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Pros and Cons to Circumcising

3K views 66 replies 35 participants last post by  newmama8824 
#1 ·
Dh and I are expecting our first child and I have been studying up on everything.

He's opposed to circumcising. I've never even thought of it. I understand this is an anti-circ board but I really would like both sides of the argument. Thanx all!
 
#2 ·
there is no really Pro about C... you can def find more info here http://www.nocirg.org or the stickies in the Web resource. There is no medical need for it, that's why medicaid is slowly eliminating their coverage and soon insurance companies will stop covering it. In some countries it is already illegal and most of the British countries do not perform this procedure at all because it does not offer any medical benefit. According to the Association of American Pediatrics it's unnecessary and not recommended.
 
#3 ·


We're so glad you joined us!!

Here are some links I really like:

http://oknocirc.blogspot.com/

http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/fleiss.html

http://www.circumstitions.com/Itsaboy.html

and a whole bunch of mamas who regret circumcising their sons:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=112410

There aren't any "pros" to circumcision so I can't give you any of those.

(It's similar to asking for the "pros" of NOT using a car seat. Well, anyone who tells you that you really don't need a car seat is misguided.)
 
#5 ·
Well, you're not going to get both sides of the argument, because A) arguing for circ is against the user agreement, and B) the pro-circ arguments are all either false, specious, or invalid. If you read the stickies, you will see your dh's reasons and more.

I'm curious, what specifically is your reason for not wanting to go with your husband on this issue?
 
#7 ·
These will also get you started:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/1/T012000.asp
http://www.circumstitions.com/Itsaboy.html

Perhaps I will expand on this a little bit. In the US it is popularly presumed that circumcision reduces the risk of numerous things but those keep on changing as some are disproved and other 'pop' up. That is the history of circumcision in a nutshell. Currently the list you might get will include UTI, STD, HIV, Penile Cancer, and Cervical cancer. These 'benefits' are either exaggerated or simply not supported by the facts; for instance consider the thread I posted today 'Europe Vs. US' and the STD data there. Or the recent article in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of Paediatrics posted here (link to the actual journal article can be found there). Circumcision is extremely rare in Europe and Common in the US clearly circumcision isn't helping us out in this category. Rather the key to controlling STDs is safe sex education and condoms.

Maybe it is too soon but perhaps we could turn the question around. What do you believe the 'pros' of circumcision might be?
 
#9 ·
"What do you believe the 'pros' of circumcision might be?"

You hear about health and cleanliness benefits. Things like uncirced males run a greater risk of contracting STD's (something about the foreskin trapping fluids), or if you're not super-diligent with cleaning then the foreskin will get infected. Although my confidence level in medical studies is not the highest.....
 
#10 ·
Well, you aren't going to get "both sides" here because we don't support circ in any way. You could find some arguements for it in other places, but it's highly likely to be false or extremely exaggerated info.

Here are a few "pros" debunked:

"It's cleaner" Well, no it really isn't. Until the boy is retractible, you just wash the outside. When he can retract, rinsing in the bath or shower is sufficient, just like any other body part. So it's just as clean as a circ'ed penis. And when you circ, you have to deal with keeping feces out of an open wound. Now, *that* is not clean.

"Less infections and STD's" There's no real research to support any of this. There have been some questionable studies that showed intact was more likely to develop STD's, but if you look at the real world...it doesn't make sense. The majority of american men are circ'ed yet we have higher STD rates than most other industrialized countries...hmmmm.... The majority of infections are easily treatable and also preventable! Again, there's no real evidence that intact get more infections than circ'ed.

"He will look like daddy" Well, that's hardly a benefit since your DH is against it.


"If you get it done young, it will spare him the trauma later" Well first, it rarely needs to be done later. And secondly, it is much less painful and traumatic for an older boy/adult. Just because the infant won't remember it doesn't mean it wasn't a horrific experience. At least when they are older they get proper pain relief and don't have to urinate on the wound.

Really, none of that even matters. What matters is it's your son's penis. Shouldn't he have a say in what happens to it? All things considered, I think this is the most important point. He can always be circ'ed later if he wants, but once you make that decision for him, you can't take it back.
 
#11 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by armychicmkm View Post
"What do you believe the 'pros' of circumcision might be?"

