Circumcision???
So its not the Ball thread....but i have a serious question. I am so torn about whether or not to circumcise this little guy. I was convinced for a while that I was not going to, but today after talking to a different pediatrician, I felt like it would be ok if I did.
I know there is no medical reason to do it....I've researched it a bunch but I'm just not sure what's best for the boy~now and for his whole life. I don't want him to feel funny if he still has his foreskin, but on the other hand, it seems like such a pointless surgery (purely cosmetic) and that it would hurt!
It seems that there is a recent trend of NOT doing it, and in most parts of the world it is not customary....
I'd love to hear from both boys and girls on this topic, and share any experiences you have had with circed and non-circed penises. Do you prefer one type over the other?
I have (heard) sex is better with penises that are still intact (non-circed) for both the boy and the girl.....and in many ways I feel like its there for a reason (even heard that the foreskin secretes a lubricant)
What would you do???!!!
If you had a penis, would you want it circed or not???
(another reason I was hoping for a girl.....)
It's always a good discussion on the nursing boards: http://allnurses.com/forums/f35/circumcision-discussion-195222.html
Some consider it mutilation, others consider it hygenic, other's it's a cultural thing. Many fathers want their son's to look like them. I have no opinion myself. My parents circumcised us boys and I'm not traumatized one way or another by the experience. I've seen one done when I was in nursing school and the kid screamed bloody murder.
My little brother was circumcised when he was a baby, the doc numbed him up w/ a bit of lidocaine... he slept through the whole thing. I was thinking about this the other day, it's a tough decision. I think as long as the doc used something to make the foreskin numb, I'd be all for it. As far as cleanliness goes, it does make a difference. And I read somewhere awhile back (I read way too many medical articles) that men that were uncircumcised have a higher rate of STD's. Not that you're thinking about that now, before the little guy is even born yet, but that's always stuck out in my mind. What did you do with Noah??
all three of my boys are circ. their dad is and we didn't want them to feel "different" ...also my ob/gyn told me that circ. penis' do not get penile cancer...only uncirc....He told me and I believed him. I have never research this ..but then again this was a long time ago...my youngest is 17.
It hurt, it looked sore and made me really, really emotional to do it and I don't know that I would today.
Sorry I wasn't very helpful.
eta: a stupid spelling error :o there/their
It is really a personal thing. Since I had my son at home, I didn't take him in to have healthy tissue cut off of his body...I have never done anything "special" hygiene wise and he has never had any issues.
I do think that the procedure is done with out anesthetic, which just seems cruel. My son will soon be seven, so I haven't researched it in a while....I think at the time around 50% were not having it done. So if you are concerned about him feeling "different", there will probably be a lot of other intact boys/eventually men in his age bracket.
Circumcision seems normal in the US. In some countries girls are circumcised and we freak out about how awful that is but ironically we do the same thing to the boys here.
I guess that an intact penis "feels" better to the man and his partner...and supposedly helps prevent problems such as impotence or loss of sensation on the head...um, is this tmi...lol, I used to research this a lot, can you tell?
Its really up to you and your family. I'm sure whatever you decide will be fine. Did you have Noah circumcised? Do you think it would matter to the boys if one was and one wasn't?
with Noah we did have him circed...at the time I really didn't know any better and didn't give it much thought. I am a lot more educated and spend a lot more time on the net now (much to my detriment!)
I don't think it will be an issue between the boys, although I have thought about that. We spend half of our lives telling Noah that "everyone is different" when he asks all his questions (why is that man dressed up as a lady, for ex.), so I don't think he will think much of it. He is used to being an oddball as well, with his vegan diet and all!
My dh can be talked in to either way....not too opinionated and goes with the flow pretty much. I feel like the pressure is all on me!
I don't know if I buy the STD thing....I think you get an STD if you sleep with someone who has one, and you don't get one if you don't! :D
VS I didn't know we had sons the same age! Too bad you don't live close by..they could be friends!
I don't know if I buy the STD thing....I think you get an STD if you sleep with someone who has one, and you don't get one if you don't! :D
VS I didn't know we had sons the same age! Too bad you don't live close by..they could be friends!
I know! I wish I lived in mountains in NC...sounds awesome...unfortunately, I am stuck in Ohio. My kids have never met another veg kid, ever...boo
I don't really buy the STD thing either...I think the foreskin used to be considered "dirty". I think this belief came from the fact that in the "olden" days people didn't bath often or ever...and the foreskin is a perfect place for germs to hideout. But, with modern day hygiene standards I don't think there is any higher risk from "germs" down there.
I figure that if Asa were to become an adult and really not like his foreskin, he could choose to have it removed and then it would be his decision since it is apart of his body.(that is a run-on sentence I believe!)
Whatever you decide, don't get too stressed about it! He will be fine either way, its just a personal preference.
Ohhhhh, just one more thing I have to think about, as if I don't have enough to think about!
Actually, I am thinking of NOT doing it for my little boy. I prefer things to be natural.
But I was wondering, will it be more difficult to keep clean? I mean with changing diapers and such?
VS
Hey, I grew up in Ohio!
What part are you in? (people from Ohio often have "in" or "at" at the end of a sentence!
I lived near Cleveland and went to Kent and Ohio State!
My dad and both older brothers were not circumcised...no problems with any of them, emotionally or physically. My hubby is circumcised, but we chose not to do that to our son. My stand has always been, that it's his penis, not mine and since it's not necessary, I just couldn't see the point. He doesn't feel "different" at all, but we haven't made a big issue over it either. He's going to be 16 now and when I talked to him about it, he said he's glad we didn't do it.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-11-05-circumcisions_x.htm
i know, don't believe everything you read, but still, thought i'd throw this one out there...
