Circumcision

[softmusk]

i am 37 weeks pg not sure if having boy or girl but if we have a boy dh wants him to have a circumcision i not sure. what age is best to be done and how do i go about having it done

Oooh are there still Mayans left? I thought they'd all died out...

Behave, bubb, or I'll do something wicked with your bauble, LOL.

I don't give a feck as long as it functions!

MP, LMAO at Wheelie Bin

Yes, there are still Mayans. My late grandmother was one.

And they don't circumcise their sons.

I heard that the Aztecs liked a cup of hot chocolate after theirs.

I'm I the only one who went to that link but just could not scroll down fearing of what awful images I might see?

I wonder what the Incas did???

Yeah, but their hot choclate was bitter, not sweet. I'll never forget the first time I bit into a bar of Mexican chocolate. YUK!

This "makes it look nicer thing" is frankly really wierd. Firstly why should anyone be thinking about what a baby's willy looks like? That seems a bit worrying to me! Secondly who on earth thinks that penises look nice full stop? Am I the only one who thinks that it's a pretty unattractive thing, and in general not something to be admired - I mean women's porn sites don't usually feature rows of penises do they? Of course my dh has a rather long foreskin, so maybe I have been deprived, but really! Given how many people hate having their babies vaccinated because they cry, how could anyone go through with this if not for a very good reason (for me that would only be medical, but then I am an aetheist).

Any other indigenous people you care to mention?

Chilli con carne with cocoa powder added is really nice. I think 'mole' is a savoury dish with chocolate isn't it.

Then again, I digress......

'Looks nicer'. Huh?

Cosmetic surgery for babies. What'll they think of next?

I think that I should clarify that it is not my opinion that it "looks nicer" and that neither of our sons are circumcised. I was merely trying to point out that there were no spiritual or medical reasons that circumcision became the norm in North America.

I still live in Canada and more than 1/2 of our friends have had their sons circumcised purely for esthetic reasons or so that they look like their fathers. Our DS2 (now 31/2) did comment that his friend's penis looks like his daddy's so I suppose that they do notice from a very young age but this was still not reason enough for me to consider an operation to make my boys look like their father.

Furball: I only looked at the video and the pictures on this link because the Plastibell was suggested by the second poster and having never heard of it, I thought that it might be more humane and less painful.

Local anaesthetic injections are painful. Some surgeons use a cream to numb the area before the injections. The difference between the Plastibell method and a ritual circumcision (no anaesthetic, one cut) is that the surgeon can work slowly and carefully as the area is anaesthetised and the area can be cleaned and dressed properly afterwards.

Circumcision is a contentious issue. I was responding to softmusk's request for information.

Hi Cadmum, wasn't suggesting that it was your personal opinion. Just that it is a very strange concept to me! I thought Americans did it for hygene reasons (being a very hygene concious lot, in my experience).

In the plastiball link below it says local aneasthetics are NOT used because they make the area swell which causes more bleeding and other problems.

actually the reason circumcision becaome so popular in North America in teh 19th and 20th C was to discourage masturbation IIRC, as well as (dubious) hygiene reasons

"Lots of men, and their partners, prefer the appearance of their penis after circumcision, It is odour-free, it feels cleaner, and they enjoy better sex. Awareness of a good body image is a very important factor in building self confidence."

"You may feel you could help your son avoid some of these problems once and for all by having him circumcised early in life (the best time in the healthy baby is 7-10 days old). Not only is it a simpler procedure, needing no stitches, but he will not remember the event. He will also grow up never knowing anything different. Boys circumcised later in life may find it a more embarrassing experience. For a while afterwards they will feel the sensitivity of the permanently exposed glans, but will gradually adapt to it. Thus, circumcision in babyhood can be a very sensible decision - especially for a single mum with a boy and no man around the house."

These are actual quotes from a Doctor. I found this here.

Our friends do not list hygiene or infection prevention as reasons for their choices. They talk about aesthetics and having their babies look like their fathers. As I said more than half of our friends have opted for this procedure despite having to pay for it.

Although I don't believe in circumcision myself I don't wish to condemn others for their choice. That said, I myself can't understand the looking like dad argument - I am pretty damn sure dd and I don't match in the lower regions and I don't intend to cut off any of her extra bits to "pretty" her up. The infection argument also gets to me a bit. How many women suffer from uti's and thrush etc in their life time? Should girls be circumcised too?? And last but not least - I don't give a fig if the baby boy won't remember it, I challenge any bloke out there to go and have his vasectomy done without anaesthetic as I am sure they won't remember it next year either!!!! As I have said, I don't judge people who have it done as it is their choice, but some of the nonsense reasons for doing it really annoy me. Just to add, I sat outside the dr's room of a young baby being done and the crying/screaming was horrific and went for more than a few minutes. This dr also made the mums stay in the room while it was being done as why should they miss out on all of the fun.

Here is a discussion board about women who regret circumsising their sons and Here is a site as to why the foreskin is necessary

mymama I agree, the "looks like daddy" argument is plain weird to me.

Oooh my daughter doesn't look like me because I've had two children, perhaps she needs a load of perineal and anal scars so we 'look the same'. Nice.

Anyone given a reason yet as to why they can't use anaesthetic for religious circumcisions????

The last thread about this ended up with a lot of misunderstanding. Let me try to clarify. I think the people on here condeming it are purely condeming (and correct me if I'm wrong):

UNECESSARY NON-MEDICAL CIRCUMCISIONS PERFORMED WITHOUT ANAESTHETIC!!

So I really don't think that those who have had to have their son circumcised... in a hospital.... under medical conditions..... should allow this thread to hurt or offend. Its really not about that IMO. Its carried out for medical reasons all the time.... just as you would allow your dd/ds to have their tonsils out if necessary.

I used to date a German bloke who was circumcised for medical reasons at the age of 8. He had a visibly scar on his penis! But.... if anything I found that his penis was more sensitive! I had to treat it like porcelain LOL!

Blu. I speak from experience and our surgeon used local anaesthetic in all 3 circumcisions, if local anaesthetic is properly injected in the correct area there is no reason why it should cause swelling and extra bleeding. The surgeon we used is an NHS guy who has been doing private circumcisions for years.

Sackache: YES - the link Cadmum posted below about the plastiball procedure says that local aneasthetic is not used as it increses swelling and therefore bleeding in the area. (although Twiglett has experience of anwasthetic being used)

Plus, there is a body of eye-witneses that say that religious circumcision causes v little discernible distress to the baby - as well as a considerable number of eye witnesses who describe obvious distress.

I would guess that if circumcision is part of your deepest cultural and religious identity, and it is unthinkable that your child would not be circumcised, you just kind of take the rough woth the smooth - a bit like childbirth. I am NOT an advocate for circumcision, but I cna see the strength of the sense of 'belonging' that people who do it for religious reasons do. I think it is very hard to comment on it done for those reasons if you don't actually have that feeling. In truth, a relationship with an ex partner finished because when we spoke about children, I knew I would not consent to a non-medical circumcision for MY child, whereas for him, it was a lynch pin of his identity within a jewish family. (he wasn't religious, but the cultural affiliation and family expectation was strong)/ I could see what he meant, for HIM and a son of his - he said a point of connection would be lost. I did respect that, and I had no sense of 'judgement' about it because I knew I just didn't have the experience that gave him that perspective, but knew that I would seek an injunction rather than allow a child of mine to be cicumcised at birth. So we couldn't continue.