Circumcision, how may people still do it?

Question

I am about to have a little boy & I have read many pros's & con's to circumcision, & it's not something I feel is necessary to do to a little boy. I do understand all the reasons why women choose to do so, but my question is how many people now adays actually choose to circumcise their son's? I know back in the day it was just about everyone, & people who weren't were labeled as 'different' or got made fun of & felt excluded! If women of new little boys, or even planning to conceive could answer are you going to circumcise your son?!

Answer 1

I think it's somewhere around 57% of newborn males in the U.S. are circumcised.  

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

We did it to our firstborn son, and did not repeat it with our second.  I am so happy I looked into it and did not choose to mutilate our second.

Answer 2

we decided to have our son circumcised even before he was conceived.  I have never regretted our decision!

Answer 3

I know I live in a rural, southern area and it seems a lot of people still do it. But I've also read that in the U.S. a lot more people are opting out of it. I know that we did with our son, because we felt it was a decision he should be able to make, and it just seems wrong to put a little baby through all of that pain just for a cosmetic procedure (as it has been deemed since they found that there were absolutely no medical reasons for it except for the rare cases where a baby will get repeated infections). My husband's brother though chose to do it with his son because he felt it would just be weird for him not to be circumcised. Now my son is four months old and we're still happy with our decision. There's nothing weird looking about it at all, and I would've hated him spending his first weeks of life with a nasty wound like that (because circumcision does leave behind a very real wound that requires careful care and leaves a scar that stays with him for life - you can see it on every circumcised man).

Answer 4

If I have a boy he will be circumsized.

Answer 5

My son is in factory condition.  

Answer 6

We did it!  

Answer 7

So in some strangers OPINION it is more sanitary and looks more appealing? Hmm...

Circumcision in unnecessary.

More people than you think, in this country, are leaving their boys intact.

Did you know that around 80% of the world is not circumcised?

Answer 8

my son is 9 months and we did have him circumcised. it seems to me that here in our town we are the minority. most people seem to not be having it done unless the infant needs it done.

it was the right choice for us but it isn't always for everyone. good luck with your decision.

Answer 9

I did so for religious reasons. But it was terrible to watch. If I had another boy, I don't know if I could go through that again.  

Answer 10

I left the decision to circumcise our son up to my husband as he will be the one that has a bigger part in potty training our son. My husband is circumcised and decided to have our son circumcised as well. My son wasn't crying when they brought him back to our room in the hospital after the procedure and didn't seem to be in any pain when we changed his diaper. The choice to have your son circumcised is entirely up to you and your partner. I personally feel that there is nothing wrong with circumcising boys, nor is it wrong to decide not to, it's a personal choice.

I also wanted to express my aggravation at the fact people put down circumcision and the parents that decide to do it, and yet they have no problem having their little girls ears pierced. Piercing is putting a hole somewhere that wasn't supposed to be there, mutilating the body. I remember when I had my ears pierced I cried because it hurt and it scared the h**l out of me. The infection I developed in my ears from the fake earrings was even more painful. I honestly don't see how this differs from have your son circumcised, and yet no one has anything bad to say about ear piercings.  Just my two cents.

Answer 11

i had a son and yes he is

Answer 12

it depends where you live within the u.s. i know that in the north east. nearly everyone gets it. especially within the jewish population.  my wife is expecting a baby boy and we are circumsizing him without a doubt. its very mainstream.

Answer 13

I had the procedure done with my son. My son did not cry during or afterwards. There is nothing wrong in doing it and it is done for health reasons, it lessens infections...It was my choice to have it done and i am proud of it. If you do not like that people do this then don't read about it. Do what you want..

Answer 14

Just had our son last year and we didn't get him cut.

I was born and raised in the US and I'm uncut and I wasn't made fun of or labeled as different. Well, at least not for being uncut!

Answer 15

We did not circumcise our son.

Answer 16

Yup, I DID have my son circumcised.

