The decision whether or not to circumcise your son is a very personal one. Circumcision should not be one of the things that causes you stress with your newborn boy.

Should You Circumcise Your Son?

Thanks for writing a balanced article! If I may suggest, I think you should provide a discussion of the purpose and function of the foreskin itself. The foreskin is erogenous tissue, containing thousands of fine-touch nerve endings, similar to those in the fingertips and lips. These nerve endings in the foreskin contribute to a man's pleasure in a big way. www.circumstitions.com/Images/sorrellsvm&j-poster.pdf Also, the foreskin acts as a linear bearing, making intercourse more comfortable and pleasurable for women. For diagrams of how this works, see: www.cirp.org/pages/anat/

Hi Laura:

I often wonder if the baby feels any pain?

Without them being able to tell us, this is my biggest concern. It is kind of like when I had to return to work, leaving my 6 week old child there without her ability to tell me how her day went - kept me "popping up" to check on the daycare workers

When she could talk, I made sure she knew how to get a hold of me - whether it was the daycare manager or a trusted worker.

Other than that concern, I think it is healthier to circumcise from what my boyfriend tells me. It cuts down on the possibility of odor/infection from not cleaning every critical area due to not being able to get to them.

Hugs,
A

From the perspective of being an English woman now living in the USA, I am very surprised at the number of American boys who are circumcised for non religious reasons. The British royal family had a tradition of circumcising boys for a kind of pseudo-medical reason - i.e. it would prevent possible future promlems of an unretractable foreskin. When Princes William and Harry were born, their mother Princess Diana refused to have the procedure carried out, saying it wasn't necessary or in their best interests. I agree with her completely.

Hygiene and potential infections really are non issues. Boys can easily be taught how to keep themselves clean in that area. My brother has four sons, and as little boys at bathtime they were simply taught how to gently pull their 'hood' back to wash the 'dangly bits' fully.

Now married to a circumcised American husband, but having had past relationships with uncircumcised British men, I can tell you that it does make a big difference to the intimate experience of both man and woman, but especially the man.

My personal opinion is that circumcision is a form of mutilation that should never be carried out if there is no pressing medical need. I understand that even some liberal Jewish people are now refusing it.

Hi Angela, you are very empathetic to ask if circumcision is painful. You're right - baby boys can't tell their parents how their circumcision went, which is unfortunate, because if they could circumcision would probably go away pretty quickly. The truth is rather sad - circumcision is very traumatic for babies. This web page discusses a study done on the pain response of infants undergoing circumcision: www.circumcision.org/response.htm I wish parents would be made to watch a video of a circumcision before they could agree to it. Truly horrific: www.drmomma.org/2011/01/neonatal-circumcision-video-for.html

Y'all bring up some great points. Craig, I do know that studies suggest that circumcision is painful. I should have addressed that point. I am also aware of the opinions regarding, as you put it, pleasure. Ironically, I tried to include some discussion of that, but I was having a dickens of a time wording things in a way that would be appropriate to filtering software. I love your simple use of the word pleasure. I'll need to remember that in the future.

I definitely think the tide is turning against circumcision. Most of my mom friends don't circumcise their sons. It will be interesting to see how things continue to evolve.

Thanks for reading!

OUCH !!!!!

I agree with you Grace.

My son is not circumcised. I viewed this as an unnecessary procedure on a baby not more than a few hours old. My sister had her son circumcised and it was gross while it healed. No way was I going to do that when there was really no medical or religious reason to do so.

I agree that it is a personal decision and each parent should decide for themselves.