Thursday, July 10th, 2008...1:34 am
#46: Circumcision
The Best Parent Ever is better than you because they know EXACTLY what’s best for their new son’s penis, and will fight tooth and nail and foreskin for their right to make sure you do the same thing as them.
There are three topics that will start a barfight-style brawl in any Mommy & Me — breastfeeding, vaccinations, and circumcision. But unlike the solid science and even-more-solid quasi-science that frame the first two disputes, circumcision spats take on a much more personal form. Suddenly, the Best Parent Ever is concerned about the future sexual sensitivity of their infant’s joystick, the aesthetic appeal of an uncut knob, and whether little Johnny’s johnson looks the same as his dad’s, as if they are trying to somehow avoid any ill-fated comparisons between father and son while, say, promenading buck-naked together through a Gymboree.
The strange thing is: this cock fight is driven almost exclusively by mothers. Fathers are primarily concerned with one thing regarding their son’s penis: that it be big. Enormous, in fact. Their boys should be like a 1970s porn star (but without the mustache). Nothing else matters after that. As for mothers? They suddenly know more about what’s best for the male anatomy than the average urologist, sex expert, and entire non-female species combined.
So take that, trouser snake! Your headgear is no longer determined by cultural, religious, or even medical customs, but rather The Best Parent Ever. And that means this decision is not for members only. It’s for the whole world to hear about, just so they too can realize how much the Best Parent Ever is better than you.
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46 Comments
July 10th, 2008 at 2:17 am
So is the best parent ever for or against circumcision? I need to know, I have a boy on the way. =P
July 10th, 2008 at 3:12 am
Circumcise!!!! It’s crucial, cleaner, and females don’t say no to circumcised penises…well they might say no but don’t get turned off.
The pros outweigh the cons.
Best PARENT EVER must circumcise their child or they automatically fail and become a statistic.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:25 am
We do it for religious reasons.
July 10th, 2008 at 5:27 am
The Best Parent Ever would NEVER snip their precious baby boy! In fact, they don’t even call it circumcision - they call it mutilation. So what if it’s something that God asked of His people - the Best Parent Ever knows how to do a better job of raising their children than the Allmighty.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
ouch.
I have two boys who didn’t go under the knife. If I had to do it again I would rethink and maybe get some actual medical advice…or I suppose I could ask one of the BPEs littering my world, they would be SURE to have an opinion!
July 10th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Not sure what the BPE does but the MWME’s son is cut. Sorry boy….i made the choice for you…..i’m sure as many a BPE have told me….you will hate me for it later when you see your cousin (who is 2) is uncut….you know since 2 year olds and 5 year olds compaire weiners.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
You forgot to mention that the BPE’S will also start to compare it to female circumcision and say only those that love their boys will keep them intact.
When I had my ds, I don’t have one so I left the decision up to his dad. Dad said do it, so we did. The end.
July 10th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
For those that do decide to circumcise, just monitor your son’s penis (sounds awful doesn’t it?) to ensure that it’s healing properly and that what’s left of the foreskin doesn’t fuse back to the tip. No one ever told me to continually retract the foreskin his first year, and now the foreskin is fused in 3 separate spots to the head of his penis. I had no idea something was wrong until his pediatrician brought it up at his 18month well baby. He’s my first child, I had no idea.
We’re not sure if surgery will be required to correct it. The ped said that this is surprisingly common and that as long as it’s not causing him constant pain, we can hold off on surgery and see what happens. The pediatrician brought up surgery, but mentioned it as a last resort.
My husband and I decided if we have another child we will not be circumcising him. I just wished I’d known before I agreed to the procedure. I just assumed that circumcision was something everyone did and never once considered there might be complications. I know that was naive of me, my fault really, because I should have researched this for myself. Someone told me that by having a bris, you cut your risk of complication down significantly, but I’ve never looked into it.
As with most things, it should be the parents who decide for themselves what they want to do. Even though I’m now anti-circumcision, I don’t think it should be made illegal like a lot of activists would love to see. The minute the government starts telling us what to do with our kids, such as mandating breastfeeding and vaccines or outlawing spanking, we can kiss our freedoms goodbye.
