Circumcision - Summerville,SC

Circumcision is a form of genital mutilation?!!! Puhlease!!! Why don't you ask those poor girls who actually have had their genitals mutilated? Being awake, no anesthesia, being old enough to know what is going on? And having it done to make sex as painful as possible?? That is not circumcision!

It's totally a choice, why do women seem to get so catty about this, especially the anti-circ crowd? Have any of these women talked to adult men who have had to be circumcised, adult men who could have been circ'd as newborns and were not?

Firstly, Congratulations! And now- here goes: like you, my husband and I discussed it but ultimately I decided to have it done for reasons of hygiene and appearance, which I don't consider selfish, though some do. He was given sedation and pain med, and was no problem to clean the wound and am SO glad it was done. It's a decision only you can make and don't be influenced by others either way.

We don't have boys but agreed if we ever did we wouldn't. My husband isn't, and most boys I know aren't either anymore. There are statistics that almost more people aren't doing it anymore than are. So probably won't be weird. I could never do it to my child! The boys I know and my husband and his three brothers have never had any problems with girls, dirt, or infections.

Hi S.
I have two boys and chose not to have either of them circumsized. My deicision was based mainly on the fact that I did everything I could to keep them safe while pregnant, followed all the guidelines, and then had natural births because I didn't want any unnecessary drugs to cross the placenta and enter their systems. The American Academy of Pediatrics says: "The existing scientific evidence is not sufficient to recommend routine circumcision". I truly believe that circumcision is an unnecessary procedure so I decided not to have this done to my children.
They are now 7 and 5 and neither has had any infections or issues related to the fact that they are uncircumcized. I have no regrets with the decision I made.
Good luck with your decision, it can be a tough one.

Good for him!
I am so impressed.
Fathers usually want their sons to LOOK THE SAME as they do.

I am descended from Eastern European Jews.
There was no question about this procedure for millennia.
A family always circumcised their sons.
On the 8th day.
Period.
End of story.

HOWEVER, in recent years, I, too, have done a lot of research
and reading and have come to the conclusion that we should stop circumcising our sons.

In fact, I had some serious discussions with my son
when he decided to have both of his sons circumcised.
I couldn't talk him out of it, though I tried.

Traditional Jews and Muslims will, I'm confident,
continue to circumcise despite current medical and scientific opinions.

But secular educated Jews and Muslims
are moving away from this custom.

I haven't looked at any statistics lately
but am guessing that the trend away from circumcision
may be correlated with degree of education.
The more we know, the more we move away
from cultural traditions, especially if they have been shown
to be not so wonderful as we once thought they were.

Congratulations on your upcoming blessed event!

My sons are not circumcised. As a bedside nurse I used to have to strap these little guys down for the procedure and always felt awful. Personally I think God made it that way and it should stay that way unless there is a medical reason. (not talking about religious reasons here and this is about my decision, not anyone's elses).
I have frequently heard the reason for circumcising is to have Dad and son look the same. My father is not circumcised. My brother is. When my brother's son was born, the mother had to be hospitalized and it was a difficult situation. Anyways it gave me an opportunity to ask him if it bothered him that he was circumcised and his father was not. He didn't even realize his father was not circumcised. And my father always slept nude. Go figure.
Depending on where you live the rate of circumcision has dropped. So looking like everyone else in the locker room is loosing validity. Also fewer doctors are performing the procedure, at least in my aera. It's considered cosmetic and high risk, so no reason to risk malpractice. It's possible in the future there will be so few docs performing circumcisions that it won't really be an option any more.

My husband is but our 4 sons are not...three of which are grown now. They are not scared for looking different from my hubby or others. It is much more common now not to and even the numbers are showing more boys are not than are. Go with your instincts! You are the mom and God gave you that little boy so what you think is best is!

Blessings!

K.

I absolutely couldn't imagine putting my sweet little son thru that. And yes, I say putting him thru it because he was a 32 week preemie and fortunately most moms have no idea what those little preemies go thru. My son was lucky that he was a healthy preemie. So no, I couldn't imagine willingly putting him thru more than he'd already been thru. Had he been full-term, I wouldn't have done it either because I wouldn't put a baby new to this great big world thru it either.

Wouldn't have matter either way what his dad "looked" like for our decision.

And really, by the time they pay attention to that sort of thing they won't be seeing dad naked in most homes anyway!

