Yesterday, I came upon a blog from a supposed parent on circumcision on baby boys. It's an interesting topic, since people are either very much for or against it, and there's not much middle ground.
I'm not a very religious person, so I have no strong belief or need to have my son circumcised. Some people, like my dad, hold the belief that, if there's nothing wrong with something, leave it alone. Along that line of reasoning, my dad is very much against taking out wisdom teeth, unless they cause pain.
Unlike some people who have it done on their baby boys because it doesn't look right when the boys grow older (and tease might ensue), our decision to have our son circumcised when he's two days old was all hygiene. My husband convinces me enough of how much a hassle it is to clean the genitalia, having to pull the foreskin back to clean properly.
It was a difficult decision for me since having such procedure done on a two-day baby really does not sound right. Compound to the fact that the nurse who did it for our son did not do a proper job, and he was bleeding profusely right after the procedure, just when we were about to check out from postpartum.
But I'm glad that we did. Believe me, boys will be boys, and when you have to teach them proper personal hygiene, particularly to boys, they quite often forget. It'll be a much bigger hassle to have to deal with infection later on in his life.
I guess, for those who think it's cruel for the babies, or it's completely unnecessary (since nothing might happen to the boys when they get older), I'd say, they're all correct. But just as we immunize our babies because we don't want bad things to happen to them, I consider circumcision to be one of those precautions. Ultimately, it's a personal decision of the parents. There really isn't a right or wrong answer to it.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
It should be a decision for individuals to make for themselves, not for parents to make for children.
It's not like vaccines, because they are proven to be an overwhelmingly beneficial lifesaver for both the individual and society. Also, vaccines sacrifice no body parts.
There are ethical considerations. Whose body is it? Who may consent to cosmetic surgery for another person? Can parents remove other body parts because they're concerned their children will not learn proper hygiene, or just this one?
I sincerely hope you will post this comment although it challenges your view.
I am really sorry to hear that there was a lot of bleeding, especially when infants can lose so little.
Before I make my comment, I would like to say that I do not blame you for the decision you made, or think that you deserve to be attacked, or told you are a poor parent, or any other attack on yourself.
We live in a culture that practices circumcision more than any other procedure at all, and as such, it seems very normal, and almost strange to not do it to a boy. That, coupled with myths and lack of access to the proper information, can make it very hard to know if it is a good or a bad thing. And since everyone seems to do it, of course a parent might want to follow the trend when they hear horror stories about people who haven't had it done.
So although I don't blame you, I do think the argument about hygiene is a complete myth. It is no extra hassle as a parent, because the foreskin is originally attached to the head of the penis, keeping it protected from dirty diapers and other contaminants. You only need to wash the penis like a finger. When it does become retractable, you can teach a boy to do the very small action of pulling back the skin when bathing. This is perhaps the easiest form of hygiene known to man. It would be hard to teach a boy NOT to focus on his genitals in the shower. In fact if you look at the history of circumcision, the non-religious start of the practice in America began when doctors thought a painful circumcision could prevent young boys from masturbating (which at the time they thought was evil, and caused all sorts of problems, including insanity and death).
The simple truth is, the hygiene argument was not invented until the majority of Americans were already circumcised. There are countries around the world with such low rates of circumcision, that many people can't even imagine how we justify it over here. Clearly the foreskin is not "bound" to cause an infection. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics admits that the procedure is not medically necessary and doesn't recommend all parent's chose it for their children.
I think part of the problem is that people do not understand what the foreskin is, and what it does. The foreskin has thousands and thousands of highly-sensitive fine touch nerve endings, similar to those found in the fingertips and lips. People might say its just skin, but this is very specialized genital tissue, and totally unlike any other part of his penis. The skin moves fluidly back and forth during sexual activity which reduces abrasive friction from both he and his partner, which keeps things wetter and smoother. Besides pleasure, the foreskin also protects the head of the penis and the urethral opening. Circumcision externalizes the head of the penis, drying it out and externalizing it (the head of the penis does not have regular skin on it, as is not intended to be a permanently external body part, much like the clitoris). The foreskin keeps the urethra from damage as well. In fact, a common condition called meatal stenosis (scarring of the urethral opening) happens virtually only in circumcised men.
So, The foreskin IS useful, and the hygiene arguement is flawed. I realize this was a long comment, but I wanted you to understand that if you have more boys in the future, you can better understand why you shouldn't let this practice continue. Please consider that. If you want to talk to other mothers about this practice, please visit:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=44
Thank you.
While vaccine sacrifice no body parts, one could argue that since it goes to your blood stream, it impacts _every_ one of your body parts.
