Saturday, June 1, 2013

Circumcision - my thoughts

It's not necessary. Yep - those are my thoughts on it.  I really don't understand why anyone would want to put their child through an UN-NECESSARY medical procedure. If it was deemed medically necessary, then  it would STILL be highly recommended by medical professionals.

OK - so a little more to it than that; to circ or not is a question that often comes up on chat forums and moms groups that I belong to.  It often turns into a heated debate with name calling and the like (which I refuse to partake in - my opinion is MY opinion; I will not force it on someone else, just as I don't want their opinion forced on me)

I knew when I was pregnant with my oldest that I did NOT want it done. Unfortunately, hubby and I were not on the same page.  He was adamant it be done, I was adamant it not be done.  After doing all my research, I told him to do his. He didn't feel it was necessary to do any research.  If the procedure was the right decision for his parents to make, then it was the right decision for us to make.  WRONG - when we were kids, it was normal. It WAS recommended back then, but as with everything - research is done and thought processes change (and that means that recommendations could change again, and maybe when my kids become parents, it will be recommended to circ)

In the end, we decided we would ask my family doc (who would be the physician for our son) and no matter what, we would go with her recommendation. She was against it - so I won!

When all was said and done, he was a preemie and in rough shape, so the doctors recommended that we wait if we wanted it done. Since we didn't want the procedure anyways, it didn't make a difference (and, the doctor that came to check with me asked if we wanted it done - he is the one who would have been performing the procedure, and himself said it wasn't recommended even on healthy babies)

Below are some reasons why many feel the need to circumcise:

- it's harder to clean an uncircumcised penis (actually, you don't need to do anything different than if you were washing a finger; no pulling back of the foreskin - THAT can do damage; leave the foreskin alone, it will retract on it's own as the child grows)
                     - and really, all the work to take care of a circumcised penis at first is more effort than I have                  put into cleaning the boys so far, at 2.5 and 5.5
- they will wonder why they don't look like their father (baby penis, little boy penis, teenager penis and old man penis ALL look different anyways)
- it's better to do it when they are a baby and don't feel the pain (babies feel pain - if you don't want an older child to go through the procedure because of the pain involved, why would you want your NEWBORN to, when they can't tell you it hurts?)
- protects against STD's (this, there is some evidence to point, but all the things I read were NOT from North America - and really, condoms - much more effective at preventing STD's than circumcision)

For me, one of the biggest reasons is that I don't want to change my children's bodies.  They were born with foreskin, if it's something that creates a medical issue - then we will deal with it when the time comes.
Honestly, I wouldn't even pierce a girls ears if I had a daughter until she asked me for it.  My ears were pierced when I was little - and as I got older I hated it.  I am NOT a jewelry person.  I rarely wear anything other than my wedding ring (and I didn't even wear that for the longest time.) I am 33 years old, and my holes have NEVER closed over.  I really wish that my parent's had NOT pierced my ears.

I think circumcision is a personal decision. Meaning, the PERSON should make that decision.  Nowadays, with so many boys NOT being circumcised, I doubt they would even question it.

What about you - what are YOUR thoughts on it?

4 comments:

  1. I am with you - not necessary, therefore I would not do it. There is no way I am going to put my child through a medical procedure that this not required.

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  2. We did not circumcise our son for the same reason as you -- it's not necessary. If he chooses to have it done when he's older, that is his choice. I also haven't pierced my daughters ears even though it is customary in Latin culture (not sure why they do it).

    Besos, Sarah
    Blogger at Journeys of The Zoo

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