The past few months have been an interesting journey for me. I've really thought long and hard about circumcision, and done a lot of research. To be honest, I'm pretty surprised by the decision MacGyver and I have made about circumcision. I hesitated to blog about our decision, because I know that not all of our family will understand our reasoning. I really don't care if they 'approve' or not, I just thought maybe avoiding a blog post about the subject would be wise. Obviously I'm blogging about it anyway.
Had the Sunbean been a boy, I'm sure we'd have had her circumcised. I just don't think I would have thought twice about it. I can't speak for everyone, but I know I'm looking at things more closely with my second child. Things aren't as new and overwhelming this time, so I'm able to think more clearly about the experience I want for my child and I. Is that a function of the second child, or it is just me?
So MacGyver and I have decided not to circumcise Little Dude. Our decision to leave him intact was a difficult one, but I feel like we're making the right decision for our family. In case you're interested, here's our thought process.
The first thing I did was talk to
Maya, an awesome mom of two little boys. I had no idea what decision she'd made about circumcision, but I certainly value her opinion and I know that she makes well-thought-out and researched choices. After talking to her, I did more research.
I was surprised to learn that the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics)
doesn't recommend routine circumcision. They don't necessarily recommend against it, they just recommend not making it a run-of-the-mill, routine procedure. I think this was the first wake-up call for us.
After that, I put in a call to our pediatrician. We switched to this pedi when the Sunbean was about a year old, and we love her and trust her. Again, I was pretty surprised by her comments. She told me that circumcision is a cosmetic procedure, and she doesn't feel that the medical benefits outweigh the consequences. She said that she'd be happy to perform a circumcision on Little Dude in the hospital (and she'd give him pain meds...not all places do, FYI), but if she were choosing for her own children, she would leave them intact.
I think the combination of my hippie tendencies (as MacGyver calls it), the recommendation of the AAP, and the recommendation of our pediatrician kind of sealed the deal for us.
There are so many points of debates about circumcision. I can't believe how fired up people get, on both sides of the table. One of the top arguments is the 'locker room' factor. Proponents of circumcision will say that intact boys will be teased around their peers. I think this one is a tough one to argue, because
our generation was routinely circumcised. So yes, an intact male that is my age may have been teased (not sure...I was always in the other locker room). But according to the CDC, the circumcision rate in the US is currently at 32.5% (this does not include circumcisions performed outside of a hospital, like at a bris). That statistic tells me that Little Dude will not be the only intact male running around. Of course, we live in the conservative Midwest, and I'd imagine the rate around here is a little higher than it would be, say, on the west coast. I did ask our pediatrician how many she performs, and she estimated that about 50% of boys in our area are circumcised.
Another point of debate is the idea that intact males are more likely to catch an STD. This one in particular makes me laugh. The studies for this debates were done in an area of Africa with a high rate of HIV transmission, so not even our reality (thank goodness). In my opinion, the best way to prevent my little boy from transmitting an STD is to teach him to wait until he's married to have sex. I just don't think the STD argument is a valid one.
The other 'big one' is the UTI argument. Many will say that intact little boys will get lots of UTIs. I've done the research (and again, talked to our pediatrician), and I just don't think the risk of Little Dude getting a UTI is a valid reason to have him circumcised. The current statistics (again, from the CDC) states that nearly 500 circumcisions would need to be performed to prevent 1 UTI. For us, that's just not worth it.
So those are the big arguments, but there are tons of other points of debate, too. This was a difficult choice for us to make, and I think there are valid ideas on both sides. We're feeling at peace about the decision we've made, though we're prepared to hear some criticism from our friends and family. This is the right choice for us, but I don't think it would be the right choice for everyone.
Tell me: what are your thoughts? Do you think we're total crazy hippies, or do you agree with our choice? Do you have a religious perspective? I'd love to hear what you think!
