I know some of these practices are done for religious purposes, but I am not a Muslin nor Jewish. I am a Christian-Catholic and I will do what is best for my child as a Christian-Catholic.
There are TEN BAD REASONS TO CIRCUMCISED YOUR SON:
(taken from http://www.associatedcontent.com)
It Looks Bigger
One thing that some people believe about circumcision is that a circumcised penis will look bigger. Risking a 2-10% chance of medical complications so your son can have the illusion that he has a larger penis is just not justifiable. When your son is older and if he feels that he would like to create this illusion, which isn't necessarily true, he can make that decision. There is no need, if there is ever a need, to have a larger looking penis when you are a child, or for that matter an infant.
It is More Aesthetically Pleasing
This is a personal opinion. Truth is, it is likely that when people are actually going to be examining your son's penis with the intent to view it as potentially being pleasing to the eye it will be erect. Therefore if you are worried about loose skin, which isn't the case anyway, hanging from the tip of the penis when it is not erect don't worry the only people who will see that is yourself, when your son is an infant and child, and your son. If it truly bothers your son he can make the decision when he is older to circumcise himself.
It is Less Sensitive and Therefore the Sex Life of Your Son's Future Partner will be More Enjoyable
There is no reason to make decisions when your son is an infant that will affect the sex life of his partner. Every individual is going to be different in bed and some men intact and circumcised may climax earlier then others. With this kind of thinking you are ultimately saying that you are circumcising your son so he will not enjoy sex to the fullest potential.
It Will Be Easier to Clean
A circumcised penis is exposed to everything that it comes in contact with. If you have ever changed a diaper, one that is full of poop, you will know that poop does not stay in the rear section of the diaper, it gets over everything. While a circumcised penis is healing it is constantly being exposed to urine and feces. When an intact infant boy poops in his diaper you still have to make sure that you wipe off all of the poop on his penis but you can do it a lot easier. Your son's penis will not be sore because he did not have minor surgery on it. Once your son is older he can retract his foreskin, something that happens naturally and should be done the first time by the owner of the penis, all he needs to do is pull back his foreskin and rinse that area. Something that is going to take less then a minute.
It Will Look Like the Other Boys in the Locker Room
As a woman I will be honest in saying that in the locker room I don't remember that there were ever any comparisons of reproductive organs and from all of the men that I have asked about the matter, both circumcised and intact, said that they never saw or experienced a conversation like that either.
It Will Look Like His Father's
Not really. Infant penises are hairless and that will be the biggest difference that your son will notice if he sees his father's penis, and of course the size.
My Brothers Were Circumcised
Nothing against your parents, they were doing what they were educated to do, however in this generation a lot more medical evidence has proven that times have changed and circumcising isn't medically necessary.
Your Son Will Develop a Complex for Being Different
Once again as a woman I can vouch for myself not having these feelings but I can say the all of the intact men that I know and have asked about this matter say that they do not at all fill insecure about their intact penis.
I Believe That it is Medically Healthy
It is hard to know exactly what is medically correct, between friends and family you may get told a little of why you should circumcise and why you shouldn't. That is why is is always a good idea to do research when making a medical decision. I guarantee that you will find that a circumcised penis is not medically healthier than an intact penis.
The Doctor Said To
As much as I would love to say that we can trust all doctors and what ever a doctor says is going to be the right thing, I can't. My doctor told me that he didn't like his patients to go past 38 weeks in pregnancy, but it didn't mean that inducing at 38 weeks is medically the right thing to do. Remember, research is the only way that you can know for sure what is the right thing to do about anything.
When your son grows up he most likely will not have a reason to get circumcised, but if he wants to make that decision it is best that he is the one making it as an adult and not his parents while he is an infant and without his consent!
9 proofreaders making corrections!!!:
Hey Enith, let me be the first stranger to congratulate you on this. You've done a great service to your son, he will really appreciate your efforts. While I am certain you've already researched this I wanted to leave these links about care because I've frequently heard that doctors and hospitals provide incorrect advice, ie retract and clean, the right thing to do is essentially nothing, just wipe like a finger. Anyway the links are below if you want them. Una vez que otra vez felicitaciones. :) Did I get it right? Good luck
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/4pam.pdf
http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/aap/
Thank you very much for this! I frequent mothering.com discussion boards and also read how many doctors retract the baby's part, therefore, an infection occurs... go figure!!! I am glad you posted these links also for others to follow... Bendiciones and yes you got it right :)
Oh ok, I've posted in the CAC forum to. Now I am sure you know all you need to know. :)
Thank you very much Joe. I have posted a link from nocirc.org to the Spanish pamphlet on this blog, the Hispanic community MUST know and be educated about this issue and I just wish there would be more information about it in Spanish. It really bothers me that doctors in the third world country encourage this procedure without looking any further or getting the latest education possible about this matter. It really infuriates me! The fact that The American Academy of Pediatrics are now opposed to this procedure it really means something big and I am glad I live in the beautiful Free America :) Muchos besos y mil gracias por tus comentarios...
Enith,
Congratulations on a job well done. Your son is fortunate to have two wise parents.
Let's hope your efforts will impact other parents in making the right decision.
Hey Enith!
Good job on your decision and research. I have to tell you that I circumcised my eldest son because my husband wanted our son to look like him. I acquiesed and had the procedure done.
It was awful! I was not allowed to be in the room and I could hear my new little son screaming from down the hall.
Up to that point in life he had hardly fussed, only when he wanted to nurse, then he would be content.
Well I took him home after the circ. was done and began to take care of it like they said. I was not prepared for what I saw when I removed the bandages. It was soo gross, I just cried. His poor little body was mutilated and all pussy and oozing.
I couldn't bear to put a diaper on him and I just let him pee all over practically.
He cried and cried unconsolably.
I remember I was pacing with him one day, as he cried and cried and I was crying too. An older lady from church stopped by and found me like this. I explained to her why I was upset.
She dismissed his pain and said that I was just expereincing post-partum blues!! I couldn't believe she actually thought that he wasn't capable of feeling pain!
Even my husband regretted it and he didn't demand that the rest of our boys be circed. My second son, that is not circed is 11 now and we have never had any problems.
After my son was circumcised I found out that my own brother and father (both of whom had passed away by then) were intact. I wish my mom had told me this sooner, it may have helped me to realize that leaving our boys natural is ok.
I am glad that you are doing something to try to reach out to the Spanish speaking community.
When we lived in LA I was so frustrated because I don't speak Spanish. There were many women that I wanted to talk to about breastfeeding and natural childbirth.
Anyway, thanks for your sharing your thoughts on circumcision. I think I am going to copy and paste this and turn it into my own blog post!! (Get two birds with one stone!)
You've made the right decision, the one that respects the rights of your son! Thank you so much for posting about it, so that others can benefit from what you've learned and see that they have good company when they do the same.
I really appreciate your support.. I do wish we can make a difference, the more I read and learn about Circ. the more I am against it... I have learned how to appreciate my son's rights and he isn't even born yet... Thank you!
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