i decided not to have my son circumcised-need feedback

[nursemn]

1.does anyone think about circumcision-i decided not to have my son circumcised

2.At the hospital they told us not to pull the foreskin back and clean it until he's older-my friend the other day did the exact opposite she pulled it back and started cleaning it, she said she did this with all her kids any ideas????

[labcat01, BSN, RN]

The problem is that in older children and men it is a much more painful procedure, requiring way more pain control than Tylenol can give to newborns.

No kidding...not to mention the embarassment that goes along with it. I have seen more then a few older children coming in for circumcisions and you can't help but feel bad for them! Personally, seeing what happens when older uncircumsized men can no longer care for themselves is enough reason for me to circumcize...but I can understand why a mother wouldn't want to do it.

[MIKelly]

Good for you!!!!!!!!! I find it barbaric to do that to a baby. Teach him how to clean himself as he gets older, as men aren't taught how to properly clean themselves. That's why you'll find skid marks in underwear and towels.

What do skid marks have to do with foreskins anyway? Not sure I get your point.

When reading this thread I see quite a few references to skin adhesions and problems with the foreskin. Maybe that's a clue that circumcision is a healthy and normal thing to do ? My husband is circed and we had no qualms about getting our son circed too. My husband's grandfather asked my husband if we had our son circed and he applauded us for doing it. I guess he thought it was a pain in the tuckus to care for his uncirced member all his life. You will always find arguments for and against circumcision. I would let your husband make the choice, he's the expert on memberes in your house, right?

[piccman]

For your son's sake, I would recommend you reconsider this decision. In the US the majority of boys are circ'd and it is not a nice feeling to be the only kid in gym class who looks different. It can lead to teasing and a lot of embarrassment. To this day I almost never am naked around my wife (together 15 years or so) for the simple reason that I hate that I look different. I will never forgive my mother for not having it done. Yes I could have it done now but I have read some horror stories online about complications when it's done on adults and that has deterred me so far.

He won't remember it and he will thank you later. I guarantee this. You might find some female nurses here that are against it, but I assure you that most women in the US find the circ'd member more attractive, and many find the un-circ'd one simply gross. You are doing your son a disservice, imo, by not having this procedure done.

Is it medically necessary? No.

Will it make your son more attractive to a MAJORITY of women in the US? Yes. And any woman who disagrees with this statement on this forum is clueless.

just my 2 cents. btw this is my first post on this site, I usually just lurk, but I feel so strongly about this subject that it actually prompted me to sign up.

piccman

[Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN]

I didn't circ my boys either I cleaned them very gently when they were little. I also taught them how to clean themselves (single Mom), how to put on condoms (on bananas), and all that stuff. One of my boys died in 2004 at 31. The other told me how much he loved me because I always gave him the lowdown on anything he would ask. Any way he also told me hewas glad I didn't have him circumcised.

[midwifemamma]

For your son's sake, I would recommend you reconsider this decision. In the US the majority of boys are circ'd and it is not a nice feeling to be the only kid in gym class who looks different. It can lead to teasing and a lot of embarrassment. To this day I almost never am naked around my wife (together 15 years or so) for the simple reason that I hate that I look different. I will never forgive my mother for not having it done. Yes I could have it done now but I have read some horror stories online about complications when it's done on adults and that has deterred me so far.

He won't remember it and he will thank you later. I guarantee this. You might find some female nurses here that are against it, but I assure you that most women in the US find the circ'd member more attractive, and many find the un-circ'd one simply gross. You are doing your son a disservice, imo, by not having this procedure done.

Is it medically necessary? No.

Will it make your son more attractive to a MAJORITY of women in the US? Yes. And any woman who disagrees with this statement on this forum is clueless.

just my 2 cents. btw this is my first post on this site, I usually just lurk, but I feel so strongly about this subject that it actually prompted me to sign up.

piccman

actually, where i live it is 50/50 for boys who are circ'd and boys who are left intact.

for the original poster, my son is intact also. retraction is not necessary. it used to be recommended that parents retract their newborn's foreskins, but that is no longer recommended.

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

Like I always said about this topic...millions of people are uncircumsized and have no probelms...why not? Just keep it clean and teach good hygeine!

I mean..hello, there are people in third world countries that don't have access or money for even soap or fresh water to clean themselves..and many are uncircumsized. They manage with little fret, why can't we that have more hygeine education and accessable items?

I don't fret over it...clean and keep clean! Nature does take care of these things...has for thousands of years . Just make sure you teach your child if they see something wrong to speak up (like redness, drainage, pain, irritation...).