July 10th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
badgers…i’m sorry that happened to you. IMO you should get e new ped. That is something that they should have caught before they did. they take my kids diaper off at ever well baby check to check hips and privates. i was told not to touch it period. the only time i touched it was every other day when he had his bath to clean it. thats it i never had to pull the skin back.
July 10th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Why is the BPE even thinking about what is inside my son’s diaper? MYOFB and keep your mind off my kid’s privates, k? Thanks.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
all I have to say is… boy I’m glad I’m having a girl lmao…
July 11th, 2008 at 5:39 am
I just have to say that they child in me giggled at all the slang terms for penis. Thank you! HA!
July 11th, 2008 at 7:31 am
BPsE are human. So their babies will probably be human too. If so, they will have human rights, like
- … liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- to be secure in their persons,
- against unreasonable … seizures
- not to be deprived of … property
- the equal protection of the laws
And if you think a foreskin isn’t property, just have a look at its value on the open market. It ought to be obvious whose property it is, and that’s not the BPE.
Circumcision is a human rights issue. (The rest of the English-speaking world is baffled by the US compulsion to cut parts off [boy] babies. They tried it, it didn’t do any good, so they gave it up.)
July 12th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
oh my. we have a boy on the way, and i’m afraid he’s just going to have to stay “in there” until we can decide what to do with his johnson.
July 12th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Thanks God I had a girl. But if I was having a boy, under no circumstances is circumcision an option. I can appreciate wanting your child to “fit in” but where is the limit? Suggestions that it is cleaner to circumcise is not at all supported by and medical evidence. However, there are many cases where circumcised penises get infected, causing lifelong problems.
I am so thankful that my parents didn’t think that my vagina looked ugly and decided to “take a little off the top.” Additionally, to the girl that said that the government should not regulate it — WAKE UP! Our government regulates everything including vaccinations, the age our children start school, the discipline we impose upon our children, EVERYTHING. To say that the government should not regulate a medical procedure is completely nieve.
While delivering my daughter I got pressure from the hospital staff and my child’s doctor to vaccinate, to give the vitamin K shot, and the antibiotics in her eyes. I was told that it was the law and that they had to do it. They said if I didn’t, CPS would be called. I clearly stated that I was very familiar with the law regarding these procedures and I knew my rights as a mother not to vaccinate, among other things. I took down their names and told they that I would sue them and the hospital if anything was don’t against my wishes. Trust me, I get ridiculed for this, but what should I have done, go against my best judgement, and compelling research, and “just go with the flow?”
However, I am considering binding my little girl’s feet so that they will be nice and petite when she gets older. Yes, this is dangerous and unnecessary but seriously, could you imagine if she took off her shoes and people saw that she had big feet. She would probably die of embarrassment. Instead, I will have a completely unnecessary, and dangerous, procedure performed on my child. I know this sounds ridiculous. Do you know how ridiculous you sound when you say you will have an unnecessary procedure performed just so that they will look the same?
Having your child circumcised does not make you the best mom ever, so why all his negativity surrounding parents who only want what is best for their child. In my opinion, the best mom ever puts their own wants aside and does not have RISKY and UNGROUNDED medical procedures performed because they are too insecure to say no to the medical establishment.
As a mother of a girl, I have bee criticized for not piercing my baby’s ears. This is also a ridiculous action taken on the part of the parents to decide something for their child that has no medical or psychological benefit to the child. If I ever have a boy, I will let him decide, “To cut, or not to cut.” I know several uncut men, including my 3 brothers, and not a single one of them would choose this. So, why would I choose to disfigure my child to be part of the “in” crowd? And any girl who is too immature to look past a little foreskin (from the post that says girls won’t want to sleep with someone uncut) is too immature to be having sex in the first place. I hope my future son never brings home a childish girl that can’t see past a little skin. The same argument can be made to justify getting a 15 year old a boob job. Ask the dads how interested they are in getting their daughter laid. I am pretty sure that all of them will say, “Not at all.” So why is there this double standard among boys?