You hear about health and cleanliness benefits. Things like uncirced males run a greater risk of contracting STD's (something about the foreskin trapping fluids), or if you're not super-diligent with cleaning then the foreskin will get infected. Although my confidence level in medical studies is not the highest.....
Ok there is a start. I was editing my previous post to more completely address your question and as it happened I left some STD info there. If you want us to discuss this, or any other question, just ask. We don't want to avalanche you with too much info at once, too late I guess.
 
#13 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by gemelos View Post
You are very fortunate to have a husband who doesn't want to circumcise!

From what I've been reading so far it seems that he's in the minority on that one.

I kind of figured I should go with his wishes on this one as he has that particular piece of equipment and should therefore know better than I. I also know I won't be satisfied with any decision I make until I research it inside and out.
 
#14 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by armychicmkm View Post
"What do you believe the 'pros' of circumcision might be?"

You hear about health and cleanliness benefits. Things like uncirced males run a greater risk of contracting STD's (something about the foreskin trapping fluids), or if you're not super-diligent with cleaning then the foreskin will get infected. Although my confidence level in medical studies is not the highest.....
Ok sorry I have to address some more of this just to get it out of the way. First, most of the infections you hear about are from Drs in the US not teaching proper care, which is to do nothing. Often they tell parents to retract and clean and this leads to problems. Second, I am an intact male so I am speaking from first person experience: As to the super-diligent cleaning thing this is just not true. Although I don't do it regularly, I have gone well over two weeks without 'properly' bathing (back country backpacking and such) and have never had a hint of a problem. You'll just have to take my word on that.
But consider that the foreskin has been with us since well before modern levels of cleanliness were available and if it was such a liability, it would have disappeared long ago plus no other industrialized country routinely circumcises and they don't seem to have problems.
 
#16 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by jwhispers View Post
Ok sorry I have to address some more of this just to get it out of the way. First, most of the infections you hear about are from Drs in the US not teaching proper care, which is to do nothing. Often they tell parents to retract and clean and this leads to problems. Second, I am an intact male so I am speaking from first person experience: As to the super-diligent cleaning thing this is just not true. Although I don't do it regularly, I have gone well over two weeks without 'properly' bathing (back country backpacking and such) and have never had a hint of a problem. You'll just have to take my word on that.
But consider that the foreskin has been with us since well before modern levels of cleanliness were available and if it was such a liability, it would have disappeared long ago plus no other industrialized country routinely circumcises and they don't seem to have problems.
YOU ARE MY HERO
 
#17 ·
Armychkn - you are a lucky wife and mom to be with a sensible husband! I will be honest with you. If there was a good reason to circ. I would tell you. I am emotional about this issue because it involves hurting a child for no good reason. I am only a little crunchy and used to not be crunchy AT ALL - so this is not a crunchy thing to leave your child intact. Basically Americans 60% of the parents who have baby boys in this country are brainwashed and refuse to hear the truth.

I guess there are a few good reasons to circumcise - 'I like to listen to misinformation and old wives tales and would prefer to cut off healthy pieces of my newborn baby's genitals than to question this practice. I also might prefer the costmetic appearance of genitals cut in this way so bizarely think my child should appear this way also. Strapping him down and knowing he will scream in pain and discomfort is ok with me. 10 days of having poop and pee in an open would is ok with me and if I plan to breastfeed I don't mind if his level of discomfort and detachment induced by having his genitals cut makes that difficult. I don't mind if he has a complication from this procedure that causes anything from mild chaffing to death.'

So there you go. As a wife to a 32 year old intact man and a almost 20 month old intact son it isn't dirty, smelly, or hard to clean. PM me if you want details on any aspect of it whatsoever.

Jenni
 
#19 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by armychicmkm View Post
Dh and I are expecting our first child and I have been studying up on everything. He's opposed to circumcising. I've never even thought of it. I understand this is an anti-circ board but I really would like both sides of the argument. Thanx all!
Congratulations on your first pregnancy! And good for you for "studying up." There are plenty of things in the realm of pregnancy, birth, and parenting that are often taken for granted and these are the very things that should be questioned. Circumcision is one of them, often way down the list of all the other things that one has to learn about and make decisions about when pregnant, but one not to be overlooked! Many parents never get to the point of looking into it, and some come to later regret a decision to circumcise when they find out things that they did not have the chance to consider.