[4nomark]

Originally Posted by PeachPie

Good for you!!!!!!!!! I find it barbaric to do that to a baby. Teach him how to clean himself as he gets older, as men aren't taught how to properly clean themselves. That's why you'll find skid marks in underwear and towels

Is this a stereotype you learned or did someone pass it down to you?

As a Man I would always choose to circ my sons for a number of reasons.

Fungal infections require three conditions to thrive; heat, moisture, and darkness. What better environement then the enclosed space of the area between foreskin and member gland. Even if a man is very fastidious in his personal hygeine he won't be able to keep that area completely free of those three conditions, even more difficult is if the man is very active. I may be wrong on this point but I seem to recall an article where uncirc males had a higher incidense of infections in that area versus uncirc males.

It would be much more painful for an adult to undergo circ because of the matured nerve endings and healing process,also the man would have to avoid any type of erection and any man will tell you sometimes erections are just spontaneous. For some people it it also a matter of appearance, many won't say it but in this country uncirc member is viewed as ugly and/or dirty. I'm not saying that's my personal opinion one way or another, but it is what it is.

Not to get off point but I would like to know, do many women have these types of beliefs or stereotypes about men, and wouldn't your education sort of enlighten you, I ask because in one of my Nursing classes a woman actually asked the Instructor, If a younger woman sleeps with an older man will she get worms? This is someone who others will see as a resevoir of health knowledge in her community. But to the original question, as a man I would say circ for your son's benefit. http://www.circlist.com/anatterms/balanitis.html This article may also be interesting to you, however a poster named Ramesh makes a crude reference to his member; I don't know if he did this intentionally or just being ignorant of proper terms. Please overlook his wording.

[KungFuFtr]

He won't remember it and he will thank you later. I guarantee this. You might find some female nurses here that are against it, but I assure you that most women in the US find the circ'd member more attractive, and many find the un-circ'd one simply gross. You are doing your son a disservice, imo, by not having this procedure done.

Will it make your son more attractive to a MAJORITY of women in the US? Yes. And any woman who disagrees with this statement on this forum is clueless.

piccman

You guarantee that her son will thank her...?

I also didn't realize there was a national survey done on attractive memberes. Was it in the last edition of Entertainment Weekly?

Any woman who disagrees with YOUR statement isn't clueless, they just hold a different opinion.

I'd let your son decide on his own when he gets older.

[JohnBearPA]

just my humble opinion as a person who has a member, but why cut something away that God gave you and does absolutely no harm when properly taken care of? Teach the lad how to clean it, and to let you know if anything down there hurts or smells funny, and leave well enough alone.

I happen to be cirumcised, as a product of the 60's, when apparently mothers in my geographic region weren't given the option of NOT circ'ing, and am happy with the way I am just because I never missed a foreskin, but I've known guys that were "natural", and they claim the glans is MUCH more sensitive during intercourse, because of being covered when not in use, so to speak. My son is uncirc'd, and I stand by that decision. Just do what you feel is right, and stand your ground.

[jjjoy, LPN]

As a Man I would always choose to circ my sons for a number of reasons.

Fungal infections require three conditions to thrive; heat, moisture, and darkness. What better environement then the enclosed space of the area between foreskin and member gland.

Also sounds like the environment in and around the vulva and we're not systemically cutting things off down there!

We can't predict how our kids will ultimately feel about choices that we make for them so we have to do what we think is best. Most men in the world are not circumcised and have no problems, so health reasons don't seem to be a primary reason for circumcision. I can see where a father who is circumcised might choose to circumcise his son so they're more the same. A family might decide to circumcise because they know in their community most everyone else is and they want their child to fit in. I think those are valid reasons as circumcision also has proved to be problem-free for most men.

To the OP, I think not circumcising is a valid choice. Since you are asking for feedback, though, it sounds like maybe you aren't too comfortable with that choice. Hopefully, the variety of opinions here will help you find resolution.

[rags]

I watched my brother go through major h*ll when he had to have a circ at age 36. In my opinion, if there is at all a posibility that my son(s) would need to go through that when they got older than the age of 1! Why wouldn't I do something to prevent it?

I see it this way, I have never heard of complications from HAVING a circ at birth, but have heard of several cases where a person had complications later from NOT having one. I'm not willing to take that chance. Both of my son's were circ'ed at birth and neither felt it as a trumatic (sp?) experience. Infact, they don't remember it at all.

[rags]

Also sounds like the environment in and around the vulva and we're not systemically cutting things off down there!

Not exactly the same thing...