Thoughts about circumcision?

I found out that I’m having a little boy but prior to that my husband and I had decided that if it was a boy that he would be circumcised. It’s more a cultural decision. I’m uk based so it’s something we will have to pay for.

For hygiene reasons I say do it! My eldest is 13 and he is uncircumcised and currently while he’s going through puberty we definitely regret not getting him circumcised as a baby

I think it's traumatic to babies and not needed. I understand it is a cultural thing, but if that's not your reasoning for doing it, then I really don't think you should put your baby through it

honestly i think it’s super cruel and outdated. there’s literally no reason at all to circumcise other than a serious medical condition or religious/cultural reasons. if you circumcise, in the future he will not be able to feel as much pleasure since there are so many nerve endings in the foreskin. plus how messed up putting a baby through so much pain!! it’s genital mutilation but for some reason it’s normalised still. no different to countries where the practice of sowing up the womans vagina is normal. Dont listen to the people saying its for hygeine reasons. if you keep him washed and clean under the foreskin and teach him how to clean it when he’s older then there is no need to mutilate his body!!

I also find the hygienic reason stupid. Boys should be taught how to properly wash their private parts under their foreskin. Also, you lose your sensitivity as an active sexual adult. I don't really see any benefit, to be honest. But I am from Scandinavia, this is more US and UK, right? I am having boy and no way I am putting him through this.

If we have a boy one day I’m leaving it to my husband. We did previously have a discussion about circumcision and agreed he would be circumcised but then before we knew what gender this baby was he said we can just leave it as it’s not as common to be done now so he’s worried about us finding someone who can do it properly so if he says no then we won’t do it. Comparing it to FGM and sewing up the vagina is ridiculous sorry, it’s not anywhere near the same and the baby won’t remember anything. FGM is not done on babies and is usually without anaesthesia. The equivalent of FGM on boys is cutting their penis head off which is not what circumcision is.

@Nana Ama my husband travels to a lot of countries for work and he would like to eventually move abroad. One of the the things he mentioned was how it could be perceived in other countries/cultures so thank you

@AJ yes, a fear of mine! bc as I mentioned, I don’t know anyone that hasn’t done it or has personal experience with it so thank you for your input

As a person who has worked with FGM victims putting them in the same category is something I do not agree with. The long lasting impact of FGM on the female body is the most psychological damaging thing . The true reason behind it is has always been old misogyny beliefs. Despite people trying to push it to religious or cultural.

@Shay welcome

@Char it’s still genital mutilation regardless.. it’s not ridiculous to compare it to FGM sorry 🤷‍♀️ you’re right, HOW the practices are done is different. but the concept is still the same. it’s a very pointless procedure unless there’s a serious issue like phimosis. it’s genital mutilation, just because it’s normalised in your culture doesn’t mean its right/ethical. its disgusting honestly.

@Brittany my husband is circumcised but doesn’t want to circumcise if we have a son.

@Anna as someone that has a degree in early years childhood and has had to do multiple FGM courses I can assure you it’s not the same. Have your opinion but it won’t change the facts. Where did I say it’s normalised in my culture or even mention my culture? You made an assumption why? Because I’m black? 🤣 respectfully, don’t @ me again because that comment was very telling.

We had it done at 4 weeks, I researched the clinic so heavily and picked one I was completely comfortable with. He didn’t make a sound when it was done. He’s cried more for a bottle 🤣. Healing was very quick, in around 5 days was fine. It’s a very controversial thing but I personally don’t regret it one bit. I also think comparing it to FGM is extremely far fetched. It’s not the same AT ALL.

Do what you think is best for your baby regardless of what anybody feels or thinks about the cruelty of it, everyone is valued to there own opinion, I agree on circumcision for the cleanness and look and feel of it all but again that’s my personal opinion and I will be planning to have my son circumcised. A friend of mine just had a baby and the procedure was very easy and the baby didn’t even cry. Don’t worry about what anyone thinks, do what you want and feel you want to do

It's not common in the UK where i am from. You just have to teach from a young age they need to pull the foreskin back and wipe the head then put the foreskin back to where it was and there will be no issue. It is unless they have formosis (too tight forskin) an unnecessary procedure which does desensitise the penis, which then affect the pleasure sensation they will have during sex.

If its for cultural reasons or medical reasons then fine but not for any other reason. My partner is circumcised as he had phimosis but apart from that just leave their foreskins alone teach them how to keep it clean

@Anna my husband travels a lot to other countries and he too mentioned women experiencing this. I disagreed with him in this matter as I feel they do it for controlling reasons rather than the “typical argument” of hygiene. I’ve only had sisters and now a daughter so it’s such a weird thing to be asking about when it comes to boys and men, so thanks for your input!

@Zuzana Andersen correct. It’s mostly done in western cultures. My husband travels a lot for work and he would eventually like for us to go abroad and this is one of the things he mentioned. Thanks for you input 🥰

@Char we didn’t find out what we were having with my previous kid either (now a 4 year old daughter) and we had previously agreed on not doing it but now that we are at this point again I want to make sure it’s the right decision bc it impacts them more than myself. Ugh, such a weird thing

@Shay I feel the same! It’ll be them impacted when they’re older as you said so it’s hard to know what the right decision is. I had an ex who wasn’t circumcised as a baby and had to have it done as a teen as his penis was still growing and was ripping the foreskin off 😭. I think just do as much research as you can and make your decision from there :)

In the UK it's really uncommon and I find it really odd that so many men in the US are circumcised. I think it's just what you're used to but instinctively I wouldn't feel comfortable cutting a bit of my child's anatomy off for no medical reason but just for how others might think it looks. When he's an adult, if he hates it, he can get it done then. I wouldn't get my baby's ears pierced either.