So you are way ahead of the game (not to mention you have a very sensible and wise DH!).

You asked for "both sides of the argument." But it isn't really as easy as that. You're just not going to find nice neat lists of equal numbers of reasons for and against. Even the sources that purport to be unbiased (e.g. medical position statements on circumcision, or patient information handouts) don't always tell "both sides".

For instance, they may give a list of potential medical benefits, but then neglect to give any counterarguments as to why these claims may not be valid .

Or they may not give parents a realistic picture of what a circumcision actually entails or mention all the risks.

Or they may not give any information about what the foreskin is and what it is there for (hint: it's on the business end of the penis!).

Or may avoid any discussion the ethical issues potentially involved.

In fact, most sources put the focus on circumcising, without covering much at all about the alternative of NOT circumcising.

So much for "both sides."

Some of the things you mentioned you have heard about possible benefits (medical, "cleanliness," whatever) of circumcision are about as far as most people get when they think about or are taught about circumcision. What you will hear on this board is the "other side," the side that is usually left out of what you hear in the myth-driven mainstream American culture. So it may SEEM unbalanced, but in fact it IS the balance.

It's strange that only in America do parents have to "wrestle" with the decision of whether to circumcise or not - because NO other country in the world circumcises the majority of its newborns for non-religious reasons. England, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand used to circumcise newborns, but now no longer do. Thanksfully, in the US, the rates have dropped from 80-90% in the 1970s to approximately 55% in recent years - but we still have a long way to go to protect every boy.

The simple fact is that ALL boys are born with a foreskin. Probably 75% of males in the world grow up and live their whole lives quite happily with intact genitals. It would never cross the minds of most parents in the world to cut off part of their newborn baby's genitals!

By the way, it is very interesting to dig into the history of how circumcision got started in the US, which was scientifically actually on pretty shaky grounds. Here are a couple of good sites: http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/
http://www.icgi.org/medicalization/ .

If I may just say in closing that, to me, the starting point for learning about circumcision is just realizing that the foreskin is a normal body part, worthy of as much respect and protection as any other. Realizing this, and that a decision to cut it off (off someone else, no less!) is not an inconsequential decision and is irreversible to boot, makes it all the more important that you research this carefully and thoroughly - which is exactly what you seem to be setting out to do.

Please keep in mind that though parents are given the right and responsibility in our culture to decide for or against circumcision, there really is a third very important stakeholder in the decision - the boy himself! This is where the ethics of it comes in. It's his body and he alone will have to live his life with the consequences of the decision, so perhaps a consideration of his right to have a say in how much of his penis he gets to keep should be part of one's deliberations.

Glad you found us! If you have more questions, ask away! We're passionate, but we don't bite, and we LOVE people who come here with an open mind!

Gillian
 
#21 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by armychicmkm View Post
My (future) son's rights are what has me steering away from circ. more than anything else. I'm a farily big believer in making you own decisions and that is a pretty big decision to take away. And DH is making me include "Not to mention I already said no."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...09/2113665.htm

Yep rights (Search for Paul Mason).
 
#22 ·
Here are many reasons not to circ and it also addresses the many myths as to why circ is needed.

Reasons to leave your son intact:

- The owner of the penis should be the one to decide what to do with it.

-The foreskin, not the head, is the most sensitive part of the normal, intact penis.

- The movable shaft skin of an intact penis facilitates intercourse, reducing friction and prolonging pleasurable sex for both male and female.

- The foreskin aids in foreplay; lubricants are optional.

- An intact penis will have no circumcision scar, will often have less hair drawn up onto it shaft, and will on average be somewhat larger than a circumcised penis.

- The foreskin protects and lubricates the head or "glans" of the penis for the life of its owner. The glans or the head of the penis was never meant to be a external organ it should be inside the foreskin to protect it and keep it sensitive.

-80-85% of the world's male population has intact genitals, including nearly all European males (please note that HIV/AIDS rates are actually lower in Europe than in America). Circumcision does NOT prevent AIDS wearing a condom does.

-Male circumcision permanently diminishes the sexual feelings for both male and female.

- When people from non circumcising countries hear that we in the USA still do it they are usually shocked, and often don't believe it to be true.

- Care of the intact infant penis is actually much easier as there is no wound care, you just wash it like a finger, it should never be retracted by anyone other than the child. The age it becomes retractable varies greatly normal range is childhood to adulthood.