The whole locker room reason is going by the wayside as well. There are many, many more enlightened parents out there that aren't willing to put their infant thru that procedure for cosmetic reasons so even if they do see each other in the locker room he won't be the only one these days.

My husband is uncircumcised and it's really no different than the few circumcised ones I've *ahem* seen.

I'll add too that I witnessed my nephew's circumcision and not that it was a life-changing moment for me on this issue but it was horrible to see. He was clearly in pain and then the whole healing process. No thank you.

My son is not circumcised.
Neither is my Husband... and he has NEVER had medical problems because of it NOR diseases. At all.
MANY boys nowadays are not circumcised... it will NOT be so unusual.... in the general scheme of things, when they are older and in the locker rooms. Un-circumcised boys, are VERY commonplace, now.
ALL of my friends' sons, are not circumcised either.
Our Pediatrician's sons, are not circumcised either.

I personally, just did not want to do that to my son.
I rather him be natural....
we have had no problems with our decision.

all the best,
Susan

We didn't, for the following reasons:

- We're not Jewish (but if we were, we undoubtedly would)

- If he wants to be cut later, he can be (can't really stitch it back on)

- Sexual sensitivity

- Leaving boys uncut allows for normal penile growth (lots of men grow short, curved, or at an angle because of their circ... others like my husband, tmi warning, have over 3 inches of scar tissue on their shaft)

My son is not circumsized. My husband is. All these people want their sons to be like their husband. My son has never questioned it. If he asks we will tell him that we chose to let him make his own decisions. We are all different. We chose not to do it because it is not medically necessary. He is not dirty for not having it done. We have never had any problems. I think it is more common for people not to have it done these days. After our son was born our dr came in and asked what our decision was, we said no, he said good choice. That made us feel good. As far as looks go, I do worry about the locker room, but realize there will be other boys in the same boat in the locker room. Also, I hope they are not all just playing the staring game. For the women who think it is icky, that is your bad. Sorry it isnt what you are used to, but it is what God gave us.

My husband and 2 boys are not and I am happy with my decision, in fact, I don't think we ever really discussed it... It is a part of their body, unless you ar edoing for religious reasons, I see no need for the unnecessary pain and care it will take until it is healed. We have had no problems with cleaniness, it gets cleaned just like every other body part.

I have had a home daycare for 17 years and I can only remember 1 baby boy being circumcised (I am in Canada and it is less common here to do the procedure).

I have always wondered about this reasoning.... boys will be made of in a locker room for being different, well how often do boys actually shower and change NAKED in front of a group of boys?? Sure they change for gym class and various sports, but shouldn't underwear/boxers be on... I can't imagine that boys are showering and coming out into an open room with nothing on.

I have twin boys and they were circumsized the day before they came home. We were their right before and right after it happened. I am not sure what video you watched, or who did the procedure, but I can tell you that my boys were fine after. As a first time mom (mom of twins non the less!) I was freaked that my little guys would be screaming and in such pain. What a relief it was to see them right after (it only takes a few minutes for the entire procedure to be done...the most time spent with the stitches) and have them in my arms, swaddled and cooing in my face :)
Do what ever feels right to you, just know that it is not a savage thing to do!

We circumcised our son, who is 12 weeks old. My husband was in no doubt of wanting it. He is, and so were all my brothers and my nephew. My husband says he didn't want him to be different, and it is easier to wash and keep clean.
We had it done when he was...2 days old and he didn't even seem to notice afterward what had happened. We didn't see it happen, and our son wasn't in pain.

My husband is. Our 2 boys (3 years and 1 month) are NOT! I left the ultimate decision up to my husband but said if he chose to have it done, I wanted him to be there with our son. After researching, we both agreed it would be best to not. Why put our child through unnecessary pain???? And nobody is truly going to "look like their daddy" because you either do or do not circumcise......

We did the circ with both our boys, but looking back at it if I had it to do over again we would not do it. It's just not medically necesarry and I still remember the revulsion on our pediatrician's face when I asked her about it.

First of all you are asking a bunch of women's opinion on a boy. I had my sons circumcised and I'd I know it's painful, but I would do it again. They have NO memory of it done. My sister is a nurse and had to be involved in lots of them, she told me about it too, but I had it done. Guys do talk in the locker room, yes I've heard more and more mothers not want to put their son through it, but I think my son will thank me some day. My husband also wanted it done. I also think it is cleaner, I've heard of more boys having problems because they didn't, then having it done. My sister who is a nurse had all three of her boys done too..

