The Circumcision Discussion

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

I know this can be a HUGE debate, and I'm not looking to start any arguments. I was just wondering as you are OB nurses. I'm expecting a boy in July and not sure if we should circ. or not. My husband says yes, it's better medically in the long run. My gpa who just turned 70 had to have a circ. due to endless complications lately.

As nurses in this area, is the medication that they use good? And what are some questions to ask my Dr. about it. I already know that my hospital i'll be at uses a med. when they perform it, I"m just wondering what you all think.

Thanks

Jen :)

Perhaps if more people were aware of the evidence based practice guidelines for circumcision, there would be less furor.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1552-6909.2002.tb00062.x

I would love it if they were implemented. I've worked at several hospitals and not one of them did all the things described in the previous post.

Specializes in Nurse Educator; Family Nursing.

So, get a committee together and approach an influential pediatrician who thinks similarly. Go from there.

Yes, we can... but *do* we? Not in large numbers, we don't.

You might be surprised.

Anyway, kids need to be taught the right way to live, not vaccinated so they can sin.

Specializes in DOU.
You might be surprised.

I don't think so, at least not outside certain individual religious communities, and even then (call me a skeptic) I doubt it.

Anyway, kids need to be taught the right way to live, not vaccinated so they can sin.

The "right" way to live is a matter of opinion, and not EVERY religion thinks that consensual sex is sinful, nor even a moral issue. Also, last I checked, there were plenty of people over the age of 18 engaging in unmarried sexual activity.

We're discussing circumcision, not abstinence. That's a complicated enough subject to have its own thread.

Please, keep the focus of your posts on the original topic.

So, get a committee together and approach an influential pediatrician who thinks similarly. Go from there.

It's actually the OBs that do them here and I don't work with any of them. I don't even participate in circs, all of which are done on day shift and I'm a night shift traveller (aka someone whose opinions are not welcome:)). Maybe if I take a staff job in the future that would be a realistic option for me. Fortunately our NICu doesn't do too many anyways. Most are in newborn

In hospitals around here OBs do the circs. The reasoning is that they are trained surgeons and most peds are not. Just recently, someone told me that this is a regional thing and that in some parts of the country, peds do them.

Anyone care to comment?

I work in OB. I have to say that most of the time when babies cry during their circs, it is from having their legs strapped down, not from the procedure itself. If the doc knows what he's doing, the pain is kept to a minimum (if they are using lidocaine, they only appear to feel the injection). I personally don't have a strong opinion in either direction, but my husband does. He is not circumcised, and he STRONGLY feels that it should be done. He says that other than immediately after showering, he feels dirty. He also says it is overly sensitive (not in a good way).

Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Where I work now, OBs do the circs. Where I had my son, it was peds. One hospital is about 50 miles away from the other. I don't know what accounts for the difference.

If I were to have it done, I'd want a pediatrician, but that's just me. Guess that's a little OT, since we didn't do it at all.

Specializes in Nurse Educator; Family Nursing.
In hospitals around here OBs do the circs. The reasoning is that they are trained surgeons and most peds are not. Just recently, someone told me that this is a regional thing and that in some parts of the country, peds do them.

Anyone care to comment?

My experience is varied. Some OBs don't like to do circs and so the pediatricians do them. Some pediatricians counsel that circ is not needed and then the OB doesn't "have" to do it.

IF hospitals would accept the guidelines for performance of circumcision that clearly outlines what makes the procedure less painful (not strapping infant in a holder [use a soft blanket and caring assistant to restrain]; use soothies [sucrose on pacifier]; place infant in warmer during procedure, not in a cold "procedure room"; EMLA cream or xylocaine penile block; and finally, if the person performing the procedure is gentle, it helps). The article documenting the effectiveness of these interventions has been listed earlier.

Hi, Can any American nurses explain to me why new born baby boys are circumcised in USA. As a British nurse i am appauled at this barbaric behaviour. Jane

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Circumcision is barbaric in your opinion only. In my opinion, circumcision is safe, more sanitary in the long run, facilitates easier urogenital cleaning, and reduces the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases when the baby boy grows into a sexually-active adult male. I don't know about you, but I certainly think that smegma is nasty, smelly, and unappetizing. Uncircumcized males produce plenty of this smegma, whereas the circumcized men don't.

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