What do you make of this?

[BlessedMommy2006]

Someone says, "I had an acquaintance once that didn't circumcise their baby and she didn't know that you were supposed to pull back the foreskin and clean the shaft. She only figured it out when she smelled the odor."

Me: "How old was the boy? The AAP says that correct care is to leave the foreskin alone in babies and small children. Retracting it can cause serious problems."

Her: "The baby was one month old and when they gently pulled the foreskin back, it was encrusted with urine and other matter."

Me: "Well, I can't comment much as I don't know their specific situation. It is possible for a baby to be retractible at that age, but it's very rare. However, I still stand by my statement on intact care. Retracting a baby or young child can cause tearing of connective tissue and introduce bacteria."

So what do you think of that? Why would a one month old baby have a "foul odor" and "encrusted urine?" Anyway, I took the opportunity to correct her on intact baby care, but I felt kind of strange after she gave that example.

[Claire and Boys]

I say she is full of it. it probably looked pretty horrible under there because she just ripped it apart. A foul odor could be due to an infection or something. It's not normal for an intact child to smell down there like that, I have two boys aged 2 and 4, neither have ever been retracted, and neither smell whatsoever.

[lawmama1984]

I think it was, at best, an exaggeration. Firstly, as you said it is VERY rare for a child that young to be retractable...secondly, encrusted urine?!?! This just has me shaking my head.

It has been my experience that whenever you discuss leaving your sons intact, people immediately launch into those horrific stories about boys who had to be circ'd later in life due to poor hygiene, recurring infections, or whatever. I always take these with a grain of salt. I don't understand why people act like it is just so difficult to teach a child how to clean themselves. Don't we tell them to wash behind their ears? So, tell them to clean themselves there (when they are old enough and retractable). Additionally, as discussed often on these boards, many docs' first response to any "issue" that arises in the intact male is to immediately circ. So who knows how many of these stories would have different outcomes if the parents were fully informed on different and appropriate treatments besides circ?

What really amazes me is that no one wants to hear my horrific stories about penile adhesions that very often occur in circ'd young males. When I hear mothers of circ'd boys casually discuss having to repeatedly pull that skin down to prevent adhesion or going into the doc for a WBC and the doc forcefully pulling it down b/c it has started to readhere and the baby wails (due to yet another trauma to his poor privates), I get literally sick to my stomach. I just don't understand how they can talk about this as if it is simply a fact of life and something that has to be done...how could you stand doing this or having it done to your own child? These kinds of stories are the most horrific, IMO.

All that to say, maybe next time counter with "You know, I have heard many stories of painful adhesions occurring in the circ'd male causing the doctor to have to rip the skin back off the healing wound. Then, the mother is told to make sure she repeatedly pulls that skin back (at each diaper change) to prevent adhesions," or something along those lines. I tend to just shake my head every time I hear about these "worst case scenario" stories, but it takes a lot not to just :

[robertandenith]

full of it...

[2lilsweetfoxes]

People trying to scare other families into circumcising by making intact care seem oh, so difficult...