Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Intact or Circumcised?

My beloved and pregnant sister just found out she's having a boy. Yea!!

Of course, now she is starting to debate over the circumcision issue.

I know lots of you who read my blog have boys of your own.

How do you feel about circumcision? How did you decide?

5 comments:

Dirk 'n Juli said...

Well, I can give you a nurses' opinion and a personal opinion. Circumcision does prevent some infection and provides some benefits for other things, but alot of people do it for cosmetic purposes. Some people to say that circumcision makes the penis "less sensitive", but how would anyone know unless they had something to compare to? They also say that it causes alot of pain for the infant, but every circ I've ever watched, they always have done a penile block. They get a little prick from the shot and that's it.

I wrote a research paper on this subject for nursing school that discusses pros and cons for each side. If your sister is interested in it, I'd be happy to e-mail it to her.

Now, my personal opinion. I prefer crew cuts to turtle necks. Period. :)

shelley said...

I only had to make this decision once, thank heaven. I let the dad decide, which was to circumcise. It was a horrible experience I wish not to repeat. However, the way they do things now is easier on the baby. I have a friend who's been through it 4 times and they way they've done it is called a "bell" which basically just cuts off circulation and the dead skin eventually falls off like a clipped fingernail. She's never seen an infant cry and never regretted it. Personally, the more I think about it and read about it, the more I choose to be in denial. I hate the entire subject. Good luck with that.

Just what is a Clair? said...

We let the dad decide, but in the end it came down to..there is really no reason to do it. I went to a lot of trouble bringing my baby peacefully into the world, he doesn't need the trauma of surgery. Even if he doesn't feel the cutting part he will have pain while it is healing. We have had no problems with Denny being intact. You need to not pull back on the skin when cleaning it though until it is ready. The skin actually acts as a barrier to protect the little dude from infection. We talked to a lot of doctors about this, and this is pretty much what they said from their experiences.

Cammy said...

This is kind of a tough one. We had Ethan circumcised based on the fact that UTI's and things of that nature are more prevalent in my family. One point that was brought up in our family regarding this issue (I think by a male) was "How will he feel in a locker room of boys?" I know kind of silly but if all the other boys are and he isn't it might be an issue. I wouldn't make my decision based on that comment but it did make me think a little. Tell your sister good luck on this one.

Cammy

Jennifer said...

I feel that you could really make yourself crazy with all these decisions! Suddenly there is a better way, then a better way, etc. From immunizations to circumcision...always something to feel worried about! Sorry, venting.
Logan was circumcised. He had this ring on, when it fell off we were done. It was very clean and he cried all the time anyway so it was the least of my worries. The discussion should really be how do you stop the boys from touching their penis before you've wiped their bums clean of poop! Can someone give me some advice on that one?? Love you, Maren...I love your sister, too, boys are great! BTW, give us all a follow up to the possible "twins" post!