[CaptainForest]

I'm not saying that it's 100% gonna happen,I'm just saying it is a possibility,I myself am not circumcised and have no problems,however I don't want to take the risk of tearing so when I turn 18 I do plan on getting the procedure done. It all comes down to personal preference really.

If you are that sure, why wait until you are 18? Why not get it done now?

[Style]

I don't plan on having sex till after I turn 18 for one,so I'm in no rush, and also it'd be rather embarrassing to tell my mom why I want to go to the doctor lol =P

[orange]

I've never heard of uncut guys having problems with pain. As Jesushelper says, he's never had any difficulties. My first boyfriend was uncut and he said he was glad, because it gave him more sensation than a cicumcized guy. My worries about getting my son done are with the fact that it's kind of a mutilation, and I have also read of botched circumcisions, and that scares me. However it is a lot to do with tradition and religion, and that's why we finally decided to have it done.

If you're having problems with your penis or foreskin, like pain, I don't think that's normal. Maybe you should go to the doctor to see what's wrong. If you're worried about your mom finding out, could you maybe go to a nurse at school first? I really think you should have that checked out.

Oh and by the way thanks for your support in my other thread... I really appreciate it! :)

[s_cianci]

Religious reasons aside, circumcision is generally done for hygene purposes as it's easier to keep the genital region clean on a male if he's circumcised. From a strict medical standpoint it's really not necessary one way or the other.

[kp2171]

well, my answer, as always, is to educate yourself and do what is in your heart and mind... hopefully the two will agree! =)

and, as always, this post isn't going to be short. I just never give the short answer.

my upcoming "rant" is where most will probably label me as one of those out-in-left-field parents who distrusts western med and is swayed by the latest anti-anything topic. Well, my wife is a chemist. I have degrees in chemistry and biology and have trained students who are now physicians, pharmacists, nurses, etc. in organic chemistry. I think the harvard medical surgical planning website is cool. I know exactly where to go in the library to access the medline database. me like med, m'kay?

but I do not think western med knows all the answers. And I do not trust what all docs do for "medical reasons". I refused, for example, a common metabolic test to be done on my son before he left the hospital. When the doc, upset to be questioned, asked why I informed him that the MAKERS of the test deem it unreliable until after 48 hrs post birth. It was just another thing they wanted to tack onto the hospital bill.

Religious reasons aside, circumcision is generally done for hygene purposes as it's easier to keep the genital region clean on a male if he's circumcised. From a strict medical standpoint it's really not necessary one way or the other.

it is done largely as a cultural practice, not for hygiene... and there is controversy about the religious "demands" for the surgery. How many people never go to church or temple or meet their other religious obligations but are fine putting a blade to their kids penis?

the hygiene issue is always thrown around. It is true you need to make sure the penis is cleaned. In little ones this really isn't hard to do. And its just overblown... studies suggest that 8% of girls have a symptomatic urinary tract infections during childhood while the incidence of a first UTI in boys older than 2 years is probably less than 0.5%. If there was a surgical procedure that could be done on girls that would decrease this % but physically transform her, would you do it? Would you do it because it's a socially preferred "mutilation"?

don't get me wrong... I'm a circumcised male who doesn't hold it against my parents that they made that choice. My cousins son is circumcised. Every male in my family is, except for my son. I just think the health issue is tossed around too conveniently. Hygiene is impt for all kids.

and don't even get on me about the cervical cancer "issue"... you need to do more reading and research if that's your plus to the procedure.

more about hygiene:

http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/wright1/

as I mentioned, my son is the first in my family not to be circumcised. My wife was somewhat against it but made it "my decision". After lots of reading, including men who were circumcised later in life and found a dramatic decrease in sexual pleasure, and actually seeing a circumcision in which the child wasn't screaming or crying... because it was in shock... I decided that I couldn't do that to my son.

it is my opinion that if you are not willing to see pictures or video of the procedure then why put an infant through it?

think death from a circumcision cannot happen? It is a surgical procedure that can have complications, the most common from excessive bleeding, infection, or complications with anesthesia. Doesn't happen much at all, it is quite rare, but it can.

there are some issues with care of the penis, and there are some issues where the foreskin can be very tight over the glans. These issues can be worked out most of the time.