I do not agree with your argument that parents have no say in a child. Every parent has a fiduciary duty to make decisions impacting their child. Just ask those who would refuse vaccination to their child because they do not believe vaccination is totally proven, and you'll understand better. Albeit having no scientific proof of autism and MMR vaccine, a large number of parents to autistic children will tell you otherwise.
No, I do not regret one bit, on the decision to my son's circumcision. Nine years on, it's still a good one.
First off, a little disclaimer: I'm not bound by any religion or culture to have my child circumcised.
Interestingly, it's my husband who's proposing to have our boy circumcised. My husband is not circumcised, but he understands the pain and hassle he went through while growing up. He's the one who convinced me on the circumcision. And believe me, we did not arrive on the decision rashly. Afterall, my husband has been in the field (he has a PhD in biology from an Ivy League), and we did our homework on this.
You should understand too, that while you can teach all the correct ways of doing things to children, they don't want always do what they're told. My son has myopia and he wears contact lens. You would not believe how many times I have to remind him to wash his hands before handling his contact lens, even though he's had contact lens for quite some time now. You can teach a child all the right way to clean their genitalia (eg. pulling back the foreskin to clean properly), fact is, they're not likely to do the right thing. (How do you tell since I don't check him in the shower anyways?!?) The only way you would find out is, if he's had infection of some sort. Those are the times when you don't want to happen.
So, no, I don't feel guilty at all for a decision that I still feel good about.
In a way, circumcision is one of those controversial topics like breast-feeding. Yes, I've come across enough mothers who INSIST that one HAS to breast-feed its baby to show the love, among other things; and they are usually quite successful in making those mothers who're less sure of themselves to feel bad and guilty about themselves. I've had more than one kids, and I know what works and what doesn't. No doubt there are other ways that could work for others too, but I do not accept that I do less for my kids.
Bottomline is, whatever works, works.
PS: And believe me, we have had other unconventional ways of child-rearing (eg. drinking cold milk/formula since they're one month old). But hey, they work (and it helps us conserve the little breast milk that I could pump because the babies simply couldn't ledge on properly). We're lucky enough to have our pediatricians and nurses who are understanding and open-minded.
Just read your post and wanted to say that I agree it is a smart choice circumcising, it is cleaner and healthier.
I know if boys aren't done at birth its pretty common for them to need to be circumcised later in life. My brother needed to be circumcised later in life and I don't want to risk putting my son through that. Plus, I have yet to meet a single man that wasn't happy to be circumcised, but a lot of uncircumcised guys seem to wish they had been snipped.
I have done a lot of research on circumcision and thought you might find these links helpful:
general health:
http://www.modern-psychiatry.com/circumcision.htm
http://www.circinfo.com/parents_guide/gfp.html
http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunday-night/video/-/watch/13629907/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlk_cPPqTAM
STD's
http://video.yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/player/?id=1092494&ice=th|vid_tout|1#videoid=1092546
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=56849737
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=92426
http://video.yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/player/?id=1092494&ice=th|vid_tout|1#videoid=1092494
http://www.physorg.com/news86339340.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15593753/
Sexual effects/sensitivity
http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/?ItemID=26068
http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IAS/15151
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/07/27/circumcision-sensation.html
Cervical Cancer:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/fishman/2006/circumcision.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1141513
trends:
http://www.jurology.com/article/PIIS0022534705604193/abstract
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2008/12/23/circumcision-rates-too-low.html
Discussion groups:
http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a1236385/choosing_to_circumcise
http://www.cafemom.com/group/13109
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppnoforeskin
Even the World Health Organization is recommending it now:
http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/news68/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/entity/hiv/mediacentre/MCrecommendations_en.pdf
Hope it was okay to pass that on to you?
Stacy
Hi Stacy, Thanks for the great links. Hope they're useful for others to see as well.
I agree with your observation, that there are definitely more adult males who are circumcised and happy, than those who are not circumcised but wish they have had it when they're babies.
For those who disagree with my decision, I respectfully disagree. I suppose, everyone has their reasons, and I'm happy with mine.
I was circumcised at the age of 11 due to painful foreskin, and have been very happy being circumcised, i have 2 sons, last year my 12year embarrassingly approached me telling me when he got a boner or went for a wee it hurt him, i took him to the doctor who prescribed him a cream to apply, months later my son still said it hurt so we had him circumcised, it wasnt barbaric like what you read on websites it was a simple 15minute operation that helped my son, he played on his handheld whilst be circumcised, my other son aged 8 asked shortly after if he could be done so off we went and had him circumcised.
I am proud of my sons and when people say "parents should choose for their kids" okay you are their parents left upto kids they would never bathe, get educated and never eat healthy, parents should choose if not whats the point in having parents?.
Post a Comment