US circ rate

[an_aurora]

I was bored at work the other night and was watching our hospital's "newborn channel" which is a channel dedicated to all sorts of topics like BF'ing, newborn care, car seats, circ etc. The dr said that the circ rate on the West coast is only 17% (30-ish % on the East coast). I had thought it was much higher (it certainly is at our hospital, thanks to some very overzealous drs ) but I was very happy to hear that statistic, since it might make more moms nix the locker room argument.

[2lilsweetfoxes]

I really have to wonder how they figure the circ rate. Is it how many boys leave the hospital intact? If that is the case, then it may not consider how many parents return to the pediatrician a week or two later and have the circumcision done because they either wanted to get breastfeeding established, let the boy grow some, they don't do it at the hospital, or because friends/family/SO/the doctor wore them down during a vulnerable period. Or the number of boys that "had to be done later" due to improper care (retraction and aggressive cleaning) or thinking that something normal (ballooning/separation) was an indication for circumcision. Or who get it done while the boy is under GA for another procedure. Just my thoughts.

[SleeplessMommy]

Originally Posted by an_aurora

....our hospital's "newborn channel" which is a channel dedicated to all sorts of topics like BF'ing, newborn care, car seats, circ etc. The dr said that the circ rate on the West coast is only 17% (30-ish % on the East coast).

Wow. I am on the East Coast. My OB/GYN office (now ex-ob/gyn office) was showing a similar "informational" video but it was pretty darn pro-circ from what I saw. It was made by CNN I believe.

My experience in the past 7 years (PA, USA) is that circ is treated as an "everyone does it" procedure by medical providers. (Yes, parents still need to sign to have it done, but the expectation is that the parents will sign)

[Cavy]

I grew up in California. My only 2 boyfriends (both born there) were not circ'd. I had no idea that it was considered an American 'norm' until I started to read about the controversary on the Internet, tbh.

It turns out my older brothers (born 1958) are circ'd (I only know because I read my mother's diary about it). I remember being told as a child (1970s) that it was something that Jewish people did, so not us, so presumably by then my parents would have made different choices given the opportunity.

It has always bothered me when I heard people talk about Circ like it was a 100% thing in the USA. So glad to see some actual stats about it.

[SleeplessMommy]

If they were born in the USA, the circ would have been done without parental consent. And in some cases with the parents asking that it not be done.

Fortunately, the circ rate is dropping every year as intact babies grow up and have kids

Originally Posted by Cavy

I grew up in California. My only 2 boyfriends (both born there) were not circ'd. I had no idea that it was considered an American 'norm' until I started to read about the controversary on the Internet, tbh.

It turns out my older brothers (born 1958) are circ'd (I only know because I read my mother's diary about it). I remember being told as a child (1970s) that it was something that Jewish people did, so not us, so presumably by then my parents would have made different choices given the opportunity.

It has always bothered me when I heard people talk about Circ like it was a 100% thing in the USA. So glad to see some actual stats about it.

[NaturalMindedMomma]

OMG I WANT A BOY!!!! I want to do my part to sway the statistics.. UGH... (you know you are so against it when you make comments like that.)

WHY are dr's still advocating this horrendous procedure??? WHY WHY WHY

[an_aurora]

This is a pretty mainstream publication, presented by Johnson & Johnson, not by our hospital. I was pretty shocked, in a good way! The other day I was curious at work and glanced through the stack of charge slips for the past month. Of the boys, it seems that less than half had a circ (most of our pedi's circ in the hospital; there is only one group that circ's at the office--in fact, our pedi said that if we wanted our (homebirthed) DS circ'd we would have to bring him to the hospital nursery to have it done). I roughly calculated it to be around 30% were circ'd. Of course that doesn't take into account the NICU, as we only have healthy babies on our unit.

[Fellow Traveler]

Really, that's not too bad.

[RoxyJas]

Wow, I must say I am pleasantly surprised by those statistics. On a sidenote, when my son was born at 36 weeks and having under-developed lung issues, we left with him a week later without a single word about circ even mentioned. We live in WA.

Sadly though, most moms I am friends/aquaintances with are ADAMANT about circing and how healthy and best for the babe it is. Sometimes I feel like I'm just hitting my head against a brick wall over, and over, and over, and over...

[BugMacGee]

I can't attest to the accuracy of those stats, but if that's the info given to new parents .

[DocsNemesis]

Yeah, with my youngest, who was a preemie, the only time circ was mentioned was when we were going over the checklist to go home-they asked if I had planned to have it done, I said no, they made a note next to it saying NO CIRC. Before and after that it was never mentioned and honestly, they way they asked if I was planning on it kind of made me wonder if they would've tried to talk me out of it...the nurse seemed rather relieved when I said no.