The “C” Word
There has been some recent brouhaha in the blogosphere about the act, or non-act of – you guessed it: to circ or not to circ. This question seems to flare up from time to time, with people heatedly coming down on one side or the other – and unfortunately, many feelings being hurt in the process.
I will be honest. My son is not circumcised.
But I don’t care one way or the other what happened with your son’s wee wee.
Why did *we* make that decision? Well, my husband, who, frankly, *is* circumcised – came down more on the side of *not* doing it – and seeing as *he* was the one with similar equipment, I was willing to leave the decision more in his court. Not entirely, of course, because I am a totally the type A researcher extraordinaire – so I also did my homework to inform our decision. But, as anyone who has researched the issue knows, there is so much conflicting information out there, it can be very confusing.
In the end, Declan was born 8 weeks early and seeing as, when a child is a preemie, they wait till the end of the NICU stay to perform a circumcision… We just could not face doing one. more. thing. to this poor kid who had been through so much already in just the first few weeks of his life.
But does that make my decision the RIGHT one?
The right one for us maybe, but not for EVERYONE. There are so many variables that go into whether to circ or not to circ, who am I to judge someone else’s decision? Sure, I do hope that people carefully consider the options, not follow blindly, or do things “just cause” – but even then, I say again, who am I to judge?
What do you think? Is circumcision something you are passionate about?
While I don’t agree with your decision, I can see it was an informed decision by responsible parents . Be that as it may, it is never too late to circumcise.
Here are some advantages that your son will miss (and some disorders & infections to watch for)…
http://tinyurl.com/aw6ut9
May you, Declan and any other loved ones live a long, happy & prosperous life.
Considering I have two girls I didn’t have to decide. Although we would have chosen to not cir. Considering it’s a religous based tradition.
My favorite reason for friends to cir their boys, they were concerned their penis would “look different” from their dads. I never really got that. Rather odd.
I am with you, I tend towards not but think it’s a personal decision.
I was raised in a country where circumcision is NOT customary. I honestly have not read/heard that penis infections are a rampid problem. Don’t remember my dad, brothers, uncles, cousins dealing with that for example.
I also tend to err on the side of “if God made you that way, it was made to function.”
I do believe it is a personal, sometimes religious, choice. I respect that.
My husband had a distinct opinion on the matter of what would be more culturally acceptable in the US. Since he cared so much about it, I let him make that choice. I care about cloth diapers and breast feeding. He could care less about that.
You know, Aimee, oddly enough, this is one topic about which I’m not very passionate. For me, there is compelling information on both sides.
Back when I was expecting, I was part of an online community of women with similar due dates, and this topic threatened to divide the whole board.
When pressed, I could have come up with a decision, but to be honest, I sighed a huge sigh of relief when I found out we were having a little girl!
Ha! I was really hoping for a girl for the same reason.
Well, considering I didn’t have to make the choice, I would have not given any sons the snip-snip.
But I just have to speak up. I have a few girlfriends that told me their reasoning behind their decision to cir was so their sons penises would look like their father’s. That was an overarching concern. Penis comparisons. Rather odd to me.
Ask most doctors and they will tell you to do it! Plus, I would feel horrible if my son wanted it done when he realizes that he looks different or has complications later in life. I’ve known a few guys/boys who’ve had to get them when they are older and that is way worse than a newborn who doesn’t even remember it 10min. afterwards. Plus, my doctor told me that half of the babies don’t even cry when they have it done. It is totally a personal decision, though. Whatever you want to do. Whatever floats your boat.
I am anti-circumcision. Why? Because I circumcised my boys. I’ll spare you the novel in your comments and share the link.
Anonymous, I just have to disagree with what you said about doctors – my pediatric practice’s (a big one in the metro area) “official” stance is no recommendation either way, just like the AAP. We chose not to (because we don’t have a religious tradition that requires circ., it’s rare in Europe, and I don’t think my son’s penis is going to look like his dad’s when he’s a little boy anyway), and the docs then told us that we made the right choice.
That said, I totally agree that it’s personal. It’s nobody’s business. I had two people I barely knew ask me about it, and I found their interest in my baby boy’s private parts a little odd, truthfully.
I 100% believe that any and all decisions made by educated and responsible parents are the best decisions that can be made for their family.
To that end, my son is not circ’d and any future boys will not be. And, two out of three of my doctors did not take a stance. The third said I should not do it.
http://babycubed.7cubed.net
I too am circumcised (like most children of the 50′s) but chose not to impose that on my son. All the physicians I consulted did not have any compelling reason to do so and the official stance in the medical community seemed to be neutral. I think most people’s choices really boil down to their emotional response – intellectual explanations notwithstanding. And that’s fine, it is their choice. I simply saw no reason to impose this on my son without just cause – and being the same as me was not enough.