Where to arrange a circumcision

[dawnharvey68]

If we have a boy, we plan on having him circumcised. But it's proving exceedingly difficult finding someone to do it where we live.
My husband was born in the USA where pretty much all boys are circumcised routinely before they leave the hospital and it seems strange here that it is so difficult to arrange such a simple thing.
I'd be interested to hear if others found it as difficult.
It seems quite a common problem in the UK, finding someone who will perform a newborn circumcision, so I a support group for those trying to sort it out:
health.groups.yahoo.com/group/babycircuk/
All I have been able to find so far is that if you are in the south of England/London area, you are particularly well served:
Luton: www.circumcision-agency.com/
London: www.circumcisions.co.uk/
London: www.theportlandhospital.com/
London: www.samedaydoctor.co.uk/links.aspx
Reading: www.circumcision-uk.com/
UK Mohels: www.lubavitchuk.com/services/religious/mohellist.shtml
www.mohel-circumcision.co.uk/
www.londoncircumcision.co.uk/
plus probably others that would appear on a search.
Does anyone know of anyone else that will perform them?

that dubious HIV reduction and circumsisionlink

DS turned 2 in November. I am more concerned about what happened with DH happening with him - DH said it was the most horrific thing ever and apparently as it was the girls first time too she had to have counselling to get over it - they didn't know if it was normal but for the excrutiating pain I think they would have just carried on

I wouldn't rush in to anything at that age. You won't be able to tell for a good while yet. It dosen't always follow that he will be the same as his dad.

You really can't tell anything until the foreskin begins to loosen naturally, which wouldn't happen at that age, I don't think.

deb, good for you.
Apparently it makes men less sensitive and they say they can carry on having sex for longer - whether you see that as a plus or a minus probably depends how many times your babies wake in the night and your level of exhaustion. I haven't met anyone circumcised who objects to it though so I wouldnt' worry too much about it.

Twinkie, my dh was of the generation when almost every boy was circumcised because the foreskin looked to tight at a very young age, etc...so, when es had some probs as a lil one we went to see a consultant who explained that when c child gets old enough, then just show them how to retract the foreskin enough, but not until painful, and that over time that would stretch the foreskin enough...!

great educational website on function of foreskin etc....

rofl...just read number 17 in the function of foreskin ....lololol...soooo funny!

Pooka, I agree, and pretty sure so would all that are opposed to circumcision, that if it is done for medical reasons then it is of course not mutilation, that is a different story altogether...also, teh whole procedure is conducted differently then.

Oops! Just opened it while on laptop and dd having supper. She was very interested in the graphic. But then she's 3 and into everything

Dh very pleased to know that he can always use his should the need arise re: no 17!

I know someone who was circumcised and he is now involved in a support group for men who have undergone this proceedure. He hates the fact he has had this done and believes it has made a difference to his sex life (in a negative way).

Look here;

www.norm-uk.org/circumcision_support.html

Very informative site. My friend is now considering palstic surgery to have a foreskin attached to his penis.

My son's consultant wants him to have the op following a hypospadia repair. Although the repair itself was successful, joining the foreskin underneath his penis left him with a hole in it. Now he can have the op and be 'normal', or keep it but with a hole in it (so 'abnormal'). I'm having real trouble making the decision. Part of me thinks its important psychologically that his penis is like others, another part says its not my willy so he should make the decision for himself when he is older. It doesn't affect its function, so to some extent is cosmetic, but isn't normal either.

well, that link settles it 3andnomore...given ds has probably inherited my crap eyesight, I really couldn't deprive him of somewhere to keep his contact lenses!

Agree with earlier posters - OK on medical grounds, unpleasant if done for superstitious or cosmetic reasons - definitely a decision to be taken by the person actually attached to the penis!

Twinkie - I've just done a quick search on ballooning and apparently it's a normal part of the foreskin seperating from the glans of the penis.

Ballooning

Ballooning of the foreskin (rarely seen with true phimosis) is usually asymptomatic and does not damage the urinary tract. Sometimes the trapped urine leaks after urinating and can present as wetting. Gentle proximal traction on the foreskin during urinating resolves the problem of wetting. Lumps in the foreskin Infants are sometimes referred with a yellow/white discrete subcutaneous lump on the penis. This is usually trapped preputial smegma which will discharge itself as the foreskin separates from the glans.

also says the same here

Crikey 3andnomore! Have just looked longer at that site. Am more resolute than ever. Fascinating stuff - very in bits too.

There are a number of anti-circumcision groups (like Notjustskin) which include adult men who were circumcised as infants and now argue against the practice. I think their views are worth hearing.

Also there is a guardian article about a Jewish American man and his non-Jewish wife and their terrible dilemma over their ds's circumcision is a very moving account of how tough it can be for a couple who are ambivalent.

Article is
here

Twinkie, circucision can be done with a varying degree of slack in the skin. For them to get it wrong is very rare. There is some scaremongering going on here. You might want to ask the consultant to describe the procedure to you (i.e. plastoball - or something like that -- is supposed to be the least painful but I think can only be used on babies/toddlers). I also think that younger boys only need a local and older ones get a general. But, I'm not sure about that. Your consultant could obviously give better information.

Twinkie, there is some information here which might help you decide how bad the experience will be for your DS.

And some more info on circumcision here

Ive read that article from the Guardian before. It made me mad before, now even madder. They should have stood up to that horrible grandmother and taken their own stand. He's their son, and how they practise their religion should be up to them. If any of my DSs' grandparents threatened to disown them for not lopping off healthy tissue I would say fine they are better off without such close-minded grandparents.

Debliz5, I didn't acknowledge your post before. It must have taken a lot of courage to take the stand you did - much more than what was shown by the people in this article!

Eleusis, it's not that babies only "need" a local- it's the fact in young children the risks of GA are so much greater than the risk in an older child or adult. Babies still feel pain, in fact there is research that shows they actually feel pain more intensely than adults.

Also in babies the foreskin is still fused to the glans (much like how your fingernail is fused to your finger). They have to force the separation - in an older child chances are the separation has already taken place so less work has to be done by the surgeon.

mm, that's what I thought when I read it and then I decided there we are again - women giving in to men all the time. She ceded to what her husband wanted.

And imagine too a grown man giving into his mother...I hope and pray I am never like that with my sons, and that they would stand up to me and not be such wimps!

He was giving in to a Jewish mother.....

Mind you I force the children to come to mass with me, the oldest ones at Christmas. Child 3 says I'm forcing him into hyprocrisy. I say pleasing your mother is more important.

Are you being serious?

If my mother was insistent enough that I go to church with her I would go, but if she insisted I circ then I would tell her where to get off!

Twinkie - balloooning is very very common in small children - afaik there is actually nothing to worry about unless there is repeated infection or the foreskin can't retract by the time puberty has struck. I can see why fears over your DH's experience loom large in your mind, but honestly, it's very very normal for this to happpen at your DS's age.