@Asha may I ask at what age was he circumcised? I’ve heard people say “they can make the decision when they’re older” and I think that would be miserable recovery as an “older person”. I had a tonsillectomy recently (I know it’s nowhere near the same) and i was miserable 😢

My husband and son are done so if this 3rd one is also a boy he will be done too. Partly for religious reasons but also just simply because they are both done and that's what my husband knows so it will be easier for him to teach him how to clean everything..

@Shay majority of people who have it done have it done within the first week so they wouldn't ever remember it happening.

@Char i didnt even look at your account to know you’re black, i was saying as a blanket statement just because your(anyones) culture/religion normalises it doesn’t make it right x wasnt assuming anything sorry you read it that way

@Shay my partner was 8 years old

It’s mutilation, period. Comes with risks including permanent feeling loss, deformity, and worse. You wouldn’t do it a to a girl so don’t do it to a boy. If you’ve done your research you’ve definitely seen this is a useless practice.

There was a heated post about this a few months ago too and honestly, do whatever you’re both comfortable with. I’m from the southern US and it’s very common to be circumcised here. We did it because of that, we didn’t want our son to be bullied for looking different. Neither of us have ever even seen an uncircumcised penis in person so that was our choice (I was a little hoe in college and never saw one). It’s different all over the world and people have their own personal opinions (clearly). To me, it’s similar to piercing ears, doing monthly immunizations, etc. there are SO many decisions you will make as a parent that will be without your child’s consent and some will hurt them, some will not. Our son was never bothered by his or the healing process but it still comes with risks, like everything else in your human existence

My husband is European, was born there, and they don’t circumcise. He didn’t care either way if our baby was circumcised or not, so the decision fell on me. I chose not to because I didn’t want my baby to go through any more pain and discomfort after birth. Just teach your baby to be clean down there. My husband has had no issues with his. lol.

I recommend watching videos of it being done. It’ll break your heart. It’s so disturbing. I was already a “no” but that definitely helped my decision.

Do whatever you’re comfortable with! I feel like in the states, it’s common to have baby boy’s circumcised! I decided to circumcise my son because I feel like it’s easier to teach him how to clean down there. Me & my boyfriend are more knowledged on how to clean an uncircumcised penis. I also made the decision after asking a close friend who wasn’t circumcise & my boyfriend who was! It’s usually done very early on, my baby boy wasn’t cranky or grumpy. He didn’t feel any pain because we put numbing cream on before going to the doctors & they also gave him a shot. He was only cranky because he wasn’t allowed to eat three hours before hand, but they gave him gauze with sugar water that he could chew on during the procedure. Then immediately after, they let me feed him!

My husband isn’t and I left it up to him to decide if we would if we had any boys we live in the UK so it’s not as common over here. Unless medically necessary for some reason we won’t be.

We’re going to circumcise our baby boy.

Circumcision is also becoming less common in the states. We are roughly at a 50/50 circumcision rate for boys born now. They won’t be bullied, that’s not a reason to have an unnecessary surgery on a newborn. If there’s is a medical or religious reason, then that’s the only reason I could think to do it. All surgeries have risks and if something went wrong your child will be stuck with it for life when it never needed to be done in the first place. If he wants it done when he’s older my husband and I will pay, but once it’s done you can’t go back and so he should have that choice as it’s his body.

We asked our doctor about this when we had our first son. She indicated that there is no medical benefit to having it done and that the cleanliness element that people often state is over exaggerated. We opted not to do it, even though my husband, who got it done for religious reasons, had it done as a baby. My husband and son look different from one another, and neither care. I am pregnant with our 2nd son now and we will not be getting it done for him either.

My hubby isn't circumcised. He feels bad for every guy who is because the skin protects his tip, which makes it super sensitive and pleasurable. His mom taught him a bit, then took it upon himself. Father ever taught him how to clean it, but he figured it out. It's a religious thing, not a clean thing. It's easy to keep clean, but you have to clean it daily for preventative maintenance, not wait until there's a smell or infection.

@Amanda same! It has so many more nerve endings. My husband said he would’ve really been upset to have been cut like that knowing it makes things less pleasurable.

@Casey Right and the constant rubbing on fabric desensitizes as well

@Kate thank you so much for this.

@Lizz thank you for this perspective.

Many opinions on this topic, luckily every family gets to do what they’re comfortable with! Baby boy will be getting snipped. His dad is circumcised so he’ll be able to show him cleaning his area properly and also i personally never really cared for the extra skin on men that I’ve met so knowing that and the cleaning/smelling stigma around uncircumcised… I’d rather just get it done easier on all of us

My daughters father aka ex isn’t circumcised and his only stinks if he don’t shower and my fiancé aka unborn sons father is circumcised and his only stinks if he don’t shower. I see no difference but I’ve heard horror stories about circumcising babies and we don’t plan to circumcise our son and my fiancé agrees because he believes that uncircumcised means it will be longer and I just don’t want anything cut off of my baby other than the umbilical cord.

@Nina it’s called a stigma for a reason. It’s not true and it’s incredibly insulting lol. Clean yourself and you will have no issues. Cutting your son for the sake of appearing more pleasing to women is sickening if you imagine the gender is reversed. I don’t see how it’s easier for anyone especially not your baby going through immense pain

@Courtney thank you that. Very well said 🥰

Just so you know your baby wont get pain relief they will scream and be hurt in so many ways!