- The foreskin contains three to four feet of blood vessels, 240 feet of nerves, and 10-20,000 specialized nerve endings.

- When the foreskin is removed 30-50% of sexual pleasure goes with it. Because 30-50% of the total penile skin is removed during a RIC depending on the Dr. and the type of circumcision that is done.

-The circumcision rate in the USA has fallen from 90% in 1970 to roughly 56% today.

-Circumcisions was originally introduced in the country in the late 1800s to prevent masturbation. It has since been touted as the cure for all sorts of ailments - all of which have been scientifically disprovable. Including but not limited to it being a cure for baldness, mental illness, cancer etc. Etc.

The History of Circumcision
http://www.historyofcircumcision.net...tpage&Itemid=1

Warning disturbing pictures "The medicalization of circumcision"
http://www.icgi.org/medicalization_o...ion.htm#Page_1

A Short History of Circumcision in the U.S.A (this one is really scary when you read it)
http://www.sexuallymutilatedchild.org/shorthis.htm

The Ritual of Circumcision
http://www.noharmm.org/paige.htm

-Cutting off the foreskin cuts off the most sensitive, erotic, pleasurable part of a man's body. The foreskin plays a very important role in sex. Men who were circumcised later in life compare circed sex/intact sex to someone who is color blind they can see just fine but the full "color" is missing.

-Circumcision is almost NEVER medically necessary. The only true medical reasons for circ are, frostbite, gangrene and cancer (all of those would be extremely rare) The incidence for necessary medical circumcisions is less that 0.05%. Circumcision for phimosis should only be done as a last resort. After trying stretching, steroid cream and a dorsel slit.

-No medical organization anywhere recommends routine infant circ.
Here is a list of statements from several countries including the USA and Canada.
http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/

- Circumcision is EXTREMELY painful, even if anesthetic is administered. Studies have proved that babies feel pain even more acutely than an adult would. It is a very great breech of trust for a baby to be taken from his parents and cut. It is very violating. Long after any anesthesia that might(most only get a sugar dipped rag or paci to suck on) have been used wears off there is still a raw open wound sitting in urine and feces with no pain relief.

-The intact penis, if left alone, has no greater risk for UTI's, STD's, Penile Cancer, HIV, causing Cervical Cancer in women.

UTI myth http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/UTI/
http://www.nocirc.org/statements/breastfeeding.php

Quote:
In fact, UTI's are so rare in any case that, using Wiswell's data, 50 to 100 healthy boys would have to be circumcised in order to prevent a UTI from developing in only one patient. (Using more recent data from a better-controlled study, the number of unnecessary operations needed to prevent one hospital admission for UTI would jump to 195.
FORESKINS: Seek Elsewhere for Infants' Urinary Tract Infections
http://www.cirp.org/news/1997.12.22_PhysiciansWeekly/

UTI Neonatal circumcision revisited
http://www.cps.ca/english/statements...ION%20OF%20UTI

The incidence of Geniturinary abnormalities in circumcised and uncircumcised presenting with an initial urinary tract infection by 6 months of age
http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/UTI/mueller/
- Girls have a much greater risk of UTIs, yet we don't cut off parts of their genitals to prevent them.
Cancer Society:http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/co...evented_35.asp

Quote:
In the past, circumcision has been suggested as a way to prevent penile cancer. This suggestion was based on studies that reported much lower penile cancer rates among circumcised men than among uncircumcised men. However, most researchers now believe those studies were flawed because they failed to consider other factors that are now known to affect penile cancer risk.
http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/

Quote:
Gellis (1978) said there are more deaths from circumcision than from cancer of the penis.8
Boczko et al . found numerous reports of penile cancer in circumcised men, thus conclusively disproving Wolbarst's false claims of protection from penile cancer by circumcision.9
In "Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy," Edward Wallerstein writes14: "If infant circumcision reduces penile cancer we could expect to see proportionately less penile cancer in circumcising nations as compared to non-circumcising ones. No such difference is found."