We had him circumcised because:

- We are Christian.

- His Great Grandmother is Jewish.

- My husband (his father) is circumcised.

- IN MY OPINION it is more sanitary.

- IN MY OPINION it's more presentable (cosmetic purposes.)

I think circumcision is a personal choice that every parent has their reason for doing (or not doing.)

It's nobody else's business what someone else does with THEIR child.

I think people should stop trying to cause a debate about other children's private parts. There are much more appropriate things to discuss on this board.

Answer 17

You actually have to look around to find a doctor who will circumcise boys these days. It's not the norm anymore, and I imagine it will continue to get rarer until a circumcised p***s will be a real oddity. There's a good reason for that - it's brutal and totally unnecessary.

Answer 18

absolutely not

Answer 19

You will have a bit of a hard time figuring out the exact prevalence of circumcision for a couple of reasons.  You will tend to encounter either anecdotal reports that "everybody does it" or "nobody does it anymore" or "it's about 50/50 now" all of which are fairly vague answers.  You can look up the official statistics which will give you the percentage of newborn boys who leave the hospital circumcised.  Keep in mind that this figure will under-report the actual prevalence since it is quite common to have the circ done in the pediatrician's office shortly after birth.  Circs done for religious reasons or because of a medical condition that developed also won't be reflected in that figure for newborn circs done in the hospital.

You should also keep in mind that the rate varies considerably across different demographic groups.  Whites and African-Americans are both much more likely to circumcise than are Hispanics.  People of higher income groups and with higher educational attainment also tend to be more likely to circumcise.  Geographically speaking, it is most common in the Midwest, followed by the NE and South, then the West (due in large part to the immigrant population).

Hope this gives you a little more perspective on circumcision rates in the USA.  Of course, circumcision is fairly uncommon in most countries, especially thoughout Europe and South America.  In Africa it usually depends on the person's tribal/ethnic group.  Of course countries with a Jewish or Muslim majority (Israel, the Phillipines), have near universal rates of circumcision.  There are also countries like South Korea that have very high rates of circumcision due to the influence of US doctors.

Answer 20

Unfortunately far to many people practice this needless abuse on children.  

Answer 21

it all depends what country you live in.  In the USA it can be anywhere from 55-90 percent depending on the part of the country. we had our son circumcised at birth.  Not for  or religious reasons but we believe it will protect him in the long run from a number of infections and possible diseases.  Boys circumcised at birth have virtually no cancer of the p***s, and also cosmetically we believe it looks better.

Any circumcision done in a US hospital today, a local anesthetic is used to minimize any pain or discomfort.

here are two circumcisions done with dignity and care:

http://www.circumcisionvancouver.com/

http://www.bris.us

if you need more information why not join this group of over 1000 moms and see what they have to say.

http://www.cafemom.com/group/circmoms

The decision is ultimately yours.  good luck with your baby

Answer 22

Congrats on your pregnancy!

The stats worldwide are overwhelmingly in favour of not circumcising, with about 20% of the world male population circumcised. In the US, there is a little bit over 50% of the males who are being circumcised at birth, with this figure continually dropping.

It is rare for a very good reason: it is totally medically unnecessary and is a permanent alteration of the body. As such, it is considered as cosmetic surgery and most people do not want to put their newborn sons through cosmetic surgery. Why would they?

I am the mother of two intact boys, who are 3 and 4. They are both very healthy and never had any of the issues some pro-circumcisers report as being common in intact boys. They never had a UTI, an infection or anything f******n related.

As a mother, I think you should consider the fact that your son should be the one to make such an important decision concerning HIS body. Yes, you are his parent, but it is still his body and should therefore be HIS decision.

Check the first link with the history of circumcision, it will help you understand why it's on the decline. If you want to know how it is done, you can check the second link

Answer 23

I had my 2 sons done. me and my dh talked about and he actually made the decision because he had a friend that had it done when they were 20 years old and said it was the worse pain ever ! and i didn't want them to have to go threw with it later on in life also, i know people aren't going to agree with me on this but its ok.  

