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Original poster

Timing of circumcision

317 replies

sunhat88 · 09/04/2017 09:10

Hi,

My baby boy is due soon and he will be circumcised. (Please no circumcision debate on this thread). Those of you who have had you baby boys circumcised... what is your opinion on the best age to have it done? Also what was your experience of their recovery?

Thank you Smile

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BoneyBackJefferson · 14/04/2017 12:14

ButterflyFree

Yes IMO

and yours is in your opinion.

ButterflyFree · 14/04/2017 12:15

@BertrandRussell I said it is believed to be medically beneficial in the culture in which I live.

It is routinely offered to newborns in the culture in which I live.

In fact it would be considered neglectful to refuse this procedure at newborn age in the culture in which I live.

We wouldn't do this to our sons if we didn't truly believe it was medically beneficial. Which many studies support - and no they are not studies relevant only to 'third world countries' as some posters keep trying to suggest. These studies hold worldwide relevance. Of course I wouldn't remove a part of my newborn son's skin if it was purely for aesthetic reasons. I will do it because I believe it is in his best interests health-wise.

BertrandRussell · 14/04/2017 12:19

Circumcision offers some protection against HIV- and can be beneficial in areas with no access to/resistance among men to condoms. I would not want a man in Tonbridge Wells to rely on his lack of foreskin to protect him from infection.

The "medical reasons" are complete red herrings. Honest people do not weasel about with them. They just say "This is part of my religious/cultural life". They are still wrong, but they are at least honest.

BertrandRussell · 14/04/2017 12:20

" I will do it because I believe it is in his best interests health-wise."

But you are wrong.

BertrandRussell · 14/04/2017 12:25

Butterfly- I think I missed where you said where you live? As it appears to be somewhere with access to the internet, it seems strange that the medical profession there are offering such duff advice.

ButterflyFree · 14/04/2017 12:32

@BertrandRussell I live in Dubai. I'm a British Muslim and my husband is Emirati.

So yes it is for religious and cultural reasons that we do it, but those religious and cultural reasons for doing it are based on the fact that we believe it is medically beneficial. And all healthcare providers here also back that up. It is fully covered by medical insurance here due to the fact that it is considered a recommended medical practice for newborn boys.

BertrandRussell · 14/04/2017 12:36

Medical benefit is not something you "believe" in. It is something that is evidence based.

What are the evidence based medical benefits of infant circumcision?

ButterflyFree · 14/04/2017 12:39

All the medical benefits and supporting studies have been mentioned numerous times upthread, but it is your choice to disregard them.

BertrandRussell · 14/04/2017 12:43

Could you link to the medical study that you are basing your beliefs on? Or point out where it's already been mentioned on here? Just so I know I am reading the right one.

BusterGonad · 14/04/2017 15:05

May I just jump in and add I'm in Qatar and the doctors here generally follow medical guidelines from the country they trained in. I've been diagnosed in the uk with a medical condition, my doctor here wouldn't believe it and wouldn't treat me as in the country he trained it isn't really a recognized condition . I'm not surprised they allow circumcision for no reason. They are rubbish doctors!

BoneyBackJefferson · 14/04/2017 15:08

It is fully covered by medical insurance here due to the fact that it is considered a recommended medical practice for newborn boys.

I can't imagine where a bias would be in that scenario (sarcasm)

Offyougo · 14/04/2017 15:20

Lol at someone coming from th sul complaining about rubbish doctors!!Gps in uk barely look at you. Had my son diagnosed with eczema whilst gp was sat in the chair and he was playing on the floor a few feet away. She barely glanced in his direction.

annandale · 14/04/2017 15:22

Presumably it is covered by medical insurance because of consumer demand Butterfly. That's how medical insurance works and is why there was such a kerfuffle about 'death panels' in the US in the run up to the Affordable Care Act by politicians who'd been thoroughly funded by insurance companies - by death panels they meant non-insurance related decisionmakers who would actually look at the cost and benefit of procedures. In studies like this

BusterGonad · 14/04/2017 15:30

Offyougo the doctors I see are not as good as I'd expect considering I am diagnosed with a condition. I find it appalling his lack of knowledge about my condition, he has all my medical info from my specialist and yet he still bangs on about intestinal tb! As it stands I am not medicated and god knows what's going on with my insides. I will never again moan about the NHS.

lisaIambe · 14/04/2017 15:52

I love how the OP specifically asks for no circumcision debate and that is exactly what she gets. What part of wanting opinions from people who have done it is so hard to understand?

lizzieoak · 14/04/2017 16:04

BertrandRussell - you say if it was
medically beneficial it would be routinely offered in hospitals. It is, in many North American cities.