Instead, I will continue to teach my children that they are perfect, just the way God made them and that real beauty is not measured in foreskin or bra size but rather what lies within. I mean, who am I to think I know more than Nature? Have humans not been thriving for thousands of years without this procedure? So why is it so crucial now?
July 14th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Maybe the eloquent arguments from a person who cannot spell “naive” would hold some sway, if said person did not throw vaccinations in with circumcisions. (Jews, by the way, have been circumcising for thousands of years as a reminder of a holy covenant with God. I can’t imagine a government that disallowed such a sacred tradition to be continued.) Now, I hope, morgan, you thank every responsible mother who vaccinates her children. If more people took your looney position your daughter would stand a good chance of contracting horrible diseases. As it stands, responsible parents across the country have made these diseases extremely rare. So rare, in fact, that people like you, who lack the imagination to reflect on a time when children routinely died before adulthood, can feel like the Best Parent Ever because you spared your darling the tiny risk associated with vaccines. These risks are nothing compared to the devastion highly communicable diseases can bring to communities where vaccinations are unavailable. Way to go!
July 14th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Yeah, right. I’m afraid your medical model is a little off scale-especially for an infant.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:28 am
And right on cue, there chimes in Morgan - the living example of the BestParentEver. OF COURSE she knows what’s best for my son’s penis and if I make a different choice than her, I’m a horrible abuser. There’s no value to going point to point with her rant - at the end of the day she knows best because shes a BestParentEver! She’s just too enlightened for the rest of us Neanderthals.
July 16th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
What is most important is to do your research before you make a decision, either way. Don’t just make a decision because “it’s what everyone does” or “my sister did it” or whatever. MAKING INFORMED, EDUCATED CHOICES is what makes us the BPE. If the benefits outweigh the risks, by all means do what you feel is right. But if you would only be doing it to please someone else or because it’s what you think is “normal” even though the risk outweighs the benefits, I think you should recheck your priorites.
PS: My son was left intact because my research to make an informed, educated decision did not lead me to feel that circ’ing him would be the right thing to do.
July 17th, 2008 at 4:27 am
My son’s circ on the 8th day was done by a Rabbi, in like 2 seconds, practically no blood and no stress on the baby. Healing took 5 days with just vaseline on it. Now he is 2 yo and it’s perfectly growing.
Everyone in my community circ their boys and i’ve never heard horror stories.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
morgan- While delivering my daughter I got pressure from the hospital staff and my child’s doctor to vaccinate, to give the vitamin K shot, and the antibiotics in her eyes. I was told that it was the law and that they had to do it. They said if I didn’t, CPS would be called. I clearly stated that I was very familiar with the law regarding these procedures and I knew my rights as a mother not to vaccinate, among other things. I took down their names and told they that I would sue them and the hospital if anything was don’t against my wishes. Trust me, I get ridiculed for this, but what should I have done, go against my best judgement, and compelling research, and “just go with the flow?”
This is why no one likes moms like you. Your “BEST RESEARCH” is nothing compared to the research of countless amounts of MD’s and specialists. Your “BEST JUDGEMENT” is not a doctorate in medicine.
To not give your child the Vit K shot and erythromycin ointment or silver nitrate drops to the eyes is the most retarded thing ever. Do you think they do this for fun? Are vaccinations given for fun? You are a f*ckin IDIOT. People like you are the reason diseases don’t get eradicated. Do you even know why they give the Vit K shot? If you did then you probably would have went through with it. The benefits outweigh the risks. If they didnt it wouldnt be a requirement.. Don’t immunize your child against anything..lets see how your “BEST JUDGEMENT” works out then.
Too bad your child would have to suffer the consequences of an ignorant mother. anyways.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:38 am
Anythingblack - the immunization she is probably referring to is the Hep B vaccine. This is routinely given at birth because if a mother is infected with hepatitis, then there is a probability that she will pass that infection on to her child. I declined the shot, since I knew I did not have hepatitis. I saw no need to assault my newborn’s immature immune system with a vaccine that could wait until he’s a little older.
