To circumcise?

[Rhi315]

I'm having a baby boy in June and I'm already finding it very difficult to make the decision to circumcise him. =/ The paper I got from my Dr. said that the benefits and the risks are both too small to swing the vote either way, that the decision is a parental one NOT a medical one. I just don't want to put him through any sort of agonizing pain, what is everyone's take on this? Did you have your son circumcised and do you know how he reacted to it?

[JoyRenee]

Not intending to start a religious debate; just offered some Biblical information for those who may be interested. And yes, Christians do circumcise. I happen to be one and a pastor's wife and know many Christians who've dissected the issue and have been circumcised and circumcised their sons, including my husband and his brothers. It's an important issue to those with religious beliefs and non-religious beliefs. A link that Ashelen provided above states that circumcision has proved to decrease the risk of AIDs in third world countries so to say it is only a US phenomenon is also inaccurate.

[chantal21]

Just wanted to let you know, we chose to do it for religious reasons and for health reasons. My husband and I sat down and wrote out all the pros and cons. We took a week or two, talked to some family members and friends before we made our final decision and researched it quite a bit. With our first boy we didn't hesitate to have it done, but then we started to question whether it was really necessary when I was preggo with boy#2.
Once we had everything on paper and talked to different people we decided it was best for our family to have it done.

I'm sure some of the posts can be a bit overwhelming, but just remember it's a decision that you and your hubby have to make together and there will always be someone who doesn't agree with what you do no matter what you choose to do, but it's your child and what you think is best. Personally, googling a circumcision video probably is not a wise thing to do. There are so many horror stories and I saw one online that made me sick to my stomach. It took minutes to perform and I think it was cruel the way they went about it. Clearly, different doctors use different techniques, and it honestly should not take longer than 30 seconds to a minute to perform when done correctly.

When we found out we could use a mohel (even though we are not Jewish) we were thrilled that it could be done in our home and not in the hospital. With each of my boys it was like a little ceremony, in the 30 seconds it took him to circumcise my boys, I would read a prayer and verse from the Bible and it's become something very special to us as Christians.

All that to say, just make sure you do lots of research! You will find what is right for your family. :)

[angela418]

I have a 15 month old son and we circumsized him.  I really left it up to my husband, because he's the male and knows all about men's bodies after all.  He's also circumsized and probably wanted the same for our son.  He personally believes it's better for hygiene, though I know the argument could go the other way, too.

We had the plasti-bell procedure done at the hospital the day after I delivered him and within a week or so the ring fell off and he was perfectly fine.  He didn't seem to be too affected by the procedure, which didn't last long.  I wasn't in the room for it - they took him to a different room to do it, but he didn't seem to have any ill effects, though I am sure he cried for a minute or two.

I also wanted to say how interesting this thread is.  I really appreciate ALL of the information that people have posted to support both sides of this subject, from a medical and religious standpoint.  Great info!  :-)

[kamil119]

well, this discussion has certainly taken into a new direction. But to whoever cites religious reasons for circumcision, Jews have always circumcized their boys, and, true, Jesus was circumcized, too, because he was Jewish. Christianity, as opposed to Judaism, does not circumcize, and no Catholic priests are circumcized. You can  be religios and not circumcize, and, in fact, most of the world does not do it, it's mostly an American phenomenon.

[julianovak]

refuse to alter* i meant.

[julianovak]

Having a boy in May, NOT circumsizing. I never altered my daughter, I refuse to do the same with my son.