Hey there!

I know this question has probably been asked a million times before I'm sure.. but I just found out I'm having a boy yesterday and I'm thrilled but at the same time nervous because I have to make the decision whether or not to circumcise.

My family is from England so they feel as if circumcising isn't necessary but I know over here in the states it's much more common to circumcise even though I know a lot of people don't do it.

Over here it is also not covered by health insurance, so I'm not sure the cost or anything like that, but I'm willing to pay if it's something I feel needs to be done.

Anyways! I've been googling things, but I wanted to know from personal experiences if anyone else had a hard decision to make about circumcision? And what you decided to choose for your baby boy!

Thanks so much! Take care

There's a really long thread on this from yesterday or the day before. Personally it's not something I've ever considered but good luck xx

Nope, doesn't *need* to be done at all. Completely a personal decision.

Circumcision

Link to previous thread

Circumcision

I'm not sure what its like in the states, im from Australia and it sounds similar, it doesnt NEED to be done but i have decided that i am going to have my little boy circumsized. Circumcisionhaas been linked to reduce the risk of females getting cervical cancer and i personally believe that if there is any truth whatsoever to that then i dont think there is any harm done. My partner is also circumsised and wants our boy to be. But it is a personal decision. Good luck xoxoxo

I'm in the US and I believe we will probably get our little one circumsized. We've done alot of reading and my husband I believe still wants to talk a bit to our doctor about it, but I'm pretty sure our boy will be circumsized. But as others say, its a totally personal decision Good luck

I told my OH I'd let him decide.
It doesn't make a difference to me. I work in daycare, and have dealt with both circumsized and not circumsized. To me, there's pros and cons to both.
OH is circumsized, but he hasn't made up his mind yet.

we didnt get DS done and wont any sons unless its deemed medically nessacary for another reason, ive never had problems with ds's little bits with him not being circumsized and he will be taught proper hygine when he takes over bathing/washing himself

I only didn't do it to my son cause my hubby isn't circumsized but all my family members are cause its a tradition in my family.. To be Honest im glad i didn't have to do it to our son.. but im not against anyone who does its a personal choice.. i wanted to say something in the other thread but it was locked before i could..

Here's a snippet from a great baby book I'm reading - it sums things up really well IMO Circumcision is not routine here at all, much like in the UK, but it's just not something we would be willing to put our little man through when it's not actually needed.

"There is no rationale for "routine" removal of the foreskin from the glans of the penis.

The idea that it was more hygienic was based on the notion of smegma gathering beneath an intact foreskin that in a baby is difficult to roll back so it can be washed off. We know now that the foreskin and the glans of the penis are fused at birth and meant to be. The foreskin only gradually separates. You cannot wash beneath a baby's foreskin and should not try. It may not be possible (or necessary or desirable) to wash beneath it until a little boy is four or five years old - and entirely capable of doing it himself. Furthermore attempts at rolling back fused foreskins often make tiny splits. Those minute wounds heal leaving scar tissue which prevents natural separation. That's a common reason for an uncircumcised baby coming to need the operation when he is older. Your son doesn't need his foreskin stripped off to keep his penis clean any more than he needs his nostrils slit to keep his nose clean. And it won't reduce his eventual partners' risk of cervical cancer either; that finding was statistical lack of sophistication - or error!

But if there are no physical reasons for infant circumcision, there are very strong reasons against it: so strong that in most countries it is carried out only as part of religious ritual. The United States is alone in continuing to carry out the procedure as part of the routine medical care of new babies.

Circumcision is not just the quick snip many people assume but described by one leading American paediatrician as "among the most painful interventions performed in neonatal medicine". All babies react with panic-stricken crying, many with something close to hysteria, some go into shock. Local anaesthesia - though not perfect or itself painless - is certainly better than nothing, but when it wears off it does not take the pain of the raw penis with it, or help with the hurt of urination or give back the baby's pleasure in being held or cuddled. Anaesthetized or not, circumcision means a nasty few days for all of you.

When babies need operations for their own good, parents have to see them through as best they can, hoping they will forget the pain, the powerlessness, the betrayal. But why spoil your baby's first week with you, and yours with him, when there is no possible good to balance the probable harm?"

xx
Hope this helps