Anyway, my point is that just because something is mandated, does not mean that it wasn’t motivated by a dollar sign rather than the best interests of our children. I think the Hep B vaccine exemplifies that perfectly. There is no need to give it to every child, assuming every mother is infected with hepatitis. Other countries haven’t mandated it either, for what it’s worth.
Which bring me to the eye drops. The eye drops, which used to be silver nitrate and are now erythromycin are given to all newborns under the assumption that the mother had gonorrhea. A baby born to an infected mother risks going blind if they don’t receive immediate treatment. I also declined these drops since I don’t have gonorrhea either.
As for the vitamin K shot, there is compelling research on both sides. From what I understand, there was some concern that the injected version of vit K was linked to leukemia, but I believe that may have been debunked now.
If you do a little research, you’ll find all sorts of pills and procedures that medical professionals would swear by, only to later find out they were dead wrong. Doctors are wonderful and are here to help us, but they’re not God. It’s up to us as parents to research what’s best for our children and to never blindly follow doctors, because sometimes they’re wrong.
Several decades ago, they were telling women their breastmilk was not good enough and not to breastfeed. We now know that’s not true. If a pregnant woman was having issues with anxiety, once upon a time doctors recommended that she smoke a cigarette and drink a glass of wine. As for medications that are pushed through that were later found out to be incredibly harmful, look up vioxx.
Anyway, you sounded a little harsh back there. But just because a parent isn’t a doctor, doesn’t mean that they are incapable of reading, researching, and drawing conclusions. We all want what’s best for our children, and your best bet is to do a little reading on some of these subjects before you call another mom ignorant and tell her her children will suffer for it. You realize in doing that, you become the BPE that you’re berating her for being?
July 18th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Morgan - dude, that so did not help your cause, woman. But you did help prove the blogger’s point very nicely. May I suggest toning down the attitude?
Had to comment on this one though:
“To not give your child the Vit K shot and erythromycin ointment or silver nitrate drops to the eyes is the most retarded thing ever. Do you think they do this for fun? Are vaccinations given for fun? You are a f*ckin IDIOT.”
I don’t think they use silver nitrate anymore, and good thing. It is really bad for one’s eyesight. Now they use whatever ointment they use for pinkeye, at least in Ontario. The reason? Just in case Mom has an STD that could get pus or germs into baby’s eyes and harm his eyesight. Which makes it rather unnecessary for women like me who have no STDs and no chances of having one due to my sexual choices (only been with 1 man who’s only been with me). I really resent the assumption that I am a slut and I have a disease. I am not, and I haven’t got one. But since it isn’t silver nitrate I won’t bother to fuss about the drops. They’re harmless.
As for vitamin K, that is not necessary if the woman is breastfeeding. Before your milk comes in your body produces something called colostrum. It is this yellowy fluid that, coincidentally, is loaded with vitamin K. If your baby is drinking the colostrum, he does not need the vit K shot at all. And most babies don’t need that much vit K anyways….the clotting disorder it is given to prevent is very rare. And excess vitamin K is suspected to cause jaundice. Ever notice how many newborns have jaundice? Hmmm. I don’t like the vit K shots much either. My kids don’t need it because, thankfully, I am able to breastfeed them.
Vaccines….did you know that many of them have heavy metals in them like aluminum? Not to mention the formaldehyde preservatives, MSG, and a host of other toxic ingredients. What is the effect on a developing brain when you inject a bunch of heavy metals and toxins directly into the bloodstream? Those who don’t vax generally have good reasons to do so. There is alot of compelling research to support the decision. I know kids who aren’t vaccinated. One family has 12 kids and there is no noticeable difference between their health and the health of fully vaxed kids….except that not even one of them has food allergies or any kind of ADD or autism disorder. Another family with 13 kids who never vaxed is the healthiest family I have ever met. They are *never* sick. Consider, since childhood vaccines have increased from a handful of shots, as at the beginning, to nearly 40, the rates of things like food allergies and autism spectrum disorders has skyrocketed. Coincidence?
