Aa
Circumcision
I am wondering how many of you are planning on or did have your baby boy's circumcised. I hadn't even really thought about it until now. We probably wouldn't be thinking about it, except my nephews weren't done, and the oldest one (he is 5 now) has been having repeat infections. My sister in law told me that my nephews pediatrician is encouraging them to now have it done believing it will put an end to them. My sil is an RN and I know she is very on top of things like hygiene, etc. so I know these infections are not due to lack of cleanliness or anything like that. The poor little guy has had them pretty frequently for the last year and half. My OB does not encourage circumcision, but of course leaves the decision to us. What are all of your thoughts? We are now really on the fence on the issue. As always, thanks for any info or input. I appreciate it.
Neither of my boys are circumcised. DH is but agreed to not do the boys. I believe if you are born that way, you should stay that way unless it is medically necessary. IMO circumcising is plastic surgery for infants. I haven't regretted not doing it at all.
Your nephew could be getting UTIs from other things like renal reflux. It is a very common renal abnormality that causes urine to back up into the system and cause repeated UTI and kidney infections.
Little girls by far get way more UTIs than little boys and we don't go cutting on them to prevent it or consider it a hygiene issue.
Just my opinion.
Your nephew could be getting UTIs from other things like renal reflux. It is a very common renal abnormality that causes urine to back up into the system and cause repeated UTI and kidney infections.
Little girls by far get way more UTIs than little boys and we don't go cutting on them to prevent it or consider it a hygiene issue.
Just my opinion.
Amanda, it's fascinating to me that nobody else at your class was even considering it. I think it's really interesting how much of a sociocultural decision this is.
I think that meeting with a pediatrician is a good idea-- why don't you call one for a consultation?
This discussion has really thrown the whole matter into question for me. I have really surprised myself by coming from an adamant "NO WAY" point of view to the point where DH and I have more or less decided to have it done for our son. I have been researching it a lot, particularly because we are having a home birth and we'll have to find someone qualified to do this for us privately.
What I have found so far is that a lot of people feel that a Jewish mohel (preferably one who is also an M.D.) is by far the best choice for doing a circumcision privately. I found several who are willing to do this for a non-Jewish family. My threshold was that the mohel should have done at LEAST 1,000 circumcisions already, and the person we are considering has done over 6,000, and is very well-known-- tons of testimonials on his site. He is a pediatric urologist as well.
Anyway, I have discovered that there is a rather wide variety of methods for doing the actual procedure. Many mohels do NOT use the board to strap down the baby, and all of the ones I have corresponded with so far do use at least a topical analgesic and baby Tylenol for pain relief. Most also use a local anesthetic in the foreskin before doing the procedure. There are three different kinds of clamps that are used, with varying pros and cons.
Point being, the way it's done in the hospital is not necessarily the most sensitive to the parents' or baby's needs. You have a variety of choices in how it is done, and you can choose the best-qualified person, if you are willing to do the research. After all, as you said, insurance doesn't cover it anyway.
I am still struggling a lot with the concept of inflicting even a second's worth of pain on my child. If we do go ahead and have it done, it will not be easy for me. So I will only do it if I decide that for a variety of reasons, not just medical, it will give my son the best quality of life. Incidentally, my brother and husband have very interesting views on how being circumcised has affected their sex lives, and I don't think that those considerations should be taken lightly.
I think that meeting with a pediatrician is a good idea-- why don't you call one for a consultation?
This discussion has really thrown the whole matter into question for me. I have really surprised myself by coming from an adamant "NO WAY" point of view to the point where DH and I have more or less decided to have it done for our son. I have been researching it a lot, particularly because we are having a home birth and we'll have to find someone qualified to do this for us privately.
What I have found so far is that a lot of people feel that a Jewish mohel (preferably one who is also an M.D.) is by far the best choice for doing a circumcision privately. I found several who are willing to do this for a non-Jewish family. My threshold was that the mohel should have done at LEAST 1,000 circumcisions already, and the person we are considering has done over 6,000, and is very well-known-- tons of testimonials on his site. He is a pediatric urologist as well.
Anyway, I have discovered that there is a rather wide variety of methods for doing the actual procedure. Many mohels do NOT use the board to strap down the baby, and all of the ones I have corresponded with so far do use at least a topical analgesic and baby Tylenol for pain relief. Most also use a local anesthetic in the foreskin before doing the procedure. There are three different kinds of clamps that are used, with varying pros and cons.
Point being, the way it's done in the hospital is not necessarily the most sensitive to the parents' or baby's needs. You have a variety of choices in how it is done, and you can choose the best-qualified person, if you are willing to do the research. After all, as you said, insurance doesn't cover it anyway.
I am still struggling a lot with the concept of inflicting even a second's worth of pain on my child. If we do go ahead and have it done, it will not be easy for me. So I will only do it if I decide that for a variety of reasons, not just medical, it will give my son the best quality of life. Incidentally, my brother and husband have very interesting views on how being circumcised has affected their sex lives, and I don't think that those considerations should be taken lightly.
I brought it up last night at our Birth and Babies class. No one else there is even considering it...was interesting. Journey, you are correct. In the US it is pretty common. Europe, Canada and Latin America, it is pretty much non existant. I honestly don't want to put him through it, but I also don't want him to have problems later in life...I am not sure why I am so stuck on that. I know it's probably not super common for them to have problems later, but I guess I think about it because it's impacted me personally (I adore my nephew and hate to see him in pain). He is not getting the infections because of lack of hygiene...my sil is incredibly diligent about that. I wish I could meet with a pediatrician. I would really like a medical opinion (no offense to anyone here..you know I respect all of your opinions). Just don't know what to do.
I didnt read all the coimments ...
Yes- he will be circumcised- his daddy is and so is his brothers- so I guess we just want them to look alike ... :)
here in the States- I think it is definutely routine ...
Yes- he will be circumcised- his daddy is and so is his brothers- so I guess we just want them to look alike ... :)
here in the States- I think it is definutely routine ...
I have to say that I'm in the minority with DoulaSummer. When I was younger, I used to get fungal infections in my toenails. Yup, it was bothersome and I kept losing them, but I don't think that would have justified my parents removing them at birth "just in case". As an adult, I constantly had vaginal yeast infections, but there's nothing to remove to prevent them; just Monistat.
In my search of the literature, I couldn't find any medically necessary reason for it. It appears to be prevalant in some countries like the US but elsewhere in the world, it's not a consideration. We were told at the hospital communication night that it is now difficult to find a doctor to do it because it's not medically necessary and, as such, it is no longer covered by provincial health care.
And here's potentially controversial -- someone who has been circumcised since birth has no idea what it's like to NOT be circumcised and vice versa. I suppose the only person who could tell you which was "better" would be a man who was circumcised as an adult and who didn't have issues around it.
There are no right answers here, though. Just opinions and personal choice.
In my search of the literature, I couldn't find any medically necessary reason for it. It appears to be prevalant in some countries like the US but elsewhere in the world, it's not a consideration. We were told at the hospital communication night that it is now difficult to find a doctor to do it because it's not medically necessary and, as such, it is no longer covered by provincial health care.
And here's potentially controversial -- someone who has been circumcised since birth has no idea what it's like to NOT be circumcised and vice versa. I suppose the only person who could tell you which was "better" would be a man who was circumcised as an adult and who didn't have issues around it.
There are no right answers here, though. Just opinions and personal choice.
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