I'd also like to point out that our bodies do not, in some senses, come in perfect working order. Wisdom teeth are routinely whipped out, but because there's no religion interested, everyone leaves it alone. Ditto your appendix and gall stones.

There are sound medical reasons why it's a good idea as a preventative measure. It certainly is not child abuse and as a North American I find the hysterical reaction to it a bit amusing.

ButterflyFree · 14/04/2017 16:14

I'm sorry you are not satisfied with your healthcare in Qatar @BusterGonad Flowers - have you thought of switching to another hospital/clinic? It's not something that can be generalised as it differs from country to country, hospital to hospital, and even doctor to doctor. I've had a fantastic experience of medical care in Dubai, including early detection and cure of thyroid cancer in 2015, diagnosis & treatment of a severe vitamin D deficiency, and management of my hypothyroidism during pregnancy.

I will, however, be giving birth in the UK - not for medical reasons but practical/family/weather reasons - and Chelsea & Westminster Hospital has recommended getting my son circumcised before we are discharged, within 48hrs of birth. If I was really a 'bad mother' as some say, would the hospital allow this as a routine procedure? Of course not.

Anyway I will no longer attempt to justify my decision to those of you with differing views - which I entirely respect - because that is not what this thread was supposed to be about and that is not why I replied to the OP in the first place. Nor am I attempting to change anyone's mind. I just got sensitive/defensive when the accusations of 'bad mother' and 'child abuse' started being thrown around (blame my pregnancy hormones). I am not doing anything illegal - circumcision is not illegal in any country in the world - and I am making the decision as a mother-to-be that a quick moment of pain as a newborn is preferable to a far more painful and risky procedure later on, with my son's best interests, along with my religious & cultural customs, at heart.

BertrandRussell · 14/04/2017 16:16

"Wisdom teeth are routinely whipped out, but because there's no religion interested, everyone leaves it alone. Ditto your appendix and gall stones"

Really? Prophilactically? Where?

And I think you'll find that the offering of circumcision in North aamerican hospitals is more about heath insurance than medical benefit.

BoneyBackJefferson · 14/04/2017 17:06

I am making the decision as a mother-to-be that a quick moment of pain as a newborn is preferable to a far more painful and risky procedure later on,

surely this is only if he chose to have it done later on,
and with him being an informed adult it would be his choice to make.

BusterGonad · 14/04/2017 17:32

The health would be ok but I'm just not prepared to have all the invasive treatments to be re diagnosed when I know full well what is wrong with me!

ButterflyFree · 14/04/2017 17:50

@BoneyBackJefferson In our culture it is just not feasible that he would choose not to have it done, when EVERYONE around him would have had it done as a baby, and no woman would agree to be with him if he wasn't. He would probably hate me for making him go through it as an adult and not just getting it over and done with as a baby like everyone else in the family & community.

BoneyBackJefferson · 14/04/2017 18:10

ButterflyFree

Interestingly that is directly opposing the view of the poster up thread that said that there was no pressure to get it done.

lizzieoak · 14/04/2017 18:13

Wisdom teeth are whipped out routinely here, sometimes because they're causing discomfort, sometimes because they will - down the road - crowd the teeth.

My point was that our bodies do not always come in a way that will best ensure life-long health. Foreskins can cause health problems and (unlike fgm) do not decrease sexual pleasure.

And Canada has socialized medicine so circumcisions are not recommended here for "insurance" reasons.

ButterflyFree · 14/04/2017 18:26

@BoneyBackJefferson They must be from a different culture.

taytopotato · 14/04/2017 18:32
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