess I'm just happy to let my son (if I even have a boy) make up his own mind about his own body... or if there is a medical reason he needs it done then of course I wouldn't object if and when the time came.
I think I've come to my decision but my husband is still on the fence. So we'll see.....
but thanks everyone- all your replies have really helped me.
Good luck to anyone else making the same decision!
Jane
 
I agree with capital that it is really a personal thing. At least the latest research in the US showed the medical world equally split. Hk doctors tend to circumcise boys before 4 years of age because the foreskins do grow a bit until then, making whatever tight prepuce no longer tight. This far, there is no medical literature to unequivocally confirm the protective effect of STD or female cervical cancer (in their sex partners of course).
The only comfort if you elect to inflict the unnecessary harm is that babies don't get to remember who traumatise them at such tender age.
 
in this day and age, hygiene shouldn't be a factor... we are lucky to live in a world where it is possible to have showers everyday using soap. if you teach your child HOW to clean it, then there's absolutely no reason he needs to have it done (if that is your reason for doing it).
 
ashlea said:
A final point, most women seem to find a circumcised member more aesthetically pleasing, you don't find many dildos looking like uncircumcised penises.
Click to expand...
Ummm says who? And with the rapid decrease in circumcision who knows what dildos will look like in the next 10 years anyway.

My husband is uncut. He looks perfect. Hygiene is not an issue. Everybody needs to clean themselves, both men and women, cut and uncut.
 
Like several of the replies, I totally agree it's a personal decision that parents need to make.

My husband was circumcised and was pro circumcision. I was initially more inclined not to have my son circumcised, as I thought it would be painful for a baby.

Two things persuaded me to go ahead with the circumcision :

1. Since my husband was circumcised, he had no idea how to look after an uncircumcised penis. Since I had no idea how to look after any penis, I thought he had a point.

2. A friend of mine mentioned that her 2 yo son suffered a urinary tract infection and it was extremely painful for her son. A common friend of ours also had a similar problem in his 20s and said it was the most painful experience of his life. The thought of my uncircumcised son being a little older and having to suffer any pain related to his penis or having to go through circumcision at an age he would feel alot of pain did help persuade me that it would be better to have him circumcised earlier.

In the end, we had our son circumcised at the Matilda on Day 4. He definitely felt pain and definitely was uncomfortable for at least 2 - 3 days afterwards but that was it. It was tough on him and on us as we left the hospital on day 5 and we all had alot of adjustment at home.

We discovered our paediatrician didn't do circumcisions so he recommended another doctor. If you are planning a circumcision, do ask your paediatrician whether he performs circumcisions and if so, how much it is. The doctor that our paediatrician recommended came to the hospital to discuss the procedure and how his method varied from other surgeons. This is something that in retrospect, we should have asked our paediatrician about before the birth and assessed whether or not this was the best method for us. Some methods apparently include a plastic ring/cap being placed on the penis for 2 weeks. Our surgeon only applied a local anaesthetic cream and preferred to perform the surgery in an operating theatre - he felt it was more hygenic - apparently some surgeons just do the circumcision in their surgery.

Another consideration is the cost. The cost of the surgeon plus the operating theatre set us back HK$20,000. THAT was something we had not budgeted for.

I would also suggest discussing with your paediatrician what day is best to perform the surgery - some parents may decide to do the surgery after leaving the hospital, which I think would've worked just as well.

Post surgery our baby was uncomfortable on day 1 & 2 and all we could give him was Calpol, which helped him sleep through it. Our baby also had a little jaundice so was also uncomfortable from that and the 2 combined made the first 2 days at home a little difficult. After that it was fine.

Hope this helps.
 
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