Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Circumcision
Well...I know it is a little late now but I've been rethinking our decision to have our little JD circumcised. We did it the morning after he was born and now I kinda wish we hadn't. The more I read on it NOW the more I wonder. Yesterday really got me thinking. It was JD's 9 month well-check. He weighed 17 pounds 7 ounces. His height is in the 50th %ile which will make him 5'10" if he continues this way. But then the Dr looked at his penis. I thought I'd been doing everything I should but apparently not. His foreskin had started healing back over. So...what did the doctor do to my poor unsuspecting baby boy? She forced the skin back down!!! Holy Shnikies! I seriously felt sick to my stomach and continue to every time I think about it.
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9 comments:
I think circumcision's a really bad idea, but once it's done, it's done. No point worrying about it now. Most circumcised men don't seem too bothered about it. If you ever have another boy though, I'd leave him alone. It'll mean they won't match, but other mothers have done the same with later sons.
Poor baby. :(
I wonder if potential health risks outweigh the discomfort?
You are brave to consider you may have made the wrong choice, and discuss it publicly. The hospital and doctor are at considerable fault for even offering an unnecessary surgery. Rather than beat yourself up, educate yourself fully so that you can advise friends and family, and make a difference for other boys.
NOCIRC
Don't beat yourself over the head about it, but bear it in mind, and spread the word. Thanks for posting this.
Dionne, if you mean risks of having a whole penis, they certainly don't. (And not only discomfort but risk and harm.) The health benefits of circumcision are either bogus or greatly exaggerated - marginal reduction in rare diseases that can be readily prevented or treated by other means.
hugh7, i'm not justifying the practice.., just an honest question.
Thanks for the comments. I'm trying not to beat myself up about it. I don't think I'd do it again if I were to have another boy.
Wow! Interesting topic. We decided not to have J. circumcised on the advice of our Bradley instructor. She gave us a lot of info to read about it for or against, but I keep wondering if I made the right decision NOT to have it done. I guess as parents we always second guess ourselves. Just out of curiousity--do you have any opinions about vaccinations?
Obviously you have not had exposure to any lttle boys who have had problem after problem due to being uncircumcized. I would rather have my child circumcized as a newborn than have to ave it done due to medical necisity at age 6 - talk about traumatic!!!
Why is it any more traumatic for a 6-year old than a newborn though? It's actually safer, hurts less, and the results are cosmetically better.
In the UK, almost no-one gets circumcised, and almost no-one ever has a problem. Only 1 in 140 males ever gets circumcised for a medical reason, and it's getting rarer as alternatives are developed. That means you would have to circumcise 139 boys to prevent one circumcision later on. It would make more sense to take every newborn baby's appendix out, but we don't do that.
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