Circumcision - Would you/Did you circumcise your baby boy at birth?

O

Obiwan

Registered User
I have heard 2 sides of the story.

In the US, it's typically done at birth, before discharge from the hospital.

Doctors here are advising to do it later in age (or if at all, as it is not a necessary procedure), as they are so small then it is easy to make a mistake and cut off too much skin.

Any experience/knowledge on this matter.
 
We chose not to. There is a strong movement against it but for us both culturally and practically, there was no reason to do so. If we had chosen to do it we would have done so within the first 10 days after birth.
 
We didn't as our pediatrician advised against it...said that our son was borderline case, I.e. If he cut off he thing might be even shorter...poor boy! My sisters kids have done it, apparently for hygienic reasons and nothing else. I don't think I would have had it circumsized even if my boy was not borderline case since there is no medical reason to do it (or so I was led to believe),
 
We did ours. So it's too late to even ask this question :)

I have been thinking about it since, and until now since haven't quite made peace to be honest ...
 
There are two medical reasons for doing it. One, when they are babies, they have a higher risk of getting a UTI or kidney infection. This risk is like 1% or something very low, but not impossible. Two, as an adult, uncircumcised men can have trouble if their foreskin is too tight and cant expand during erections...and then they need to get an adult circumcision, which has a higher risk of secondary complications in adults than in infants. Again, the likelihood of this happening is extremely low, but not impossible.

I chose not to circumcise my son, as the health risks were quite low and the procedure seemed unwarranted and a rather cruel thing to do to a newborn.

I stand by this decision, despite the fact he DID have a raging kidney infection as an infant and the doctor thought there was a slight possibility it was related to being uncircumcised (but no one can be certain they were correlated). I am glad I had a girl the second time, as I didn't have to think about it again (as I was considering which is more cruel; a quick clip for an infant or months of undiagnosed raging painful kidney infection....even though the % chance is so small, it really happened to us, so....)
 
The risk of doing it as a newborn is taking away too much skin, that's what our current ped is telling us (she doesn't recommend it).
 
Obiwan said:
The risk of doing it as a newborn is taking away too much skin, that's what our current ped is telling us (she doesn't recommend it).
Click to expand...

Could it be because circumcisions are not routinely done in Hong Kong? Maybe a doctor elsewhere would have more experience/feel more confident in performing one. Anyway, there is a growing movement of people who are definitely against circumcision.
 
We didn't. Its a very sensitive subject, but I can't get past the fact that its unacceptable to surgically alter a baby girl's genitalia, so not sure why baby boys aren't afforded the same consideration. The risks of problems arising in the uncircumcised and circumcised penis are similar percentage-wise, so for all the trauma, the risks of one are replaced with the risks of another.

The below websites helped us to make our decision in the days before our son was born. Please don't shoot the messenger!

**Warning: very confronting images and wording*http://www.drmomma.org/

For information presented in a less confronting way:

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/pregnancy-childbirth/whether-or-not-circumcise
 
Obiwan,
What are your thoughts on circumicision?
What is it that makes you consider the procedure for your baby? You must be having doubts, for you to question the validity of the procedure. I believe that you need to be absolutely convinced in the value of such a significant alteration of anatomy, before you go ahead. I assume that you have read the literature on the alteration in sensitivity of the prepuce versus the risk of urinary tract infections in the young boy. Arguments that it is safer for the female partner is, in my opinion, not something that should weigh in your decision-making.
Some families circumcise so that son looks like father, but I doubt the value in that reasoning, as I don't believe that your boy will notice a difference or feel 'different'.

I have witnessed circumcisions in babies and unless there is an important medical consideration, agree with lali that society considers female genital mutilation as unacceptable, yet largely ignore male circumcison as an issue.

I believe that if you opt for the circumcision, you can delay the final decision and procedure until your baby is older. You do not have to undergo this, in the early days.
 
oh sorry did not clarify, for us we just thought it would be more painful, but I have also heard that if done later, the child might have to use an anesthesia. our sons just had local to numb it.....
 
we did it on the 8th day of birth - it's not a big deal

we did it mainly for religious reasons, but you can't overlook the medical aspects... you have nothing to warry about as long as the procedure will be performed by a professional. if done right at birth, it's not as painful to the baby as you might imagine. as far as I know there's some medical - biological explanation for why jews do the circumcision on the 8th day, something about it being less painful and safer - you should google that.

good luck
-tali-
 
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I can't comment on doing it for religious reasons, as I'm not in that position. I do know that there is no place for it in modern Christianity (i.e. new covenant / new testament), for biblical references see http://www.udonet.com/circumcision/christian.html. However for those who believe it doesn't hurt - it is a sensitive part of the body with plentiful nerve endings and blood supply - it does hurt, this is very well documented. *Warning, confronting images and wording* http://www.drmomma.org/2011/04/is-pain-of-circumcision-truly-brief.html. Not trying to 'make' anyone feel guilty, if you are comfortable with your decision then so be it, but for those who are expecting a baby boy, please do your research before hastily making the decision based on cultural or family norms. As others have stated above, there are no valid medical reasons for routine circumcision.
 
you do know that there is a big difference between boys Circumcisions and girls Circumcisions right?
boys Circumcisions - done for various medical reasons, doesn't affect the ability to achieve sexual stimulation.
girl Circumcisions - done by some Muslims, in order to prevent girls from having sexual stimulation that might cause them to act in a way who will jeopardies thier marriage possibilities. it's mutilation.
 
Yes, very well aware of the difference. I still remain extremely uncomfortable with surgically altering the genitalia of either gender. In the absence of medical reason (not a minuscule 'just-in-case') I can't see the justification of submitting a tiny baby boy to the procedure. In countries where routine circumcision is not the norm, there is no statistical rise in penile problems. I don't know of any respected pediatric society who recommends it routinely..
 
No, didn't even enter our heads. My husband is horrified at the thought of it.

I have no research to back this up, but it does seem to be a more 'American' thing to do though (we're Brits). When 2 of our American couple friends came to visit us in hospital, both asked if he'd been done. And it hadn't even entered our heads until they asked us. I did read an article in PlayTimes magazine a while ago talking about circumcision though, and I think it stated that still the majority of Americans get their sons 'done', and the main argument people were putting forward was that they didn't want their sons to be different in the locker room. Best all smoke and take drugs if that's what everyone else is doing too I guess...
 
I did not have our two sons circumcised any more than I would have them mutilated in any other way. It's clearly mutilation and just awful imo.
 
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