Morgan is not entirely full of crap. Obviously she has done some research on these things. My only issue is the attitude in which they were put forth.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
I know the reasons why these eyedrops/ointments are given you don’t need to tell me - trust me.
I agree with you FRS on the HEP B.
And like I said BEFORE @ Valerie.
The benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks.
July 20th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I hate it when people point to the rise in vaccines and the rise in autism and form a link. I could point to the rise in people owning cats and the rise in gas prices and say that cats are the cause of high gas prices.
The reason the number of autism diagnoses has skyrocketed is because the autism spectrum has been widened. People who would have previously been classified as behavior problems or just plain “weird” kids are know being diagnosed with different forms of autism.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Autism is the hip new disorder. It absolves parents. “I’m not a bad parent, my child has autism!” It’s the ADD of today. So, jump on board and get your kid diagnosed today! (And please don’t worry about obscuring the issue for all the parents of children with true autism. They’ll manage.)
July 21st, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Ah, yes, Valerie, thank you for the anecdotal evidence. Always a real winner in debates. You know, I know a 95 year old man who smokes two packs of filterless cigarettes a day and drinks a fifth of bourbon every Friday night. He swears it’s his secret to longevity. Screw the mountains of medical research and light up, folks!
(HepB is not just a sexually transmitted disease. It is very possible to live a clean lifestyle and become infected.)
July 21st, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Here are some facts from the CDC about Hep B :
*Occurs when blood from an infected person enters the body of a person who is not infected.
* HBV is spread through having sex with an infected person without using a condom (the efficacy of latex condoms in preventing infection with HBV is unknown, but their proper use might reduce transmission), by sharing drugs, needles, or “works” when injecting drugs, through needlesticks or sharps exposures on the job, or from an infected mother to her baby during birth.
Here are the risk groups :
* Persons with multiple sex partners or diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease
* Men who have sex with men
* Sex contacts of infected persons
* Injection-drug users
* Household contacts of chronically infected persons
* Infants born to infected mothers
* Infants/children of immigrants from areas with high rates of HBV infection (country listing)
* Health-care and public safety workers with exposure to blood
(View current post-exposure prophylaxis recommendations)
* Hemodialysis patients
This is from emedicinehelp.com
The hepatitis B virus is known as a blood-borne virus because it is transmitted from one person to another via blood.
* Semen and saliva, which contain small amounts of blood, also carry the virus.
* The virus can be transmitted whenever any of these bodily fluids come in contact with the broken skin or a mucous membrane (in the mouth, genital organs, or rectum) of an uninfected person.
You cannot get hepatitis B from the following activities:
* Being sneezed or coughed on
* Hugging
* Handshaking
* Breastfeeding
* Eating food or drinking water
* Casual contact (such as an office or social setting)
Since my newborn did not fall into any of these risk categories, I felt pretty confident about declining the shot at birth. I’ve yet to see compelling evidence that all newborns need this shot immediately, unless of course a parent is infected.
Looking at how it’s spread, it just doesn’t seem plausible that HBV is contracted as easily as you suggest. If it was, I’m sure many, many more people would be infected. In my 30 years on this earth, I’ve never been infected nor known anyone who has. Sorry for that last anecdotal tidbit. lol
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:42 am
If, like many people do, you live in an area where hep is prevalent, you can get it from an infected person in a restaraunt. For example, a chef with hepB can contaminate dozens of plates of food from a small abrasion he is unaware of. Take your chances that your not infected and you’ll probably come out ahead. However, with this being one of the most explosive diseases in the US, why not do your part to stop the spread of it?
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:14 am
Because shes supermom el vigilante.
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:17 pm
when did this go from circ to vax??? Maybe you guys should join the forum to debate it!! You could get something free…..free t-shirt to the person who posts the most in the forum by the end of the week!
