Circumcision

[Kaytee]

is it right or wrong to do to newborn boys?

[fallon]

funny this should come up right now.

My son was born with a partially circumcised penis so they were unable to do it when he was born, but up to that point I was ready to do it. They told me he would have to see a urologist and that they wouldn't circumcise him until he was one. Now I'm not sure I want to do it to him. I'll be watching this one closely as I think I've desided but still go back and forth a bit.

[Teresa]

Again, parental choice. Brian was circumsized, but if either of the girls had been male, they would NOT have been. With Brian, I just presumed it was always done...and then, when I saw how it affected him, I decided it was a BAD idea, and began to do more research. If I had it to do over again, I would refuse to have the procedure done on him.

[Anna78]

My son is not circumsized. Its not something that is done in the UK unless there is a specific medical reason for it.

[Kaytee]

I am amazed that everyone is pretty much not doing it here. Thats good, i think. I don't have a son but since having Nihcole I have noticed that it is not done as much as it used to! Thanks to countries like the UK its becoming more normal not to do it.
I think I am not going to with future sone, well 98% sure. I of course will research much more heavily when I do have a son (assuming I do that is)

[Tom]

I'm glad I didn't have to make this choice this time around. As far as I know, the medical community has mostly retracted their original reasoning for doing this - so are the only remaining reasons basically tradition and "normalcy"?

[Teresa]

Tom....pretty much. Most doctors are recommending against it unless there is a medical reason for it. Most insurances no longer cover it as a "normal" procedure...it's considered elective, cosmetic surgery.

[Kaytee]

I just don't get why people would do cosmetic surgery on their babies?
My sister of course mad ethe comment of "well isn't Travis circumsiced? Wouldn't you want them to look the same?" Why would my husband and son be comparing?
They say that this year will be the first year that more parents will opt out of it then before (in the US) They are estimating like 65% of boys will not be done. This is a aproximate as I don't remember the actaul number but can look it up if anyone wants it

[SageMother]

Originally Posted by Kaytee

is it right or wrong to do to newborn boys?

I saw the process as wrong so my sons weren't circumcised.

The first thing that bothered me is that they can't gauge how much pain relief to give so it's usually done without pain relief.

Second, they bring the baby to the mother for comfort afterward. Sorry, but I don't want my arms associated with pain in my son, on such a primal level.

Third, most nurses thought it was ok at the time because the training films they were shown on the subject never had sound with them. They were never taught what the screams sound like, so they thought it was just part of the baby "vocalizing" because touch is still foreign, and they tried that story on me to convice me to have my sons circumcised.

Fourth and final, the incidence of infection, though not as high as it used to be, is still not worth the avoidable risk.

[tater03]

Both my boys were circumcised. Me and my husband talked about it and decided to have it done. Now our doctor didn't recommend or not recommend it. If he would have suggested that it wasn't a good thing I probably wouldn't have done it. To be honest I had not realized that the reasons for having it done had changed. I thought it was still to avoid infections and it was cleaner. I had not realized that this is now not the case.