I too, am leaning towards not...
actually, i read the foreskin actually does a good job of protecting things and keeps things like poop from a diaper from getting inside.
I prefer natural things too...and it just seems strange to cut something off that everyone is born with.
There is no special care involved.....you do NOT retract it to clean it, contrary to popular belief....
Ohhhhh, just one more thing I have to think about, as if I don't have enough to think about!
Actually, I am thinking of NOT doing it for my little boy. I prefer things to be natural.
But I was wondering, will it be more difficult to keep clean? I mean with changing diapers and such?
VS
Hey, I grew up in Ohio!
What part are you in? (people from Ohio often have "in" or "at" at the end of a sentence!
I lived near Cleveland and went to Kent and Ohio State!
I am in Cuyahoga Falls, very near Kent State and Akron. Where did you grow up? I grew up in good old Amish country!
I really have to watch that sentence structure issue...lol.
For SQ's question, there is no special care at all. Just wipe like normal. Never try to force the foreskin to retract though. It won't be fully retractable until they are older.
I always thought it would be so hard to wipe a boy with all that stuff down there. But really, baby girls are harder to change with all of the nooks and crannies and what not...
eta: Pink, in your article there was a link to http://www.nocirc.org/. It might be of interest to others questioning circumcision.
Personally, I would say do it. I've only been with guys who are, so if I was with one that wasn't (especially in my younger immature days when everything was new) it would definitely freak me out. It was already awkward growing up not knowing what to do with a "regular" penis, let alone an uncircumcised one! :) Again, just my opinion though.
I've heard that the foreskin is a bacteria magnet- who needs an extra fold of skin in a dark, moist place for more to grow?
Many guys I have talked to are kind of resentful that they were circumcised--like, "How could you cut off part of my penis?" But for each one of them there is surely one who doesn't care at all. So who knows. Having a foreskin does prevent some desensitization in the head of the penis because it's always exposed, that's all I know in addition to what others have said. I don't really have a preference, and I definitely don't think there is anything weird about an uncircumcised penis. On the other hand, I know that circumcision for an adult male is really painful and a pain in the ass (or a pain in the penis, rather) and almost not worth it (at least that's what I've heard).
My boys are not...
When I was preggers I told my hubby if we had a boy(s) it was up to him... if it was important to him that his boy(s) looked like him then he could organize to have it done. We ended up with TWO boys... when they were about 3 months old, and we started to come out of a sleep deprived haze... I realized that we hadn't really "made a decision".. I turned to my hubby and said "i guess they're not getting circ'd then?" He kinda blinked and said "y'ah, I guess not". Decision made LOL
I would not have been able to watch if they had... I cried longer then them when they got their first shots.
DS#1 is prone to get diaper rash on is penis, (lazy bugger refuses to wipe) but I don't know if being circ'd would help that or not.
K^2
ive been with a couple boys who were cut and a couple who were not. i certainly prefer boys who are natural, things go so much... um... smoother. also other sexual things are much easier if they are not cut.
i dated a european boy and he was absolutely shocked that we do this to our sons. i was shocked when i found out as well.
i also would not be able to stand doing that to a child. eek.
I've been with both turtles and anteaters....One thing that has stuck in my head from one of the anteaters is how he doesn't need lube to pleasure himself, so that may make the teen years more easy/enjoyable for them!! The main complaint that I've had w/ uncircumcised vs circumcised is that the foreskin makes "safe(r) sex" a little more difficult w/ the condom application. It takes a few tricks to get them to stay on.
As for the studies, I've been following them closely, (dating jewish boys will do it to you)....It seems to me as long as you (and then they continue to) stress condom use, the entire argument seems null and void.
Thanks everyone! this is just the kind of feedback I needed.....once again I am leaning towards leaving the penis intact...
SnowQueen, and anyone else contemplating this decision-I found this video quite interesting. Definitely not without bias....and lots of foul language, but interesting none-the-less! Don't watch it at work! NSFW?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2577091532653693892
I was hoping to hear from more boys....
secondbase?
foofie?
charbot?
anyone?
who needs an extra fold of skin in a dark, moist place for more to grow
Umm, don't women have folds of skin in dark, moist place? How come they get by without cutting anything off?
Circumcised men do get penile cancer btw, but it only seems to occur in men with very poor hygiene, and it's so rare that:
1) men are more likely to get breast cancer than penile cancer
2) women are more likely to get vulval cancer then men are to get penile cancer (but we don't cut parts off women's genitals).
Drops in male circumcision:
USA: from 90% to 56%
Canada: from 47% to 14%
UK: from 35% to about 3% (less than 1% among non-Muslims)
Australia: 90% to 12.6% ("routine" circumcision has recently been *banned* in public hospitals in all states except one, so the rate will now be a lot lower)
New Zealand: 95% to below 3% (mostly Samoans and Tongans)
South America and Europe: never above 5%
It's worth remembering that we wouldn't even be having this discussion if it weren't for the fact that 19th century doctors thought that :
a) masturbation caused various physical and mental problems (including epilepsy, convulsions, paralysis, tubercolosis etc), and
b) circumcision stopped masturbation.
Both of those sound ridiculous today I know, but if you don't believe me, then check out this link:
A Short History of Circumcision in North America In the Physicians' Own Words
Over a hundred years later, circumcised men keep looking for new ways to defend the practice.
The foreskin is actually the most sensitive part of the penis btw (it's not just there to protect the glans).
If my son wants to be circumcised when he's 18 (16 if he knows what he's doing), I'll pay for it and help him find a good surgeon. Until then, he stays intact. His body - his decision. If he wants to be circumcised later, it's easy to fix (it hurts less. it's safer, and the results are cosmetically better). If we'd had him circumcised, and he wanted to be intact, it's a problem.
I am , I don't hate my parents for making that choice.
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