July 31st, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I’m also scratching my head at how this turned from circumcision to vaccination.
It’s always perplexing when people try to connect the two. Vaccinations are actually recommended by medical associations, they actually prevent diesease, and they are an important part of public health in any nation that can afford them. Circumcision is not recommended by any medical association, is not proven to affect anybody’s health, and is not practiced in any other country outside of the US except among Jews and Muslims. Adults walk in to doctor’s offices every day of their own volition to get vaccines; few adults voluntarily walk in for genital reduction surgery. Vaccinations are a medical issue; elective circumcision of infants and children is a social and cultural issue. Why try to force a link between the two?
August 1st, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I think it’s sad you can poke fun at genital mutilation. My Labia sure has alot of folds, maybe I should cut most of it off to keep it cleaner. It’s the same argument.
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:38 am
supposedly circumcision reduces the probability of contracting HIV. just in case your baby boy turns into a playboy
August 4th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Well, as far as to ‘cut or not’, I’m opting to circumsize my son-to-be (in about 8 weeks or so) due to the fact of what happened to one of our family friend’s sons: he was doing okay until he was around four or so, and he got an infection on his uncut penis. He couldn’t pee well, and he was in such pain. He was the first son (he was the second boy, and the baby) she decided to try uncut on.
He wound up getting in circumsicion, at an age where it’s hard to keep up with a toddler/preschooler that likes to run around, and can definitely be in pain and will cry and be in discomfort constantly for being so. At least as a newborn, they won’t remember it, for by the time they get to preschool, it’s just normal down there.
Not to mention for those uncut, if you don’t teach your sons early on how to properly clean themselves, then they will grow up thinking that their penis is just fine, and/or worse yet, try to have sex with a rancid-smelling one, the ultimate turn-off for women (hate to admit it, but I had this unfortunate experience with a guy in college–he had the GALL to ask for a BJ!! Gross!!!).
August 14th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Did you ever consider that the reason those families you know are healthy is that *other* people vaccinate *their* kids, thereby drastically reducing the number of germs out there to infect the vax-free kids with diseases like measles, rubella, chicken pox, tuberculosis, etc.? Of course those kids are healthy - they don’t develop those diseases in a vaccuum. They have to be infected by someone else and, thankfully for them, their friends’ and classmates’ parents have shouldered the responsibility for bolstering the “herd immunity” and keeping the incidences of such diseases quite low.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Since when is chickenpox a deadly, scary disease that we need to vaccinate against it en masse? I would much rather my kid get chickenpox, as inconvenient as that is, and gain lifelong immunity from that than get the vaccine, whose benefits are only temporary and will wear off before my child becomes a teenager. Unless he gets boosters for the remainder of his life, and really, how many of us are up to date on our boosters? The vaccine itself is not without risk, albeit a low one.
It just amazes me that parents who chose not to accept EVERY vaccine are deemed irresponsible. Germs are a part of life, as is getting sick. There is no way we could ever keep our kids from getting sick completely no matter how many vaccines are created. Our country is continually coming out with new vaccines against more and more diseases; is it any wonder that some of them, like the flu, keep mutating and changing in spite of all these vaccine mandates? We cannot trump nature nor can we control it completely. I’m not saying that no one should ever get vaccinated, but I am saying that not all of them are necessary and not everything we vaccinate for is deadly.
I understand there are some diseases that truly are deadly and parents have the option to vaccinate against those if they so chose. And they should explore those options and be 100% sure of their decision either way. But I really wish some parents would educate themselves a little bit before opening their big mouths and getting all self righteous when it’s clearly evident they have no idea what they’re talking about. And last I checked, we do not have a vaccine for tuberculosis approved in this country.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Circumcision is definitely becoming an increasingly hotter debate. When I was growing up, I didn’t know anyone who wasn’t circumcised. Now, apparently the rates are getting closer to 50/50. We circumcised both our sons, mainly because my husband wanted it done. I can understand why some parents choose not to, but I also think if it will give them a potential health benefit, why not? Less traumatic at 2 days old then 13 or 14 years old, I think. There is also a great debate about this at http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-boys-be-circumcised. Experts from both sides debate the relevant points…an interesting read!
