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Did you get your son circumcised?
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Anonymous
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My husband and I are currently debating whether to circumcise our son (not born yet). His primary concern is that, in this area, our son would be the odd man out if he were not circumcised and that would be traumatic for him. I am interested in hearing how many people did or didn't circumcise (the reasons behind that decision are less important). The last DCUMs discussions on the topic are over 3 years old and the trend may have changed quite a bit since then. I would also love to hear, from those of you who didn't circumcise, whether your boys have felt "different" or ostracized as a result.
Thanks so much for your help! |
Anonymous
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No I did not.
Who is going to be looking at his penis and comparing it to others? Please tell me so I can slap the heck out of them for being pervs. Do boys really go around waving their privacy for all to see? Gross. |
Anonymous
| Search results are not posted in reverse chron. |
Anonymous
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Circumcision rates in vary by region in U.S., according to survey
Tuesday, September 08, 2009 Data on the number of newborn circumcisions performed in the United States are difficult to obtain. The National Hospital Discharge Survey (a distant offshoot of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) samples a fraction of hospital discharges. The survey says that 56.1 percent of U.S. newborn boys were circumcised in 2006, a drop from 62.7 in 1994. The survey says circumcision rates differ among U.S. regions. In the North Central region (which includes Ohio), 77.9 percent of newborn boys were circumcised in 2006, down from 80.1 percent in 1994; in the Northeast, 63.6 percent in 2006, down from 69.6 percent in 1994; in the Southern region, 55.3 percent in 2006, down from 64.7 percent in 1994; and in the West, 33.8 percent in 2006, down from 34.2 in 1994. Medicaid does not fund the procedure in 16 states, but it does pay for it in Ohio. A 2009 study conducted by researchers at the UCLA AIDS Institute concluded that the lack of coverage correlated with lower rates of circumcision in those states. The study appeared in the January 2009 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. About 34 percent of men worldwide are circumcised, according to 2007 data from the World Health Organization. |
Anonymous
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We did (with all 3 kids - 7,3,3 years old) and am glad we did. I let my husband decide. A bunch of my older son's friends aren't and the kids are oblivious. Acutally I remember when he was a baby a friend and I comparing our sons (cut and uncut) and there wasn't a huge difference.
The only reason not to for me would be the rare instance of a botched circ. |
Anonymous
| Yes, we did for both of our sons. I have yet to come across anyone we know who hasn't cicrumcised, although I know there are plenty of people who don't. I've subbed at our preschool and have to assist with potty time and all boys at our school seem to be circumcised. |
Anonymous
| Yes, we did for our son (we're Christian). |
Anonymous
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No, we didn't. Our son is 2. We debated too for the same reason (I was strongly opposed my husband somewhat for). Ultimately we decided it was about 50/50 among those we knew/in this area etc so that could be thrown out of the discussion. Then we looked at the other reasons to decide. Of my friends, I'd say they are split some did some didn't. But we are not outliers by any means. Several of those that did, did so for religious reasons, but not all.
It's a few years old but if you search the mailing list archives there's a huge compilation. (search compilation circumcision--I'd paste it here but it's very long. |
Anonymous
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we did not at the advice of my OB, who would have performed it. He said there is a chance of risk. Over 100 male children die each year from circumcision. If that doesn't seem like a lot, that is the same number of male children who die from SIDS, which we deem a big deal.
Seems a bit fucked to me that people are not willing to put their kids on their tummies to sleep lest they get sides, but are not willing to skip unnecessary, cosmetic surgery on their baby boys. People will give you all manner of reasons why they did it. To look like dad, to spare the kid the locker room comparisons, the faint chance that it might help reduce the spread of HIV (the studies are deeply flawed, btw, but I'll leave that to others to hash out). There's also the "holy covenant" issue but I don't get that either. Sorry, I"m catholic and I baptized my kid, kind of the same thing I guess, except if instead of holy water there was a knife involved, I'd have skipped that and asked Jesus for a hall pass on account of "I think it's fucked to cut off part of a baby's penis, regardless of how some old person interpreted the god book." But that's just me I guess. PS. It hurts them. |
Anonymous
| We didn't. A few kids die a year. It's crazy rare but that was enough for us because we didn't see an upside. |
Anonymous
| Nope. didn't do it. Husband is circed and didn't care. Said he knew guys that weren't growing up and it didn't matter. |
Anonymous
| We didn't with our two (now 9 and 7). Most of the parents I know do not (yes we talk about it, many friends have asked since I have older kids). |
Anonymous
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No, we didn't. And what I am about to say is not motivated by snark or aversion to circumcision, I promise.
I just don't think it is a good idea to base any parenting decision on what he majority APPEAR to be doing, esp one as irreversible as circ. I honestly think the only ones who really care about what a penis looks like are the parents. Other kids and other adults simply don't. |
Anonymous
I also think it's F'd up that people get so worked up about de-clawing cats (see Off Topic forum) but do not see anything wrong with circumcision. |
Anonymous
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Last time I checked there weren't any cultural reasons or medical reasons to declaw a cat.
Circumcision decision is much more complex, but I don't suppose you are really smart enough to understand such things. |