Should I do what the doctor said?

[kjenkins8619]

My son is 2 weeks old. His doctor told us at his check up that the opening of his foreskin was too small and that we needed to stretch it every time we change his diaper. I don't feel right about doing this. I always thought you were supposed to leave it alone and let all stretching and retracting to happen naturally. I'm afraid if I'm right and listen to the doctor I'll hurt him or do damage or if I'm wrong and I don't he'll have problems later on. Someone please put my mind at ease.

[bandgeek]

Your gut feeling is absolutely right and I would definitely NOT do what the doctor said.  If your son is peeing fine, his opening is the perfect size.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Your Dr. is way off base here and you are right. I would make sure from here on out as well if you keep this Dr. dont let him touch his penis. When he looked at your ds did he try to push the skin back at all?

By doing what your Dr. said you could cause him to develop scar tissue leading to him having major issues down the road.

If you think your Dr. might be open to learning you could print off some resources to take with you about the dangers of what he is recommending.

[Night_Nurse]

If your son can urinate, the hole is big enough. You don't need to retract it or mess with it at all. Actually, doing so could cause pain and problems.

I'm assuming you're in the US. Chances are high your doctor is a circumcised male with no firsthand foreskin knowledge. And if he went to medical school in the US, he probably wasn't exposed to any info on foreskin care, unless maybe it was to circumcise it. Doctors outside of the US really don't recommend this type of care because they know it can harm.

Just leave your son alone, just wipe the outside like you would a finger, and he'll be fine.

[kjenkins8619]

Thank you all so much. I suppose I expected our doctor to know everything. I didn't realize American doctors were so uneducated and misinformed on the subject.

[MyBoysBlue]

The foreskin has a sphinter on the end it's called the preputial sphincter. It closes up to protect the urethra and stop bacteria from getting in. If you get a chance to see your boy pee you will notice that it loosens up when he pees. I remember wondering how the pee gets out since there didn't seem to be an opening until he peed on his face during a diaper change. LOL. Part of the process of retraction is for the sphincter to loosen and the glans to separate from the foreskin. This process can happen as early as 2-3 years old or as late as puberty with an average age of 10 years old.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I am glad you mentioned the sphincter. Like the anus when not in use it clamps down. I was surprised how much it relaxed when I saw ds urinate compared to how it looked when he wasnt.

[vachi73]

Like you, I had a pediatrician (highly recommended, fwiw) tell me that ds#1's foreskin was "tight" at his 9month wcv. Luckily, i found this forum and realized she was a moron regarding foreskin. This, plus another unrelated incident, convinced me to ditch her "highly recommended" self and find a new ped. He is wonderful and has never mentiined nor touched any of my boys' foreskins, period.

Do NOT retract your baby! His opening is FINE, and is doing its job by staying tightly closed! Ignore ped, consider ditching him and/or educating him, but don't let him or anyone else pull on/retract your perfect little one.

HTH!! Enjoy your baby!

[ElliesMomma]

if you do what the doctor says, you will cause your newborn baby pain and set him up for chronic infections... which can eventually lead to the "need" for circumcision. it happens all the time. oh, and the ped. can do the circumcision himself, or refer you to his friend the urologist, from whom he might get some form of compensation for referring another patient.

if you stay with this doctor, you will have to be on guard at every WBV, and there are a lot for the next couple of years.

fortunately there ARE better informed doctors out there, you might have to shop around to find one. i think there is a list somewhere on MDC with some recommendations.

[lexapurple]

Sorry it is OT but the recommendation you received has nothing to do with country your doctor came from. It steams from lack of education of foreskin. In other foreskin friendly country you are as likely to receive same kind of advise.

[CallMeMommy]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X 

I am glad you mentioned the sphincter. Like the anus when not in use it clamps down. I was surprised how much it relaxed when I saw ds urinate compared to how it looked when he wasnt.

That's how I tell DS3 is about to pee on me!  :

Just echoing what everyone else has said, leave it alone and don't let the doctor touch it.

[kjenkins8619]

That's a good sign to look for. He's only peed on us a couple of times. Now i can see it coming.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Originally Posted by lexapurple 

Sorry it is OT but the recommendation you received has nothing to do with country your doctor came from. It steams from lack of education of foreskin. In other foreskin friendly country you are as likely to receive same kind of advise.

While it is possible for Dr. in other countries to give the wrong advice it isnt nearly as likely as it is here in the USA. In all the reading I have done (not the same as seeing a Dr though) other countries advise leaving it alone and not retracting. Since the majority of posters here are from the USA I have seen more posts than I can count about Dr's in the USA giving out the same advice as was given in the OP while I have only seen once a foreign Dr. giving it. Either way it is not the right way to deal with an intact penis.

[Galatea]

Ds2 had a hole the size of a pin - literally - yet he peed fine and is retractable at age 5.  Don't worry!

[Cyllya]

Originally Posted by CallMeMommy 

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X 

I am glad you mentioned the sphincter. Like the anus when not in use it clamps down. I was surprised how much it relaxed when I saw ds urinate compared to how it looked when he wasnt.

That's how I tell DS3 is about to pee on me!  :

So if you circumcise your infant son, it will be harder to tell when he's about to pee on you, therefore harder to tell when you need to take pee-evading measures? Wow, just when I think the list of cons can't get any bigger.
 

[Night_Nurse]

Originally Posted by lexapurple 

Sorry it is OT but the recommendation you received has nothing to do with country your doctor came from. It steams from lack of education of foreskin. In other foreskin friendly country you are as likely to receive same kind of advise.

In my experience, doctors born and/or educated in the US tend to be the ones who give poor foreskin care advice. Of course it could happen in other countries and certainly some doctors from the US know proper care. Pretty much anyone I've talked to in real life or online who has been told this type of incorrect info, such as the OP, has been in the US and had an American doctor. My friends who live outside of the US have never, ever had any of their doctors recommend doing anything other than wiping the outside. Stretching and retraction seems to be rarely recommend as routine practice outside of the US. Our foreign born pediatrician (who is also intact) and all his partners know proper care and never recommend this type of thing. But I do agree, lack of normal foreskin education could be problematic anywhere, I just think it's more of an issue in the US.