Quote:
******* established quite clearly that there was little evidence to support a relationship between lack of circumcision and penile cancer, cervical cancer, or cancer of the prostate in 1970 but he was unable to identify the causative agent at that time,6 while Leitch did the same in Australia.
Circumcision and AIDS/HIV
http://www.circumstitions.com/HIV.html
http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/HIV/ http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab003362.html
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...Statement.html

Comparison of North America to other non-circ countries HIV status
http://www.avert.org/america.htm
http://www.avert.org/worldstats.htm
- The times the intact penis has trouble are when it is forcefully retracted before it is ready. The penis should only be retracted by its owner, when he's ready. It is normal to not be retractable until after puberty. It is not a problem.

- Circumcision is SURGERY and as such poses significant risks of infection to the wound.
Possible complications include but are not limited to:
  • Infections;
  • Botched circumcisions that have to be redone;
  • To tight circumcisions that cause extreme pain with erection;
  • Hair on the shaft;
  • Loss of sensation in the glans (head), it becomes keratinized (hardened) without the foreskin; (this one always happens)
  • Amputation of the part or all of the penis;
  • Ruptured stomach, bladder, and or intestines from crying so hard;
  • Skin bridges(very common)
  • Adhesions(very common)
  • Scaring on the penis shaft(very common)
  • Meatal Stenosis http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/persad/ around 10-15% of circs result in this complication if not more.
  • DEATH (I have read that as many as 5 infants die every year from circ complications)
and much much more.
It is estemated that between 10-15% of all males will have at least 1 or more of the complications listed above. But none of these side effects are present when leaving a boy intact.

Links of pictures Warning graphic pictures
http://www.circumstitions.com/Restric/Botched1sb.html
http://www.noharmm.org/IDcirc.htm

- There are NO medical benefits with routine infant circumcision. It is a cosmetic surgery, and as such more insurance companies will NOT pay for it.

- Circumcision is big business in the US. Several billions of dollars every year. Doctors are very invested in keeping the circumcision myths alive.

- A single doctor can make $20,000 a year doing circumcisions.

- A little known fact is that foreskins are then resold to the highest bidder. They are used in cosmetics, skin growth for grafting, cancer treatments and much more. The after life of foreskins is also a multi billion dollar a year industry. Parents are not told about this. There is no informed consent. Certainly the foreskins owner doesn't have a say in the matter.

- "Every boy born in the US has a $300 coupon attached to his foreskin. All you have to do is cut it off to redeem."

- Circumcision should only be performed on consenting adults who know all that is entailed.

-What if your son wants his foreskin?

- A lot of men are very angry when they find out the truth and feel very violated. (like my husband.)

- How would you feel if someone cut off your clitoris and labia without asking you? They do it in Africa all the time. We are horrified when little girls are mutilated. Why not when little boys? FGM type one, the most common form of female circumcision, only removes the covering of the clitoris and some of the labia. Those parts directly corrilate to the foreskin on a male penis.

- It causes immense trauma & physical pain to a brand new baby who just had to undergo birth. Often times a baby will suddenly cease crying and so the Doctors say it doesn't hurt them. It does - they are in shock.

- Smegma isn't bad or gross. It is the Greek word for soap. Women have it too. It helps keep everything clean and healthy. No intact boy should be forcefully retracted just to clean it out. It's supposed to be there!

- When they separate the foreskin from the glans it is similar to ripping off your fingernails. Than they crush the foreskin and cut it off. They also stimulate an erection so they "know where to cut." A boys first sexual experience is one of great pain and trauma.

Common myths you may hear from others and even Dr's:

http://www.coloradonocirc.org/myths.php

Side by side comparison of MGM & FGM
http://www.circumstitions.com/FGMvsMGM.html
 
#23 ·
I'm not a big fan of "my husband said no" as a reason
, but in this case you should let him have his way!

Most, if not all of the studies that give "pros" to circ', were poorly done and/or subject to researcher bias, or are so slight that a reputable statistician would ignore them!
My DH and 2 sons are intact, and we've never had a problem. I didn't have to clean an open wound to prevent an infection, and my DH has never had any of the sexual issues that go with a tight foreskin! They all work the way nature intended!!
 
#27 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by armychicmkm View Post
"What do you believe the 'pros' of circumcision might be?"

You hear about health and cleanliness benefits. Things like uncirced males run a greater risk of contracting STD's (something about the foreskin trapping fluids), or if you're not super-diligent with cleaning then the foreskin will get infected. Although my confidence level in medical studies is not the highest.....
Bullhockey.
 
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