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To Cut or Not to Cut

Jos
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When I was pregnant with Stella, we didn’t find of if she was a boy or a girl, and though the topic of circumcision was brought up briefly, I pretty much let it slide because I always felt like she was a girl, and I was banking on Charlie bending to my wishes if she came out a boy instead. That’s very mature of me, right? :\

With this pregnancy, we found out about half way through that our baby has a penis, and WHOA did that open a can of worms. I immediately said something about not circumcising him, Charlie immediately said that’s ridiculous and of course we were, and thus began an epic fight. I ended up getting out of bed that night because I couldn’t sleep after the way things went down, and I spent a few hours diving into research, compiling a bunch of information and a couple of great video presentations, and emailing everything to Charlie to read before I went back to bed that night.

Hey hon,

I’m sorry the conversation tonight turned into an instant fight when you broached the subject of circumcision. I know you feel like I never compromise on things (but I do! we had a hospital birth last time, remember?)… but this is honestly something I feel SO strongly on now that I’ve researched it, and I really hope you agree with me once you’ve read the research and seen some videos.

Before having kids, I honestly didn’t care one way or the other about circumcision. It was a non-issue in my head. BUT, I don’t feel like that anymore. Please bear with me and read through some of this research before we talk about it again, okay? I just cannot imagine doing this to our baby.

Here are some common reasons people give for doing circumcision:

1) It’s cleaner

2) I want my son to look like his dad

3) I want my son to look like everyone else

In response:

1) Being circumcised lowers the risk of UTIs in boys under the age of 2 by 1%. That is a ridiculously low number, and not a reason to perform a cosmetic surgery on an infant. Also, the foreskin does not retract until around puberty, so there is nothing additional to do/clean. As the boy gets older and it does retract, he will clean it just like your daughter will clean her vagina. It’s not hard. The foreskin actually helps protect the glands and keep it moist and clean.

2) Beyond the age of toddlerhood & potty training, when in the world do sons & fathers ever stand around comparing each other’s penises? Ya, it doesn’t happen. 🙂

3) When we were born 30 years ago, nearly 90% of American boys were circumcised. That number has now dropped to somewhere between 33%-50% (depending on what study you read). This number is actually about 25% here in Colorado. Worldwide, only 30% of men are circumcised in total, and 70% of those people are Muslim (they do it for religious reasons).

Other thoughts:

1) Cost – Since this has been determined to be a purely cosmetic procedure with no health benefits, insurance companies no longer cover the cost. Hospitals & clinics charge between $200-500 to do it.

2) Pain – Babies feel pain, just like adults do. This is an incredibly painful procedure, and no way do I feel like we have the right to force our infant to have it done!

3) Sexual pleasure – cutting off the foreskin eliminates a ton of the nerve endings (it’s like cutting off a woman’s labia – her clit). So sad! [ETA – it has been brought to my attention that I misspoke in this line of the email to my husband. It is actually the Clitoral Hood that is analogous to the foreskin of males. It IS erogenous tissue. I apologize for not catching this mistake sooner.]

4) Informed consent – by performing infant circumcision, you’re making a decision for the child that can never be changed. It should be the person’s right to choose if they want to permanently alter their body. The kid can always choose to have it done later if he so chooses. My brother isn’t circumcised, and it’s never bothered him!

Please watch this video. Yes, it’s 30 minutes long, but this is an important decision, so totally worth the time:

http://vimeo.com/26130057

And here’s a short video of an actual circumcision so you can see how it’s done. The doc talks throughout the entire procedure to explain what’s he’s doing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2PKdDOjooA

Thoughts?

Love you, Jos

Honestly, we’ve talked about this email ONCE since October, and he still hasn’t taken the time to watch the videos I sent him, so I pretty much told him that he doesn’t get a vote in this decision if he can’t dedicate an hour of his life to learning more about it.

That being said, I do think it’s important for people to understand the research behind this and to understand why they’re making the decision they are when it comes to circumcision instead of saying “well, my husband has a penis so I’m going to let him decide.” If your husband is anything like mine, he isn’t doing any research to help him make an evidence based decision!

I should add that I have plenty of friends who have chosen to circumcise their sons, and plenty of friends who have chosen not to, and their kids are all happy, healthy children. I’m not passing judgement on anyone, but I do hope that some of you will find my research helpful if this is a decision you are on the fence about! With that said, here’s a breakdown of the most helpful articles I found during my search for quality information on an emotionally charged subject!

*****

The incidence of male non-therapeutic infant circumcision varies widely by region. The Western Region reported an incidence of 24.6% in 2009, while the North Central Region reported an incidence of 76.2%, while the overall incidence of circumcision in the United States stood at 54.5%, the lowest figure reported over the previous two decades.[40] The Northeast Region reported an incidence of 67% and the Southern Region reported 55.7%.[40]  – http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb126.pdf

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