A good reason to circ?

[Bethan_77]

I'm hoping that dh comes around to keeping our ds intact, but if he doesn't I'm going to refuse the procedure at the hospital anyway--they require the mother's approval for the surgery, I actually called and asked.

So...I'm just wondering if there are any conditions that a boy can be born with that means he should be circumcised or that the hospital will recommend him to be circed. Are there any conditions where they would recommend it as an antiquated fix to a problem? A real problem? I haven't seen anything in the research but don't know a whole lot about it either.

If something does happen to ve wrong with our son, I don't want to deal with the question and a husband who is pushing circ. Help!

[atria]

Originally Posted by Bethan_77 I'm hoping that dh comes around to keeping our ds intact, but if he doesn't I'm going to refuse the procedure at the hospital anyway--they require the mother's approval for the surgery, I actually called and asked. So...I'm just wondering if there are any conditions that a boy can be born with that means he should be circumcised or that the hospital will recommend him to be circed. Are there any conditions where they would recommend it as an antiquated fix to a problem? A real problem? I haven't seen anything in the research but don't know a whole lot about it either. If something does happen to ve wrong with our son, I don't want to deal with the question and a husband who is pushing circ. Help!

Good to call... but just be extra careful, because a few mamas have posted on here that her signature was not vital and they took DH's authorization. I wouldn't doubt that one bit. I am so sorry that you two are having a difficult time agreeing on this

I do not know about medical conditions that may cause them to pressure, so I will leave this to another mama. I just wanted to mention what I have read about mamas signature's being skipped when DH gives a go ahead.

[Bethany89]

We don't have a boy (but i would love one!!) and me and my DH were talking about it.. and I looked up circ online and one of the reasons they began circumcision was to decrease masturbation.. then I told him that leaving the foreskin allows for a higher quality of sensitivity.. better sex for the man..
Then, I showed him some pretty bad pictures of how they perform it (I did this all because he was very pro-circ) and then.. I think it kind of hit him that they are doing this to little babies.. and no matter what doctors say.. those pictures show babies in pain.. Anyway.. I would show this to your DH and really just explain to him.. and let him do some research on his own.. if all else fails, don't allow it in the hospital.

[Bethan_77]

Thanks mamas.

My hospital told me today that mom is the final word on everything done at the hospital until discharge. They said that they always know who the mother is, but they don't always know the story about the father without a a DNA test. ( no doubt dh is dad, but interesting policy nonetheless). I plan to have it all over the chart that I am extremely opposed to circumcision. I will have it added to ds's chart too.

I'm really hoping dh comes around. I'm glad this isn't happening when we first married, I would have just done what he said to do. He doesn't have any research backing circ, and I gave him a ton of research the other day about it--hopefully it works. If not, then if a mother opposes an elective cosmetic surgery, she opposes it. Period.

[CharlieInCharge]

As far as I know, there is no one medical condition that requires an immediate circumcision in the newborn period. The only thing that a newborn needs to do with his penis is urinate, and he has to be able to urinate in order to become a newborn in the first place. Therefore, the only thing that would require immediate intervention is a life-threatening deformity that nothing as "simple" as a circumcision could fix, logically speaking.

There are far more conditions that contraindicate newborn circumcision, some of them quite common. If a doctor even suspects one of these conditions, no one will perform the circ until it's ruled out.

So, paradoxically, if you're going to get circ pressure from healthcare professionals, it's most likely to happen if your son is born with a completely normal penis. Good for you for standing firm in your conviction to protect your son. I hope it doesn't come to putting your foot down, but if does, that's the wisest decision IMO. It can be done at any time, but can never be undone.

[CherryPie]

No reason really right at birth, and it is best to not circ in case something is found later on b/c they can use the foreskin skin to patch up other stuff (like hypospadias).

[vittoriosmom]

Hi Mama!
I am from Poland and when we found out we were having a boy my first reaction was- we will not circumcise. My husband did not agree with me because he is circed himself. We don't circumcise boys in Poland- men in my family are intact :-)
I talked to my dad about it and he strongly felt like I should leave my son's penis alone...
What are the reasons that your husband wants your son circed?
I agreed to do it because of a talk I had with a mom that did not have his son circed. He got many bad infections and the doctor recommended to circumcise him. Well she agreed and told me that when she saw his suffer through that as a 4 year old she regretted not doing it when he was an infant.
That spoke to me more than any other pro-circumcision reason. Actually no other reason spoke to me. I was dead set on my point of view. Well hearing what the little guy went through as a 4 year old, and that he will always remember the pain- as oppose to an infant-that was enough.
We ended up circumcising my son and I don't regret it. It was a little scary to see him go through it in the hospital and he just wanted to sleep after the procedure but it healed pretty quickly (within one week) and I never thought about it again. Now he is a toddler and likes to "play" with his "pee pee" occasionally -for example with dirty hands- and we don't have problems with infectons. I once watched a 2 year old boy in NYC (a couple of years ago) and he was playing in the sandbox in the summer. Somehow sand got in his diaper (cloth) and he ended up with a painful penis, and had to be taken to the pedi who only "pulled" the skin backwards which was not a pleasure either.

I did not mean to say anything to upset you... Sorry if it sounds like I am trying hard to make you change your mind. I just wanted to tell a story of how I changed my mind.

Lots of hugs!

[mbleblanc]

Stand strong Mama! You are doing whats right for your son not defying your husband even though it may feel like that.

I cant think of/find a reason that a newborn would need to be circ'd right away. Most times it shows up later on, if it ever does.

Good luck on your birth and congrats on your soon-to-be new little boy!

[CherryPie]

Vittoriosmom- those two incidences spoke more to you than a whole country (Poland) and family full of intact men with no problems?

[purpledayz]

DH had to have it done as a baby but he isn't entirely sure of the medical reasons why. He said something about the opening being off to the side and it was a problem. It's not really something I want to ask MIL about. I don't know if his problem is an issue nowadays since we know not to retract the foreskin until the child is older. But it's something you may want to look up.