My son was circumcised. So were all the males in my and his father's families. If I had another son, he would be done as well.

It is easier to keep clean. It is our family norm. Then you also have the "looking the same" and "being normal" argument. Doing it as an infant is so much easier for all involved.

For those with the argument of "they can do it later if they want it done" are correct, it can be done but then the boy knows the difference and has to cope w/ the healing time (which is longer when they are older).

If you think you or your hubby will want it done, do it when he is born.

We decided to circumcise because a) my husband was STRONGLY for it and b)I felt like the majority of boys and men my boys would see would be circumcised. I DID have qualms regarding pain, but my doctor gives lidocaine before the procedure, so it deadened them to pain. My husband saw both of them circumcised and they didn't cry. As long as they were getting local anesthesia, I was okay with it. They never acted like it bothered them afterward. I'm far more ambivalent about it than my husband was, but he was really into them being circumcised and I was fine with it after doing my research. Seriously, just go with your gut. Whatever you feel like doing is fine!

We have two boys. We circumsized simply because my husband had it done, and to us it's "normal". If you're torn about it, then don't do it. You need to be 100% comfortable with doing it, and it doesn't seem like you are. Your son will be fine and won't be ridiculed. Yes, boys do still shower at school, but I don't think it's as big of a deal as we make it out to be.

We did not circumcise, because we decided that our micropreemie had been through enough pain already. The statistics show that uncircumcised boys are starting to become the norm, so your little guy may not look so different in the locker room! I would say "trust your instincts." Why put your little man through such a painful procedure for vanity?

Pros and cons aside, I am a believer in having the same as the father. My husband was circumcised, so we had our son done as well. I would never want my child to see their fathers manhood and wonder why his doesn't look the same or feel bad because it doesn't look right. I'd rather him think "HEY! I have one of those too"

I believe in having the same as a boys father.
My son is circumcised as well as his father and the rest of the male members of our families.

yes they can get it done later but healing is much harder the older they are.

I agree with Julie B. We chose to with our son and had no problems.

Good luck and Congrats on the baby boy!!

When/if I ever have a boy, I will be doing it. Personally, I've seen both and to me it looks better. My little nephew didn't have his done and he loved being naked and running around. My other nephew saw it and said, "Evan's weiner looks like a carrot mommy!" lol. So, it's noticable even by little kids if it's different Besides the cleanliness issue (which I've not dealt with, may not be a big deal), that is my only reason. Best of luck and congrats on the new addition!!

I circumcised my son because he was born with a kidney condition where he only has one functioning kidney. I knew there was a slightly higher chance that he could get a UTI if he was not cut, and I didn't want to take that risk (even though the risk is very small). My son has never had a UTI and I am happy with how everything turned out. Good Luck with your decision!

My boys are not circumcised. Most civilized societies today do not circumcise their children. We live in the south where things are a little backwards. I am pleasently surprised to read all the positive responses you received.

My son whom we adopted at age 7 was not circumcised, which was fine with us. However because he failed to keep himself cleaned and was getting continuous infections we took him to a urologist who explained to him the importance of cleaning and the reasons for keeping himselp clean. This did not help him at all and we eventually had him circumcised and he has had no further issues. If he had done all the things he was supposed to do we wouldn't have had him circumcised. I think it is just a personal issue.

I could have written this before my son's birth:) I was torn because unnecessary and my cousin had a "bad" one that gave him physical trouble in his teens... and I discovered it's the doctor from the OB on duty, so I wouldn't even know who it was until that day:(

I ultimately decided yes, because it would be easier for him to keep himself clean, and he would "look like the majority" of men.

I did insist on being present for the procedure -- I felt obligated to be there for my baby boy and ensure he was alright. You should have seen the look on the nurse's face when I jumped up to follow:D Yes, you DO have a legal right to be there -- don't be bullied). I was able to speak with the doctor beforehand, voicing questions and concerns. He was very respectful, and I feel he did a better, more empathetic job for my son. It was very quick, slightly traumatic, but I would have done it no other way.

If you want any other info, feel free to email me. I know I'm the minority in this matter RE insisting on being there, but there you go:)

My son is circumcised because my husband is, and I wanted him to look like dad. Also, the infections that can occur without, and the diseases that "may" occur without. Granted, they may not know for sure about it, but I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt. No, it isn't a great procedure, but from what I have heard it is much worse if they get it done later in life.