Before a baby is circ'd, diaper changes?

[cuqui]

I was thinking about this last night (actually a day does not go by that I do not think about the unfortunate babies that have to go thru circ). Okay, if born in hospital and circ'd at 2 days old, when they are changed are they retracted? Do these poor babies have pain every diaper change before the final torture? And with a Bris, does this torture go on for 8 days? I ask because it seems so many dr's and nurses still think it is necessary to retract at every diaper change.

Just curious...

[trmpetplaya]

Oh wow, I certainly hope not....

love and peace.

[Frankly Speaking]

No, since it's going to be cut off anyways, they see no need to retract out of ignorance.



Frank

[jessjgh1]

When ds was born, we had not yet decided (my dh is Jewish, otherwise it would have been an easy no).

I had a difficult delivery and was exhausted, stressed, depressed, overwhelmed, in pain, etc. I actually did not even change a diaper in the hospital. My dh did the first bath (dp's were encouraged to do this, I was in the room). We decided to delay the decision and left the hospital before I even saw my son's penis but briefly.

I remember thinking while I was in the hospital room that I needed to look and see exactly what he looked like, etc. But then also was somewhat horrified because if I didn't know what he looked like and if we circ'ed I might feel worse (now that's denial, huh).

Even at home, I rarely did diaper changes- and my son was always hysterical for the night time changes so they were quite unnerving (especially at 3 am). I was on bedrest and my mom helped me out tremendously (too much, in a way). So I even didn't really see him then.

AT one particularly tranquil time and diaper change I finally made myself look at my son and bawled my eyes out at how normal, naturally, and perfect he looked. I realized that I would be tortured, almost as much as my son would be, at every diaper change.

I'll add that I have rarely seen a circed child (or penis for that matter, besides dh, lol). When I did, my son was over 6 months, and about a month ago I changed my first diaper of a circed boy my sons age. I was shocked at the rawness and unnaturalness of the poor childs' penises.

I also still puzzle at how one would decide/figure out to retract the foreskin?

By the time my son was born I had already started to conclude that no matter if his foreskin was the ugliest thing in the world, I had no right in the world to amputate it.

Seeing that his natural penis was just the cutest thing in the world made circ even that much harder to comprehend. I can understand why some parents who circ withough comprehension are sometimes horrified when ds is brought back scarred and bloodied.

Jessica

[susienjay]

I didn't see the nurses mess with the foreskin of a single baby boy in the NICU, including those that were scheduled to be circed. The foreskin isn't separated from the glans until the actual circ so there is no reason to try to clean underneath it. Nurses care for a lot of babies and I doubt if most of them knew if a boy was to be circed or not.

[cuqui]

The foreskin isn't separated from the glans until the actual circ so there is no reason to try to clean underneath it. Nurses care for a lot of babies and I doubt ig most of them knew if a boy was to be circed or not.

Exactly, the nurses do not know which babies are going to be cut, so how do they clean them? Most seem to think that you have to retract at EVERY diaper change, this is what I keep hearing here anyway. Many babies get diaper changes in the nursery, so are these babies actually being cleaned correctly (like a finger) inadverdently? or are they being retracted?.

I do not know from personal experience b/c my babies were born in a freestanding birth center and no one else ever changed a nappy but me. Besides my midwife (same one attended all) is very anti circ.

[Revamp]

It would probably just be treated like a normal penis (which, of course, it is) until the circumcision. Whether there concept of "Normal" is retracting to wash or not is the real issue I suppose.

[Ruthla]

My son was only retracted once- by the Mohel during his Bris.

[Revamp]

Are they not meant to be medically competant?

[susienjay]

My son spent 36 days in NICU and I never ever saw a nurse try to mess with the foreskin. There was another little boy right next to my dd for a couple weeks (he was scheduled for a circ but didn't weigh 4 lbs yet ) and I saw the nurses change him several times and they never did anything to his foreskin either.

[Ilaria]

Originally Posted by susienjay

(he was scheduled for a circ but didn't weigh 4 lbs yet )

So, 4 lbs is magic weight when you can undergo genital mutilation? That's tiny. I eat more than than for dinner.

[MommytoB]

I changed my son's diaper after he was born and no nurses ever changed my son's diaper . the only thing a nurse did was put him in a diaper after bath when he was born. They guided me of changing diapers so no retraction here and no asking of circ not eve any paperworks.

I saw 2 boys older than each other who were circ it was weird how differnce of their circ was one had plastibell more looser folded up and it almost look intact but you could see the roundness than of the overhang of a intact boy then the one w/ gomco looked sliced open it was freaky .

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by cuqui

Exactly, the nurses do not know which babies are going to be cut, so how do they clean them? Most seem to think that you have to retract at EVERY diaper change, this is what I keep hearing here anyway. Many babies get diaper changes in the nursery, so are these babies actually being cleaned correctly (like a finger) inadverdently? or are they being retracted?.

I do not know from personal experience b/c my babies were born in a freestanding birth center and no one else ever changed a nappy but me. Besides my midwife (same one attended all) is very anti circ.

I don't think so. In our NICU we NEVER retract the foreskin. Everyone knows you aren't supposed to. And when I've gone to the regular nursery it is unwritten policy there too that you don't ever retract them. The only time they are ever messed with is when they are circed.
I was going to make a poster about it for our breakroom once and our nurse educator told me that everyone should already know that. It is common knowlege she says that you don't retract them.

I still think I might make the poster though, you know, a this is what a foreskin is, don't mess with it, blah blah blah.

Although one time one of our flight team nurses horrified me when she talked about a baby in the ER, she was saying how gross it was when she looked at the little boy's penis, she said his parents probably never pulled it back to clean it (she found some smegma in there) I yelled at her and told her you are never suposed to retract them to clean them in an infant and she was just shocked that I left my boys intact. So I guess not everyone knows, but most nurses do.

Yeah, I need to make that educational poster...

[DahliaRW]

The nurses at my hospital didn't know if my son was going to be circ'd or not (unless they read my birth plan, which I doubt), but no one ever tried to retract him. Of course in the paperwork they give you about infant care, for care of an intact penis it said the child is the only person who should retract their own foreskin - so I'd guess the nurses are trained?

OT - but the info in the handouts for care of intact penises was only about 8 lines long. The info about caring for circ'd - 1 1/2 pages. So much for circ'd penises being easier! Whoever came up with that bs of an excuse obviously was ignorant.