Do you have a little boy? Did you have him circumcised? I don’t talk about this particular topic very often because I don’t have a baby boy. This choice and option is not something I had to consider because we found out we were having a girl during the fourth month of my pregnancy. But I have two nephews and I have watched my sister-in-law have to make this decision. I’ve also seen the problems my youngest nephew experienced in the last year since his circumcision as some of the remaining foreskin adhered around the head of the penis and the painful procedure that he underwent to correct that problem.
This is a decision that parents need to make based on the medical information, personal beliefs and consult with their physician. So with that in mind, here are the arguments for a circumcision:
- Observing Religious Law – the Bible advises that newborns should be circumcised and this is a practice obeyed by both the Jews and Muslims and in modern times, many Christians as well. The Jewish practice is honored in a ceremony called a Bris that combines the circumcision with the religious observance
- Not Wanting to Be Different – Parents don’t want their sons to feel different if they are changing in front of their friends and if you’ve never seen an uncircumcised male before – the difference is profoundly noticeable
- Health & cleanliness – It’s easier to clean a circumcised male’s genitalia and there are fewer chances for infection in that area of the body including potentially higher risk for cancer
The arguments against include:
- No Medical Necessity – With modern medicine and practices of cleanliness, a circumcision is not medically necessary
- Similarity between parents – if the father is uncircumcised then chances are both parents will want their child to remain uncircumcised
- Children’s Rights – for some parents it can be a matter of letting their son choose for themselves whether they wish to be uncircumcised or not
- Pain considerations – a circumcision is painful – whether performed as a newborn or as an adult – it doesn’t necessarily matter that your baby won’t remember it – it still hurts
Did you elect to circumcise your child?
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