Thoughtful Thursdays: Circumcision

Most of you know we are expecting our first son in just a few weeks and our first major decision as parents is, if we should get him circumcised or not.  I know the trend in the 60s -80s is mostly every male got circumcised and no one thought much of it.  But in the last decade circumcision rates have started to decline in the US.  So I did what any good mom does and made a list of pros and cons I could find on articles about the process and outcomes.  (I'm in no way a doctor or expert, this is just my personal list of research I found)

PROS:

• It is one less thing for the male to clean in the shower.
• Previously thought to minimize risk of some cancers, but not scientifically proven.
• Religious reasons (my personal religion doesn't state boys need to be circumcised)

So our pro list really boiled down to one less thing for him to clean in the shower......

CONS: 

• Trends show that less than 50% of males are now circumcised so there is no longer the fear of being 'different' in the locker room.
• Medical procedure on a newborn with pain medication.  (if I'm going to have a natural non medicated birth why would I want to give my son pain meds as soon as he is born?)
• Risks of the procedure going wrong.
• Sensation and sexual pleasure later in life.  The foreskin is full of nerve endings and adds to sexual pleasure for an adult male.
• Ethics: Do i want to cut something natural off my son before he has any chance to speak his wishes?
• Circumcision can always be done later in life not just as a new born.  If a male wants a circumcision he can get one. 
• Hard feelings from the male: If circumcised at birth the male could grow up feeling resentment toward his parents for him not having a choice over his body.
• No medical benefits for circumcision.
• One more thing to worry about with a newborn and keeping the surgery area clean.
• Risk of infection.
• Pain to the newborn during procedure and after when urination occurs.

So after doing the research and talking with my husband about it... we are NOT going to circumcise our little ET.  This was a tough personal decision for both of us and you might disagree with us.  I have posted a few links below of articles about circumcision, why and why not to do it, etc.  Please do your own research and make a decision you feel comfortable with for your newborn son.

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/pregnancy-childbirth/whether-or-not-circumcise

http://www.circumcision.org/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/surgical/circumcision.html#

http://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/USA/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/u-s-circumcision-rates-on-the-decline/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision