~~INFANT CIRCUMCISION~~THANK YOU...BUT IT'S ULTIMATELY MY CHOICE
May 31 '01 (Updated Jul 03 '01)
The Bottom Line Do LOTS of research, become informed about all the reasons why you should or should not have your child circumcised, and THEN make this very personal choice for yourself.
While browsing the "just-in" section lately, I've noticed several new epinions posted regarding male infant circumcision. Some are very informative yet others are a bit disturbing. Yes, we all have our opinion on why we agree or disagree with this very personal issue. I really do not care where the author stands when I do my rating....either FOR or AGAINST it. But please just give only factual, unbiased, and most importantly, non plagerized reasons as you attempt to persuade readers why they should or should not have their own children circumcised. Then leave the choice up to new parents to decide among themselves if this is right for their own baby. Being excessively forceful, as if trying to MAKE others agree with your viewpoint, is overkill.
Despite the fact that the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) no longer recommends routine infant circumcision on all male babies born in the United States, more than 50% of them continue to have this painful surgical procedure performed, often before leaving the hospital and often without any type of anesthesia administered. Most of the time, it's the mother's obstetrician who does the cutting and NOT the baby's pediatrician. Even though I've been an RN for almost 4 years now, I must say that I've never had the opportunity to witness this event firsthand. But I DO know many facts regarding infant circumcision: many learned while attending nursing school and others from my own research since I have two sons of my own.
REASONS NOT TO CIRCUMCISE YOUR CHILD:
ONE: In most cases, there simply is no medical reason why this procedure should routinely be performed on male babies. I won't go into just what this procedure is as I'm just going to assume most of you know that circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin from the male penis. Because of the lack of medical necessity involved here, the AAP generally does not recommend it. Some people just can't justify the tiny risk of complications involved to give their consent to have their babies circumcised for cosmetic purposes only. Infrequently, excessive bleeding could occur and in rare cases, more than just the foreskin is removed, leaving the penis unrepairably disfigured. I won't go into any of the horror stories here.
TWO: Because of the increased risks involved, most surgeons (and this IS surgery) cannot justify the use of anesthesia while performing male infant circumcision. At first, doctors believed that babies could not really feel pain anyway. But in recent years, it's been proven that, in fact, they CAN. So surgery without anesthesia is something to consider as well. Do you think the pain your baby will feel is worth it? Some say yes, but others say no.
THREE: Some people believe that because "God made males this way," we should not be going around routinely cutting off parts of their bodies without medical justification. 'God supposedly would not have given males foreskin if it didn't have a purpose' is the belief many have. And it's been somewhat debated that a male with an intact foreskin feels more sexual pleasure than those who do not. I'm sure it's all relative, but the possibility is there. This is just one more thing to think about when making this very personal and controversial decision.
FOUR: This one is a bit tricky. Do we really want to make the choice to have a part of our sons' bodies cut off at birth for no medical reason without his consent? Of course it's absurd to assume a tiny baby will care one way or the other. But what happens if your circumcised male baby asks why you allowed his foreskin to be removed at birth? Maybe he would have preferred to stay intact? But then again, maybe not. Yes, parents have the right to make medical decisions for their minor children, but we need to consider all the later consequences of our actions in the process and not just our own personal wishes at the time. What ultimately would be the best choice for your son?
FIVE: The last reason why circumcision might not be chosen all boils down to financial ones. Most insurance companies do not pay for routine male infant circumcision, so this expense is totally out-of-pocket the majority of the time. Sure, it's not terribly expensive, but this might be something you'd want to take into consideration when making this difficult decision. They don't pay because routine male infant circumcision is considered an elective procedure, much like a breast reduction or other cosmetic surgery.
REASONS SUPPORTING CIRCUMCISING YOUR CHILD
ONE: One of the most important reasons most parents choose to have their male infant child circumcised is purely religious in nature. For example, those of the Jewish faith organize a bris and have the circumcision performed, which is usually held 7 to 10 days after the child's birth. (I'm not Jewish, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong here.) If routine male infant circumcision is incorporated in your religion, then the choice is fairly easy.
TWO: Some studies have shown that female partners of intact men have a somewhat increased risk of obtaining cervical cancer than the female partners of circumcised males. However, this risk could be highly debated as many other factors need to be taken into consideration as well. But realize that this could possibly be a viable consequence when making your choice.
THREE: In rare cases, the foreskin sometimes will not completely retract when a boy reaches 4 or 5 years of age, increasing the risk for recurrent urinary tract infections. So some feel that having the circumcision performed on an infant is much less painful and traumatic than waiting to see IF such problems might occur later in life. More than likely, such problems do not occur, but sometimes they do. Just be aware that it is normal for a boy's penis NOT to retract completely until this age or even a bit later anyway. Trying to force it to do so will only add to any potential problems.
FOUR: Some people believe that a circumcised penis is easier to keep clean. This is not always the case but cleanliness is a valid concern. However, with proper instruction, a male child can easily be taught how to keep himself clean with little effort at a fairly young age.
FIVE: And finally, choosing to circumcise a male child sometimes just boils down to just plain personal preference. Maybe parents simply prefer the appearance of a circumcised male over an intact one. Or maybe they want "junior" to look like his daddy and not be different somehow. Because many more males were circumcised in years past than they are now, it's almost became a part of our culture. So those locker room situations might become a concern if your son does not look like most of the other boys. "Everyone else in my family has had it done for their male children, and so will I."
In conclusion, I hope that these reasons both for and against male infant circumcision sheds some light on why people make the choices they do. In many other countries in the world, this procedure is performed for religious or medical reasons only, not routinely as it often occurs in the United States. So it's not really an issue for them like it is for many Americans. And for the record, I have two sons of my own, so I've had to make this decision twice myself. One child IS circumcised and the other is not. We made the choice to circumcise our older son just because that's what we assumed most other people did at the time. I really can't give any other valid reason as to why we chose to have it done. But after researching all the pros and cons of male infant circumcision while pregnant with my second son, we decided that it just wasn't that big of a deal and left him intact. Having son number two circumcised just so that he'd look like his older brother just was not a good enough reason to us. Perhaps later in life they both will ask us WHY we made the choices we did. And I hope we'll have the answers when the time comes that will satisfy them both.
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