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How does circumcision work?
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Anonymous
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The OP asked "How does circumcision work?" I was wondering how long it would take for anti-circ people to weigh in. Not rationally, as a PP who chose not to circ bc she couldn't be there did--an excellent perspective to bring up for the OP, who was wondering about such an issue. But for the "debate" to start.
OP--I circ'd at Sibley; neither DH nor I were there. DS was fine; same experience as everyone I know who circ'd. My OB--a partner in her practice and a doc of 20+ years--did the circ a couple of days after delivering my son. I actually got hospital records after DS was born, in whch some details of his circ were included--anesthetic, how they believed his healing was going. I remember him being fine, but it was good to know that yes, medically, he was fine, too. It is a personal decision and reasonable people disagree on this issue and express it, well, reasonably. Don't be bullied either way. It is a decision between you and DH--no one else. Hope you get info here that helps you. |
Anonymous
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PP, it is easy to target "those anti-circ" people as irrational, or as just loving to get into heated debates. The truth is that my only interest is in making sure the facts are straight Sometimes it's really hard to sort out the facts, because our extreme cultural bias makes it easy to believe the common myths. I surely understand that people circ and it is the parents decision. So, some facts for the OP:
Circ is very painful for the baby. Perhaps more painful then it would be for an adult, because their pain receptors are heightened in the newborn days. This has been studied and proven by testing hormone levels and blood pressure levels in newborns who are getting circed, which indicate severe pain response to this minor surgery. There are two types of pain managment: Topical numbing anesthetic, which most hospitals use these days, which does not provide adequate pain removal. The other option is a analgesic block which can be injected into the base of the penis, which is much better than the numbing cream they usually use, but still does not provide complete pain relief. The reason they can't use a general anesthetic (as they would on an adult who is getting circed) is because it is not safe for newborns. If you really feel the need to circ, why not wait until your child is old enough to receive proper pain management for it? Better yet, wait until they are old enough to tell you if they are in pain and receive pain medication after the surgery as well. Most parents have no way of knowing how much pain their son is in during or afterwards. Babies can cry a lot in their first days, weeks, and months, and the truth is that a baby who "did fine" at his circ might be experiencing a lot of residual pain from it. In terms of how a circumcision actually "works", I will explain the procedure. The foreskin is fused the the glans of the penis at birth, much like fingernails are fused to the finger. Foreskins do not usually separate from the glans until a child is 2 or 3 years old, and sometimes it takes even longer. While attached, the foreskin is a physical barrier for infection and dirt, which helps keep the penis clean. So, if you want to cut this skin off, you need to first tear the foreskin away from the glans of the penis. This is, in itself, a painful and damaging thing to do. If you have an intact child, you don't ever forcibly tear away the forskin, as it can cause small cuts in the foreskin and penis which can lead to scar tissue and infection. But, if your point is to get rid of the foreskin, you need to pull it off the penis. Then they insert a bell shaped device, which goes between the glans and the forskin. They pull the forskin up over the bell, and crush the top most skin with a clamp to help reduce bleeding. Then they procede to slice all the way around the foreskin until the skin is removed. The foreskin contains thousand of nerve endings and blood vessels (in an adult, the foreskin is the most nerve-rich and sensitve part of the penis), so there is pain and some blood involved with cutting it off, even with the clamp in place. My advice is to watch a circumcision (you can find them on youtube) so that you see what is happening. Another fact about circumcision that you might now know is that there can be significant side effects, although they are quite rare. Babies can and have bled to death following a circumcision. In fact, this is what caused the enormous drop in the circumcision rate in Canada; an otherwise healthy newborn died following his circ, and after it was widely publicized a number of doctors spoke up about other compliations they had experienced. Babies can also have part of the glans accidentally cut off - again very rare. But besides these very unusual things, circumcision can also cause skin bridges and meatal stenosis. These are much more common - some people say as common as 10-20% of all circumcised males, so you should understand what they are. Hope this helps some. You could also check out the Wikipedia page about circ, which has pictures of a circed and uncirced penis if you are interested. |
Anonymous
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Despite your attempts to strike fear into the hearts of all mothers and fathers who circumcised their sons by saying things like, "they may *seem* fine...", you reveal how reliable you are by directing the OP to go to Wikipedia for information. Wikipedia? Excellent.