all that said, most of us men in the US are circumcised and walk around just fine. If you choose to do it, choose because you feel it is the right decision based on the knowledge you have. But if you do not recommend liposuction or a gastric bypass for heavy children, or implants for flat chested teens, why do circumcision for "looks"? The other surgeries I mentioned are far more dangerous and invasive, I list them to prove a mental state... WOULD we be doing those as well to keep our kids from being teased if they were medically safer?. mentally is that where our parental decisions are?. cut my kid so he looks like others? I guess peer pressure never quite goes away.

more links, some obviously against circumcision:

http://www.udonet.com/circumcision/christian.html

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/circumci.html

interesting Jewish site:

http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/religious.htm

http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/history.htm

http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/

http://www.cirp.org/pages/parents/FAQ/


your husband is a doctor. He knows it isn't necessary. So the issue here is purely social and cultural. I know kids can be cruel. I'm just not willing to make that call. If it means I need to reassure my son, I will.

just make the decision because you want to.

[Style]

If you're having problems with your penis or foreskin, like pain, I don't think that's normal. Maybe you should go to the doctor to see what's wrong. If you're worried about your mom finding out, could you maybe go to a nurse at school first? I really think you should have that checked out.

Oh and btw thanks for your support in my other thread... I really appreciate it! :)

It'd be more of a precautionary measure than anything,if I actually had any problems I'd be okay with talking to someone about it.

[orange]

Ah okay... must have misread you. Glad you are okay though!

[orange]

your husband is a doctor. he knows it isn't necessary. so the issue here is purely social and cultural. i know kids can be cruel. i'm just not willing to make that call. if it means i need to reassure my son, i will.

just make the decision because you want to.

Thanks so much for your thoughts. I agree with a lot of what you said, you listed the reasons both my husband and I didn't want to go through with the circumcision to begin with.

However, like I said, it's kind of a moot point now, as we have decided to have it done. Our two adopted children want to be involved in the Jewish community, and so our son will be involved too. If we don't have him circumcised, he will be different than the other Jewish kids, and he may blame us for it later on. Plus since there is no medical reason (that we know of yet) to not have it done, he won't even be considered a member of the Jewish community. I am still basically against circumcision, but I felt I had to make a compromise here... I don't want my son to suffer in the sense that he will be treated differently or feel different. I also don't want to make him the "poster child" for Jewish kids who are not circumcised. The community here is small and close-knit, and any kind of differences will be spread around pretty quickly.

The moyl performing the circumcision is a doctor we know from the Jewish community, who has done most of the Jewish kids here in town. So we trust him. Although, I am still a bit worried about it.

[ahuvakapon]

Dear every participant :
first of all: Mazal Tov to you Chava (= Eve, in Hebrew) and to your husband (wouldnt it be nice if his name was "Adam"?)
I'm Jewish, and I live in Israel. ALL boys are circumcised here - when the last,huge wave of Russian Jews arrived here (in the last 90ies) many of them were circumcised when they arrived here, disregarding their age - have'nt heard about any problems.
I think it's very wise it's being performed when they are 8 days old - they won't remember anything. I must warn you - for me, as a mother, it was emotionally difficult and I had to keep myself away during the procedure!
I'm a grandma now, and my daughter's son had the Bris when he was 1 month old, because he was prematurely born and had a severe baby jaundice - it went perfectly well!
Enjoy your pregnancy - the first it's the most wonderful - in my opinion - you can get really "absorbed" in it!
Have an easy and normal delivery, and healthy baby!
Again: Mazal Tov!
Ahuva (= beloved in Hebrew)

[orange]

Thanks so much Ahuva! Yeah I'm a bit worried about watching the procedure itself, but the rabbi was joking with me and saying that it's usually the men who can't handle it. :p So I hope he's right. Anyway it's going to happen one way or another now.

Enjoy your pregnancy - the first it's the most wonderful - in my opinion - you can get really "absorbed" in it!
Have an easy and normal delivery, and healthy baby!
Again: Mazal Tov!

Thanks again, we are very excited! :)

[Starman]

Whatever you decide to do, do so only after being fully informed of any possible complications. They are rare, true, but they do happen and you as parents have a right to know.

[orange]

Thanks for your input, Starman. Like I said before, we have already decided to have it done. I am well aware of the possible complications (that was what I was worried about in the first place), but the doctor performing the circumcision is very good and we trust him.

[pab]

All I can say is that I'm happy I had 4 girls. My OBGYN was against circumcision. All I know is that they say the baby doesn't feel anything. That's a lie. I remember when there was a new born baby viewing window at a hospital in my home town. I was about 18 at the time and was visiting someone and decided to go take a peak at the newborns. In the window was a baby boy getting circumcised. The procedure looked painful and there was blood and the baby was screaming. That image stuck with me forever and at every sonogram when the doctor said I was having a girl, I was relieved.