September 10th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I think the best thing anyone could ever do when facing the decision to circumsize is to get educated about it. I talked to men who had not been circumcized and asked them (none of them had any problems) and I also looked up the actual surgery and anatomy of a male penis. I thought the skin was already detatched from the penis and it’s just snipped off. Come to find out, they use a scapple and take the skin off the penis. Very painful. There are also a lot of nerves up in there and the skin protects the head in so many ways. My husband is circumcized and we decided not to have our boy after finding out this. Also, USA performs more of these operations than any other country. Circumcisions began in the Victorian ages so boys would not masturbate (didn’t stop them). Don’t do this operation to your baby because of pressure from other people. Please look up all the facts.
September 13th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
After a year’s worth of paperwork to adopt our sons, the last thing I wanted to do was go through the hassle of trying to decide how to get a 6 month old and a 5 month old circumcised. So we left well enough alone, had a talk about the concept when they were old enough to ask, and so far, no one seems traumatized one way or the other. Daddy’s cut, they aren’t, nobody cares.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
On the topic of circumcision, ask a doctor what the medical reason for it is, and they can’t give you one. Saying that the procedure is for cleanliness is like saying, well you might get a cavity so let’s pull all your teeth out! It’s ridiculous. Teach your son to wash himself and there won’t be any problems.The foreskin has a purpose. It protects the sensitive tip of the penis, and keeps it moist. Without it the penis drys out and looses sensitivity.Also when a man gets an erection, the extra skin makes room for this growth. Without it the penis can become crooked, or an erection can become painful.There are many many medical reason not to circumsize, and zero for it, except in some special cases.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:01 pm
I usually enjoy your posts, but this (along with the Breastfeeding post) I couldn’t disagree with more.
To the above posters making light and bragging about having a “cut” son, wow. Just wow. I may not be a BPE, but I sure am educated on what is medically necessary for my child. Ask any doctor (oh, that’s right: you know better than them) what their stance is on circ is. To do it just because “everyone else is” or because daddy is-is a poor excuse. We know more now about the subject than we did back when many believed circumcision to be more healthy.
Lastly, think about your son. If it’s not for religious reasons, why put him through a traumatic experience? For looks? Please.
And it does hurt. A doctor, upon asking if we decided to have our son circ’d (and hearing our answer) replied, “GOOD! Because it does hurt!” And proceeded to tell us she hated to do the procedure.
Bash all you want, I wouldn’t subject a child to unnecessary pain for “looks”. If you think I’m trying to a “better parent” or better than you, I can’t argue.
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
All the men/boys I know who were not circ’d have had problems. Now, this isn’t very many (if only because it’s not something that normally comes up in casual conversation), but it’s odd that it should be *every single one* of them. The only thing odder is those who are actually trying to compare this to FGM when there’s a world of difference (even between forms of FGM). Yes, definitely get educated, especially before acting like you know what you’re talking about.
October 10th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
I had my opinion, but still asked my husband what HE thought about circumcising before we had our twin sons.
While he was in college, his roommates and he stupidly participated in a “Who Can Go Without A Shower The Longest” contest. There were four of them, and one of them was uncut. Guess who got an infection?
The nurse at the hospital said my doctor was very good and that she never brought a baby back after the procedure crying. I was also assured that they would use an anaesthetic.
