What does an attempt to retract look like, on a newborn?

[Harmony96]

I'm not sure how to word this post and I'm not sure if my new DS had a retraction attempt at his 2-week visit yesterday.

DD is almost 3, and DS is my second baby (and obviously first son). And a funny note to start things off... having the same equipment as DD, I knew exactly how to change her diaper and make sure she was clean. But now having a DS is new to me all over. I never even had any brothers. So I had to ask DH how gentle I needed to be during diaper changes, lol. Since guys are sensitive in that area, you know.

Anyway. At one of my third-trimester prenatal visits, our MW asked us if we were going to circ if it was a boy. DH and I had had many little "talklets" over time about the topic, and his reasons for wanting TO circ didn't really hold a lot of water with me and I told him so. We never did come to a final decision, though. I wanted it to be his decision, so when our MW asked us that question, I turned to him and let him answer, and he said "I guess not." I was all .

So we have an intact son now. He's had two pedi visits so far, once at 2 days old and once yesterday. Yesterday, I *think* he was retracted but I'm not sure. All over this forum it just says "don't retract" over and over again, but I don't know what retraction "looks" like. What I observed yesterday was that his doctor held the skin on the shaft, and pulled back until the skin was just barely taut and no further. DS didn't cry or act uncomfortable about it at all and there are no sores or tears or redness or anything today.

The "pulled back" makes me think 99% that it WAS a retraction. But then on the other hand, it wasn't really "pulled" pulled. So I don't know.

I'm just so confused.

[Friday13th]

It sounds like the old "me? oh, no, I'm definitely not retracting. I'm just checking."

It's still retracting.

As long as your son is peeing, nobody needs to see the opening to his urethra, nobody needs to see how far back his foreskin goes. All they should be doing is checking to make sure he has two testicles which only involves moving his penis aside.

I know it's an awful feeling to hover while a doctor exams your baby, hoping they're not doing anything wrong and a pediatrician who has proven he won't mess with your baby is really worth finding.

[Bea]

That was retraction.

The Dr has no business doing that. NONE. There is absolutely nothing in there that needs looking at. It's akin to pulling out a mini speculum and and checking you infant daughters cervix but stopping after poking around at the hymen a bit.

Y'know?

Intrusive, repulsive for a medical professional (anyone)to be doing, potentially damaging and entirely unnecessary.

There is absolutely no reason to retract, even if you were complaining about symptoms say of a UTI. If the Dr wouldn't go digging about in an infant girls labia minora to visualise the urethral opening, there's no need to do it for a boy and frankly, since bacteria are naked to the human eye, a visual inspection is meaningless.

There's nothing to see, he shouldn't be touching the penis AT ALL!

[LaffNowCryLater]

I've had a dr do that once, when ds was a newborn to check his urethra (I'm assuming) and it was never done again. He only slightly moved back the over-hang skin and didn't seperate any skin attached to the glans. Ds had no reaction and no issues with it.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

There is a sticky in resources called the Definition of Retraction & Why it is BAD. But basically any pulling/pushing of the foreskin back toward the body is retraction and is a huge for 2 reasons the damage that can be done and because there is just no reason at all they need to look at anything they cant see without touching.

[DocsNemesis]

Next time, don't let him touch your sons penis. There is absolutely no reason to even touch him down there, let alone manipulate his junk.

My ped usually checks for the testes, but thats it. She has NEVER touched either of my sons penises. They also never messed with my preemie sons penis at the hospital, even when they catheterized him. I watched, they just aimed it through the opening in the foreskin.

I don't get what doctors obsession is with seeing the ureter. *sigh*