[Akama]

Don't do it, it has no medical benefit and only risks, plus it is not really your decision.

And since we're talking about the penis, the possible complications are truly horrible4.

A realistic complication rate for circumcision is 2-10 % ( Williams N, Kapila. Complications of circumcision. Br J Surg 1993 Oct;1993;80:1231-6)

1 out of 500 circumcisions result in a surgical accident, between 5 and 15 % result in serious mishaps requiring reconstructive surgery ( Gee WF. Ansell JS. Neonatal circumcision: a ten year overview: with comparism of the Gomco clamp and Plastibell device, pediatrics 1976 Dec,58(6):824-7 and Fletcher C cited in : Fauntleroy G. infant circumcision, the debate over parents's rights and the right to choose. Santa Fe new mexican (30 July 2001)

Common complication are hemmorhagin, infections which can be life threatening,gangrene,necrosis, BOX, UTI, Urinary retention,meatal ulceration,meatal stenosisurethral fistula, hypospadias and epispadias,lymphedema,complications from anesthesia,vomiting,apnea,rupture of internal organs

There is no scientific suggesting any medical benefit of routine infant circumcision, anecdotal evidence is just that, anecdotal and the suggested studies you hear about in the press have, well, not been published because they in fact did not prove anything.

In a leading pediatric journal Dr. gellis said

" it is an incontestable fact that at this point there are more deaths each year from complications or circumcision than from cancer of the penis"

[ridadean]

Before making the decision to have your child circumcised, ask your doctor if it is possible to watch the procedure either in person, performed on another child, or on video. That should pretty much solve this problem for you. I have two boys, both uncircumcised, they are happy and healthy. I saw no point to having unnecessary pain and possible emotional scarring put upon my children for what really works out to be the pleasure of others. Ultimately, this is one of the first important decisions that you and your husband will have to make for your child, just make sure that the decision is based on what truly is best for your little boy.
All the best to you and you new family.

[NeedKarma]

I saw no point to having unnecessary pain and possible emotional scarring put upon my children.

Just to set you straight, there is NO emotional scarring associated with circumcision. Ask anyone who has had it.

[orange]

Before making the decision to have your child circumcised, ask your doctor if it is possible to watch the procedure either in person, performed on another child, or on video. That should pretty much solve this problem for you.

Well I'm Jewish so I've already seen several circumcisions. Circumcision is sort of a public ritual in the Jewish community, similar to baptism in Christian churches, I guess.

I have two boys, both uncircumcised, they are happy and healthy. I saw no point to having unnecessary pain and possible emotional scarring put upon my children for what really works out to be the pleasure of others.

I have to agree with NeedKarma about emotional scarring being a bit of a stretch. I think my child will have more emotional scarring if he is not circumcized and then raised in the Jewish community as "different". I'm not anxious to make my son the poster child for Jewish reform... I'd rather he fit in. If we weren't active in the Jewish community, I don't think it would matter as much to us, but since we are, it's pretty much the deciding factor. Plus my son's father and older adoptive brother are both circumcized, and I don't want him to wonder why his penis is different than theirs.

I'm still nervous about having it done, but like I've said to everyone else, we've already made the decision to have him circumcized. I posted my original question in February, so we've been thinking about it and discussing it for several weeks. Thanks though for your input.

[NeedKarma]

My little guy is 15 months old. Other than a little extra TLC at diaper change time for a week you'd never know different. As for him, at a few days old babies the memory of a gnat and that little pain he experienced was soon forgotten. Geez, is a child emotionally scarred by childbirth?? No so it's a load of baloney that they would remember anything about losing a piece of skin.

[milliec]

I'm still nervous about having it done, but like I've said to everyone else, we've already made the decision to have him circumcized. I posted my original question in February, so we've been thinking about it and discussing it for several weeks. Thanks though for your input.

Well dear!
I know exactly how you feel, and I guess there will be some moments of anxiety, but it will be behind you all, and all will be fine, you'll see.
Mazal tov , and a speedy, full recovery,
Millie
:)
p.s. how you healing?
m.

[howards girl]

I would worry if other boys are unnecessarily looking at my sons privates. It's a personal choice. Circumcision has no mental "side effects" give me a break other than for strong religious belief it is a matter of personal preference. Why not let you sons make the choice?