Sure enough, both boys came back, no crying, no infections or complications, and they healed up just fine. I’m happy, their father’s happy, and they are happy. If I piss off a BPE — well then I piss off a BPE, boo-hoo.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I am glad so many people felt the need to tell me how stupid I am for the medical choices I have made for my child. Maybe if these people picked up a book every once in a while or took a REAL childbirth class they would know about all of the UNNECESSARY and RISKY procedures that hospitals use as blanket techniques to treat the entire population - when only a select few are affected. And why when every pregnant woman is routinely checked for every STD except HPV? Since I had been tested and came back negative for all STDs then why should I give my baby medicine that I know they do not need? Every medicine and procedure has risks, even tylenol. So why? Why would you take those risks unless you know that you have an STD? I appreciate that people trust their doctor and the education that doctor has acquired. However, have you personally researched the risks/benefits of these procedures and the reasons behind them? Many times the risks outweigh the benefits. For example, more babies die from the Vitamin K shot every year than actually die from cerebral hemorrhaging. The Vitamin K shot helps the blood clot. If the mother is breast feeding it is unnecessary. Why do they give a blood clotter? Because, they are afraid a spontaneous cerebral hemorrhaging. How common is this? My (previous) pediatrician could not tell me. However, she did take the time to tell me how I am a horrible mother and my baby was going to die and it would be all my fault. However, my baby is perfectly healthy. When I heard of Vitamin K when I was pregnant I did a little reading of my own and learned several things. Yes, I read that it could be linked to childhood leukemia and that scared the piss out of me. Then I read about other, long-term affects of Vitamin K injections at such an early age. It said that since the blood is thicker, it is harder for the heart to pump it through the veins thus causing more work on the heart, stressed veins and valves, and more long-term cardiovascular problems. Do I know for sure that these things would have happened to my baby? No. But I do know that there have been numerous practices of the medical establishment that were later found to be wrong. ***However, if you are circumcising, you must give your baby the Vitamin K shot or he could bleed to death. Which is why Jewish people wait until the 8th day so the baby will already have Vitamin K in their system form breast feeding***
As far as the Hep B vaccination, I don’t have Hep B so there is not need. Why risk it if there is not need? Same with the erythromycin (eye drops). And yes, there is risk with that, too, including blindness - the very thing it is intended to eliminate.
Moreover, I have not been vaccinated and neither has my child. Again, my previous pediatrician called me a bad mom. She was so insistent on vaccinations. Yet, when I asked her to sign a document that she would personally and financially guarantee that there would be no long-term risks from having the vaccine, she simply said, “Well, these vaccines are not old enough to tell if there are any long-term risks.” If she does not believe in them enough to sign a paper taking responsibility for the outcome then why was she so insistent? I asked if there are no “risks” with vaccines, then why was the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program founded? Simply, because everything has risks. Formaldehyde, heavy metals, risk of allergies to chicken… no thanks.
If there is an epidemic, I will again weigh the risks/benefits and probably decide at that point that the benefits of vaccinations outweigh the risks (the plan that my doctor and i came up with - not to mention the law in many states). In the mean time, since I work with people with disabilities and see how devastating it can be to raise a child with lifetime medical, social, emotional, and financial needs, I will opt to keep viruses out of my baby’s body by practicing Universal Precautions and not injecting her directly with a virus. Didn’t “God” or “Nature” or whatever you want to call it give us skin so that we would not get viruses into our bloodstream in the first place?
To say that I am stupid and ridiculous for researching and making an informed decision is just stupid and ridiculous. I understand that I am very “excited” about this topic, as well as the topic of circumcision. I am sorry if this comes across as pushy but I take comfort in that fact that I am a BPE (or at least I am trying to be informed enough to be) despite how hard it is or how many people call me crazy, or stupid, or a bad mom.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
You are a bad mom. Vaccines are not evil. They help- a lot. They have virtually eliminated or eliminated diseases that were once common, leading to short lives will all sorts of problems. When your kid gets polio, I’ll laugh at you but feel sorry for your kid.
The only one that isn’t such a great idea is Chicken Pox, but only because getting the disease serves the exact same function as getting the vaccine, and does it the same way. It’s basically a higher dosage vaccine.
As for the circumcision thing- It drastically reduces risk of infection later on in life. I’m circumcised and will get my kid circumcised because I don’t want their penus to get infected. Painful and unnecessary when a 10 second thing at birth can be done with ease and no pain, and at an age where they wouldn’t even remember it.
Geez, I’m afraid for the future of the planet with people like some of you guys being parents.
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