Yawn. OP, talk to your doctor and don't rely on the boogeymen on either side of this debate. Anti-circ people make way, way, way too much out of this and are strangely (disturbingly?) concerned with the decisions parents make for their sons' penises. |
Anonymous
The pain relief that they use for the babies is very good - it depends on your Doctor, so be sure to ask about it during your next OB appointment. The doctor can describe how they perform the procedure and what kind of anesthetic they use. Don't be scared off by the PP - a lot has changed in how these procedures are performed and the care that is given to make it as painless a procedure as possible. We circ'd my son at Sibley. My Doctor was Dr. Jackson from R&H. He was gone for less than half an hour, and when he came back, he was calm and quiet - not at all stressed. We had to put gauze and vaseline on his penis for about a week to keep it from sticking to the diaper. |
Anonymous
This is really condescending. Wikipedia is indeed a very good, basic, remarkably balanced, and surprisingly helpful, place to start looking for information - which based on the OP's general questions, it sounds like she needs: basic, general information. Additionally, you'll note that I recommended checking out the photos there -- a simple, quick reference to see a photo. I stand by my recommendation that she check out Wikipedia, despite your attempt to make me look stupid for doing so. Unfortunately doctors in the United States are far from biased on this topic, which is why they themselves are not necessarily the only place one should search for information. They are also notoriously uninformed about the foreskin, how to care for it, and its proper function. Only in very recent years have MD's even been taught the basic fact that you don't retract a child's foreskin! Lastly, they stand to profit tremendously from continuing the practice of infant circumcision. Just because someone thinks differently then a doctor on this subject, or recommends searching for information elsewhere, does not make anyone a "boogeyman." As to your last point, I believe that humans have a right to bodily integrity. Do you find it odd that people have fought against the various types of female circumcision that happen in other parts of the world? Frankly, no one - parent or otherwise - should be making decisions about anybody elses genitals, especially when it concerns cutting into them, or cutting part of them off. |
Anonymous
| Oh, good God. No one's cutting off anyone's genitals. Get real. It's skin. Surprise!--circumcised men have penises...and orgasms! This is why you cannot have a reasonable conversation with certain people about this subject--hyperbole and histrionics. Most parents who circ are motivated by their religious beliefs or because they believe the potential medical benefits are compelling. The key is something called "motivation"--trying to do what you deem is best for your child. But, alas, all parents who circ are either uninformed--note: check Wikipedia!--or desperately trying to hurt their children, right? Wrong! |
Anonymous
| Oh, and I'm guessing you make no consequential decisions for your children--medical or otherwise? |
Anonymous
Wow, no need to get so worked up here. What did you say about hyperbole and histrionics? I'm not sure if I can explain this any more plainly, but I'll try: the OP was looking for basic information. She came here and wanted to know some things that can in fact be answered by Wikipedia. Wikipedia is nice and balanced and informative on the topic, unlike countless other websites that are extreme in one way or another. Plus Wikipedia has a couple photos that some people might find helpful. Thus the reference to check Wikipedia. As for being uninformed, I'm not sure you are proving your point about how well informed you are by insisting that circumcision doesn't cut off part of the genitals. Do you even know what the foreskin is or what it does? Finally, is there something in particular that you think I was exaggerating? Is there something specific that I was wrong about? If so, I'm more than happy to hear what you have to say about it. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks to all of you. I must say I was a bit freaked out by what I read today. I'm going to talk to the OBGYN about this. |
Anonymous
I'm not the OP but this did indeed help me. I'm visiting my parents soon and going to be telling them how and why their Jewish grandson will not be getting circumcised. It'll be very useful to be able to bring up some of the info you raised in your posts. |
Anonymous
| I don't want to scare anyone but my son is one of those rare cases of a circ gone bad. He ended up losing 30% of his blood and needed a blood transfusion. The urologist was furious and so was i, given how much experience my OB had. Needless to say, had No. 2 been a boy, I would have never opted for it again. |
Anonymous
| I'd decide to do it now when he is a newborn or wait until he is an adult. There are some scary stories about people getting an older child circ'd and it sounds traumatic and awful for a child or teenager. |
Anonymous
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Are there OBs who refuse to circumcise? If so, and he or she refuses to do the procedure, will someone else in the hospital do it? My husband is Jewish and I am not, so we have decided against a bris. However, it is important to him that our baby be circumcised.
I hope this isn't considered to be hijacking OP's post. |
Anonymous
| There might be some OBs who refuse, but I have never heard about that or read about that. Also, there are generally a number of OBs from a variety of practices on the hospital, and if you are in a group practice there may be another doc who could do it if yours doesn't. Probably best to bring this up with your OB before baby is born and ask if there are any OBs in the practice who don't or won't do it, so you aren't surprised in the hospital. FWIW, we circ'd purely for medical reasons, and I'm glad we did. I spoke with my OB--who had no opinion--as well as a good friend who is a physician who deals with a lot of geriatric patients. Not a ped or an OB, and no kids, but she told me all the medical reasons she believed to be compelling. I did my own research as well, of course, weighed various thoughts and feelings, and decided to go ahead with it. DH is circ'd and he felt very strongly that we go ahead, which of course factored into my decision. I think as women we can only imagine the various thoughts and experiences that might cause men to have such strong opinions--I mean, I don't have a penis and DH does, so...I felt I had to respect that. I also believed and believe that I was doing what is best for my son, and that should be the deciding factor for any parent, no matter what they decide to do. I think it's probably best to follow one's gut on this decision; one can listen to other people, read a lot on message boards and in books, and that is all helpful. But once all the info has been gathered, it's a personal decision best left to you and your spouse. IMHO. Goos luck--and congrats to the expecting moms on this thread!! |
Anonymous
| Do all the OBs from Foxhall do it? I know some of you mentioned Sibley. I'm guessing some of you had Foxhall OBs. |