Answer 24

I have a 6 year old son, he is not circumcised.  I just had a daughter, and if she had been a boy, I would not have circumcised either.  I just feel in most cases its unnecessary.

However, its completely the parents choice.

Best of luck with your little boy :)

Answer 25

All my sons are circumcised just like their Daddy.  It's not as barbaric as people think.  I was there for my second son's.  They used a numbing anesthetic they rubbed on and it took a few second to put on.  By the time we were back in the lobby he was fine.  All though study after study conflicts with the counter study being circumcised prevents a male from contracting HIV/AIDS by 60%.  

Answer 26

I also didn't know what i was going to do or very much info on it but to my knowledge my family is and that it is really all iv known.....

I decided on circumsizing my son because his daddy is and i didn't know what we would say when he potty trains and wants to know why his is different from his daddys cause he is bound to follow him into the bathroom and that ...all kids do plus it is a lot easier to potty train a kid by showing them its not like you can grab theirs and show them how eeewww ya know.. anyway that is why i decided what i did.

most parents i assume decide based on the dad or that is what i have heard before

Answer 27

This is a topic that gets very heated on Yahoo Answers.

I will not circumcise my son...I think it's completely unnecessary and only done for aesthetic reasons nowadays.

Plus, circumcision is a very North American thing...it is not done to nearly the same degree everywhere else in the world.

Essentially, it's up to the parents, but I will not do it.

Answer 28

Most don't, worldwide the rate is low and it's mostly only done for religious reasons, in the USA it's still done for reasons of tradition and culture but there are no medical reasons to do it to babies. The current rate in the US is about 50% circumcised and 50% not. It does vary by area but I don't think boys will be made fun of, it's a different generation now. I definitely wouldn't do it if I had a son because it's cruel and unnecessary.

Harriet

Answer 29

I would because of two reasons. 1.) From the experience I have had in hospitals it is still considered the norm and most little boys are. However, I live in a heavily populated hispanic culture where most moms opt not to because of religion or family choice. 2.) I also work in an ER and we see alot of little boys whose mother's did not circumcise who do not take care of the f******n and p***s like they should and it becomes infected. Most of these mother's circumcise later when the child is between 2-5 yrs and it is much more painful. Good luck in your decision, just make sure you are prepared to take care of it properly until your son reaches the age where he can.

Answer 30

Only Jews, Muslims, and 50% of Americans still circumcise babies for non-medical reasons.

Nowadays, HALF of American boys are left intact, and beyond America circumcision is rare in Europe, South America, Asia and Oceania.

I agree with you that its an unnecessary surgery to put a little boy thru. The statistics show a 50/50 split currently in the US, but the popularity of circumcision continues to drop here.

Answer 31

Apparently circumcision is now classed as cosmetic surgery (hurray finally) in Australia therefore you would need to justify / or have medical reasons to have this operation performed on your son.



I do not believe that it is necessary on any level (appart from Medicinal) that you would want to have a procedure like genital mutilation performed on a perfectly healthy child. Why would you take the risk?

I teach my son to care for his body, that means when he cleanses he belly button, our underarms, or fingers and toes that he also wash his p***s carefully. Up to now we haven't had any issues. I have alot of girlfriends (and we range in ages from 27 to 40) that don't believe in the practice of circumcision. It's really not the done thing anymore. You will never be excluded nor will your son.

Apart from any religous beliefs as to why this practice first started, please somebody explain to me why it's done? And please don't give me the hygiene or cosmetic speil - because that excuse doesn't cut it anymore.

But to you, best of luck with with your baby. Wishing you a safe and healthy delivery. I hope you consider both sides of this very heated and ugly topic and that you take the time to really investigate this procedure and make the best informed decision you can.