Circumcision...

Thanks for the interesting reading, ladies.
I'm finding out in less than a week if we are having a boy or a girl. This is one of the reasons why I'm hoping my babe is a girl... DH and I do not agree on this issue.
In any case, I did want to thank you all for the positive stories on both sides of circumcision. It is good to know that my baby is more than likely going to be just fine whichever way we choose to go.
I just wish we both felt the same way... It makes this decision so very difficult. I feel for those who are in or have been in a similar position to us.

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One of the greatest things about living in Australia is that we have CHOICES

whether you choose to circumcise or choose not to is your choice.

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True, and all choices have consequences. With increased choice (power) comes increased responsibility. All choices are not equal. Some have greater ramifications than others. Choice shouldn't be confused with "preference". Whether you choose to have your son circumcised is not the same as choosing a hair colour (sorry if that's stating the obvious). When making the decision to cut or not to cut you are actually choosing whether you are prepared to deal with one set of future consequences or another. Now I'm not overlaying a value judgement on anyone when I say this. All I'm saying is that as well as defending your right to choose you need to be 100% accountable for that choice... after choosing a course of action the buck needs to then stop with you. I see many people demand a right to choose but then, when something goes wrong declare: "Oh but I didn't know....".
The right to choose is often demanded but also often backed away from when the consequence is unwanted. Choosing is often the easy bit... maintaining responsibility forever after is often not so easy. Applies to both sides of the circumcision debate... or any other aspect of parenting that involves a hard choice.

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True, and all choices have consequences. With increased choice (power) comes increased responsibility. All choices are not equal. Some have greater ramifications than others. Choice shouldn't be confused with "preference".

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Well said!!!!

Also, obviously, some choices are more reversable than others. Me, I have always been one to keep options open as long as possible. I guess I'll do that as a parent too. But the stakes seem to me to be so much higher, making decisions for other people not just for me. No wonder people feel so strongly about this kind of thing!

One of the most balanced articles on circumcision is the Wikipedia article on the topic - they have a NPOV (neutral point of view) policy which requires that they must not be biased towards one side or the other. It can be found here:

Circumcision - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My personal opinion is that circumcision for non-medical reasons is a cosmetic procedure, and I believe it is not ethically appropriate for parents to make decisions about cosmetic alterations on behalf of their children.

My professional opinion is that the risks and costs associated with routine neonatal circumcision do not outweigh the risks and costs associated with the small reduction in the risk of UTI and the very rare male penile cancer that circumcision affords.

double post, sorry

Bathsheba,
We chose not to have our son done and have never regretted that decision. And I do agree with you about increased responsibility and consequences. This is one of the reasons I have left the decision up to my son. Not that Im afraid to make big decisions on his behalf but I just feel that if its not broken why fix it .Im sorry if my comment sounds flippant, that was not my intention.I just wanted to point out that we are given the privilege of choice and as you said we then have to live with the choices we make. It is our child's birthright that we as parents be as educated as possible when making a decision such as this, and excepting future ramifications if something was to go wrong.
My son is 15 and never had a problem and I hope it stays that way.

I totally agree with your post Kitten :) Well said. BTW "consequences" don't only mean "bad things" a consequence can also be a good outcome. I VERY much agree with the "not broken, don't fix" philosophy as well. My 5yo son may develop a phimosis problen with his foreskin... but at the moment it's borderline "ok" and responding well to medication. More than happy to take a 'wait and see' approach.

We chose to circumcise my son. It was done when he was 4 weeks old using the plastibell. He cried only from the local needle then came out talking to me in the waiting room. Had no problems with it what so ever. We chose to for health reason and also because DH is. I am so glad we did it and would also do it for any future sons we may have.

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Originally Posted by kitten76 :
One of the greatest things about living in Australia is that we have CHOICES

whether you choose to circumcise or choose not to is your choice.

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It's great how we celebrate our choices as parents. Personally, I draw the line at making choices for my child that should be his choices. I give him much more scope for choice than most parents think is necessary or even right, according to conventional parenting wisdom. He is a very empowered child - I'm 'training' him to be an empowered adult. Slightly OT. However, back in line with the original topic - I'm not even going to get DS's hair cut until he can better understand that it means his hair will be GONE and that he wants it to be so, so that's my stance on cutting things off boys ;) Definitely my thinking is in line with Bath's, in that nature has seen fit to leave that foreskin there through millenia of circumcision practice. To me, if it were beneficial, it would have evolved in that time so that baby boys are born without it. Is just me adn the way I will treat penises in this house.
From a non-medical, non-ethical POV - without foreskin, boys will miss the pleasure of pulling it back if it's not there! DP likes this feeling (enhances pleasure) and I know DS likes it when he's playing with his bits and zoning out (then again, I'm not of the inclination to shame him from self-exploration, either).
Interesting thread, and interesting to read the reasons for doing it. Not that these reasons change my own thinking on it :)

I won't comment on the aurguments for and against.

I will tell you that we got our DS circumcised. It was done by the traditional method at one month, by a pediatric surgeon who performs this operation around 8 times a week for the last 30 years. It was the best choice for us (especially considering both my husbands and my own family medical histories). alot of reseach went into our decision and we faced alot of resistance from nursing staff and midwives, who refused to help us find someone to perform the operation. we never had a problem. DS recovered quickly and there were no complications whatsoever. Just letting you know that they are not all horror stories.

And I do have horror stories about males in my hubby family having circumcisions at older ages dues to medical reasons.

All I am saying is that there is no right or wrong answer to the circumcision question, just the answer to fit your family.