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Original poster

Circumcision

179 replies

leannac · 11/02/2013 13:20

Anyone know how you go about getting baby boy circumcised? Do the midwives offer to arrange it when he's born or is it sonething you go to gp for?

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themagus · 11/02/2013 15:41

Yes, you wouldn't want to do it on top of a shop Shock
FFS why do it at all. Are my intact baby boys unclean because they didn't have this done "for hygiene reasons"? what's wrong with a bath?
Quite why anybody would put their baby through this for non-medical reasons is beyond me unless you had compelling religious reasons - I am absolutely staggered you would do this because that's what they do in Australia (even though it is no longer routinely done there or in any other first world country for "hygiene reasons").

prism · 11/02/2013 16:15

I would not do it on a shop
I would not do it with a mop
I would not do it with a spinning top
I would not do it, definitely not

I would not do it in a home
I would not do it with a comb
I would not do it under a dome
I would not do it, definitely not

I would not do it to my son
I would not do it on the run
I would not do it to anyone
I would not do it, definitely not

And I would not do it to my daughter either
Because then it would be genital mutilation.

PandaWatch · 11/02/2013 16:28

^ one of Dr Seuss' lesser known texts... Grin

MrsHBaby3 · 11/02/2013 17:32

As abhorently wrong as it is, I am sorry to inform you that it is available on the NHS ladies, esp in communities where it is seen as OK. I work in a Muslim community and women take their poor innocent children to the GP who refers to the local hosp for it to be done. It has been decided that it's safer to have it done properly ,than at home with an unsterile butchers knife in someones kitchen, and then to work on cultural attitudes. Thankfully female mutilation is recognised as a crime, just need to work on the males..

Snusmumriken · 11/02/2013 17:50

All of the reasons you have stated are absolute nonsense. You are about to become a mother and it is your responsibility to protect your child and make sure that any medical intervention preformed on him is absolutely necessary.

scaevola · 11/02/2013 18:44

NHS page in which it states that the majority of PCTs do not fund non therapeutic circumcision.

wonkylegs · 11/02/2013 18:55

It has been mooted as possibly medically necessary for my DS and I would do anything for him not to have it so I cannot understand wanting to do it voluntarily.
Some first world countries it is common (most it isn't) but that does not make it right. The USA does lots of crazy things that I think are ridiculous and this is one of them which they still do at just over 50% of infant boys.
Stats for countries here - en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_circumcision

Strix · 11/02/2013 19:10

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet for breaking our Talk Guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

cyclecamper · 11/02/2013 20:57

I've looked after a child who had a circumcision that went wrong. Poor thing. He's never going to go in public showers or urinals in his entire life.

Teapot13 · 11/02/2013 21:31

I thought it was just the US that did this, and the rate has dropped considerably in the last generation, so it's no longer "automatic." Australia was news to me (if it's correct).

Just to be clear, it may be tolerated in the US, but it is not recommended by any professional or medical organization.

Xenia · 11/02/2013 21:40

Thankfully it is rarely done in the UK. What makes you think you have the right to decide something like that for him?

amirah85 · 12/02/2013 10:21

MrsHBaby3 where is this available with the NHS?we had to pay for it.

Strix · 12/02/2013 12:53

What talk guideline did I break? I think I'm offended by the deletion.... and no explanation!

Strix · 12/02/2013 12:57

OP, if you would like to PM me, I have something to say which I think you might find helpfule. But, I am apparently not allowed to type it here.

No idea why. I am rather puzzled by the deletion.

NaturalBaby · 12/02/2013 13:01

Please don't. It's totally unnecessary.

SamG76 · 12/02/2013 14:39

If you're in London or Manchester, I'd recommend a mohel (ie someone who does circs for Jews) who is also a doctor. Many of them will do the op on non-Jewish children, and they're obviously very experienced.

If you PM me I can provide details of the one we used.

Missingthemincepies · 12/02/2013 14:45

There are some pcts that will allow non-therapeutic circumcision. This is done for religious reasons to prevent these poor babies having bits chopped off without any form of anaesthetic. The idea that babies don't feel pain is rubbish.

These babies are given a general anaesthetic which is not without risk, and the circumcision performed. Most of the staff feel uncomfortable with it but acknowledge its better than an unqualified idiot with a knife and no hint of pain control.

I can just about understand it for religious reasons, people do very odd things in the name of religion. But for hygiene? That's just utter nonsense. Please speak to a doctor or do some PROPER research. You are planning to injure your baby irrevocably on a whim. I really hope this is just ignorance that reading this thread will cure.

Your poor little boy.

seeker · 12/02/2013 14:45

How anyone can possibly condone this I can have no idea. It is utterly disgusting, and the parents who do it should be convicted of causing actual bodily harm to their babies.

BabyRoger · 12/02/2013 15:29

Just awful. Sad

babynelly2010 · 12/02/2013 15:31

She did not ask an opinion about what someone thinks about circumcision but asked how to go about getting a baby boy circumcised. I think the posts should be just about that not about how it is wrong to "chop off" your baby boy's bits and so on. Circumcision is legal in UK isn't it?...

You might find this link useful www.theportlandhospital.com/uploads/children/circumcision-faqs-mrs-pati.pdf
There are also clinics around england that can perform the procedure and it is cheaper however I would firstly look into the private hospitals with a specialist, your GP can advice you on this too.

seeker · 12/02/2013 15:33

If somebody wants to do something wicked you don't just say "try ringing this person". You tell them the thing they want to do is wicked, in the hope that they will think again.

JassyRadlett · 12/02/2013 15:45

It's absolutely not 'almost automatic' in Australia and never really has been. Neither of my brothers (early 30s/late 20s are circumcised) and we come from one of the states with the highest current rates of infant circumcision (depressingly enough). And it's not for 'hygiene' reasons.

It's voluntary surgery performed on a newborn child. Just so your son will look like his dad?

amirah85 · 12/02/2013 15:52

Also most people won't do it without pain relief,and usually is just a local anhestetic

CarlingBlackMabel · 12/02/2013 16:20

OP, I don't know how long ago your DH left Aus, but you might find that his views and experience of circumcision there are a generation out of date. I don't think it is the default choice there now by any means, and as you will have gathered, unless you are muslim or jewish, or your child has a medical imperative, it is no longer common here in the UK.

Personally I would want to be very sure of my reasons in anticpation of my son, finding that unlike his mates he has no foreskin, asking me why he was given a medically unecessary procedure with no apparant benefit, and why he had the decision made for him.

Rhianna1980 · 13/02/2013 00:20

Get in touch with one of the NHS hospitals with private wards or Portland . They will definitely point you in the right direction . Best wishes .