I can not thank Lauren, with The Whole Network, enough for doing this very informative and respectful post on circumcision for our BWF readers. It truly is a phenomenal article on such a heated topic. ~Mrs. BWF
During my first pregnancy, I was overwhelmed with joy when I found out that there was a little boy in my belly. Like many ‘mamas-to-be’, I instantly fell in love and spent my days (and nights) dreaming about him. As the months passed by, I began to plan for his arrival: washing and hanging all of his tiny clothes, picking out the softest blankets I could find, figuring out what breast pump would be best. I wanted to be prepared for every little detail. When I began to make plans for the birth itself, I thought about what would happen on the day of his birth, and circumcision crossed my mind.
At the time, I did not think there was even a choice about circumcision. Every male I knew- my husband, dad, brothers, friends – were all circumcised. The thought of a penis with a foreskin wasn’t appealing to me (even though I never saw one in real life), and I had always heard of women saying it was “dirty” or “gross”. I also advocated the benefits of circumcision (even though I never truly looked at the research articles.)
My heart sank in my chest, because I didn’t want to put my new found love through any pain whatsoever. However, after talking to various family members and my OB/GYN, it seemed that circumcision was the best option for my son and his future. “It’s cleaner” and “he’ll have fewer problems” were the most common responses. I had yet to hear a single response that was in favor of not circumcising.
I didn’t think about it much after that, until about 2 months before his due date. By that time, my love for him had grown immensely, and the thought of any painful procedure made my head spin. So one day, I decided to sit down and search on Google to see what came up about circumcision. I was very surprised when the vast majority of the information was against it! My curiosity was perked, and I found myself on YouTube, watching a video of the procedure. After all, my baby boy would have to go through it- so I should see it, right?
My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw the video. I couldn’t stop crying.
From that day forward, I poured everything I could into researching this topic. I wanted to know the truth. Using various sites and forums, I started to network with as many people as I could. To my surprise, I found that there were thousands of parents who had healthy boys who were not circumcised. This intrigued me, because I had always been told that foreskins would cause many problems in boys/men. I needed to know more.
As I dug further into the topic, I found out that the majority of the males in the world are not circumcised. In fact, the United States is the only country to perform this procedure routinely for non-religious purposes. Another interesting fact is there is not a single medical organization in the world who recommends circumcision- not even the American Academy of Pediatrics!
So why was I under the impression that circumcision was best? Why do parents continue to choose it? Why do some doctors advise us to do so? I decided to create a list of the apparent benefits and researched them one by one. I had heard various reasons, such as better hygiene, less chance for UTIs, less chance for HIV/STDs, needing to look like father/brother(s), less chance of penile cancer/HPV, better to be done as an infant and needing to fit in with his peers. Here’s what I found.
Better Hygiene
It’s been said that much more care is needed when boys have a foreskin. That more cleaning time is required, because it is dirty and the foreskin needs to be retracted and cleaned from an early age. However, there is nothing unclean about a foreskin, especially in infancy. In fact, both boys and girls have foreskins, which serve the same purposes. The male foreskin is actually fused to the head (glans) of the penis in infancy and through much of childhood (much like a fingernail is fused to a finger.) This is the body’s way of protecting the genitals against urine and feces. Because it is fused shut, bacteria and other foreign particles cannot invade. There’s no need to retract the foreskin to clean under it. You simply wipe the outside only, like cleaning a finger- it’s easy!
The foreskin will naturally start to separate at an average of age 10. Once he can retract it on his own, he can just simply rinse with warm water in the shower. It’s just as easy as teaching a girl how to bathe and there’s nothing difficult about it.
Information over the internet can only go so far, so I wanted to personally network with people that had intact sons (or were intact themselves). I asked all about hygiene and care, and I never ran into a person or parent that had any issues with it. The parents all agreed that it was easy to care for an intact boy and all of the intact men said it was just a simple rinse in the shower- no extra time or effort. There’s even a video on YouTube that shows how simple it is! You can also listen to a pediatrician on intact care vs. circumcision care.
Less Chance of UTIs
Urinary tract infections are very rare in boys. But the prevalence of UTI in girls up to 2 years is more than twice the prevalence in boys of the same age. The rate in girls up to one year of age is 6.5%, while it is 3.3% in boys. From age one to two, it is 8.1% in girls and only 1.9% in boys. This being said, we can easily treat urinary tract infections in girls with a simple antibiotic, without the need to perform any surgery. In the rare case that a boy might get a UTI, an antibiotic would solve the problem.
There have been some claims of an increased risk of UTI during the first year of life for boys who are not circumcised. According to Psychology Today, “This claim is based on one study that looked at charts of babies born in one hospital (Wiswell 1985). The study had many problems, including that it didn’t accurately count whether or not the babies were circumcised, whether they were premature and thus more susceptible to infection in general, whether they were breastfed (breastfeeding protects against UTI), and if their foreskins had been forcibly retracted (which can introduce harmful bacteria and cause UTI) (Pisacane 1990). There have been many studies since which show either no decrease in UTI with circumcision, or else an increase in UTI from circumcision. Thus circumcision is not recommended to prevent UTI (Thompson 1990).”
Less Chance of HIV/STDs
A few select studies show a prevalence of HIV transmission in uncircumcised men, but real world empirical data shows that circumcision hasn’t stopped HIV in countries where there is already a prevalence of the practice of circumcision. Take the United States for example: we are a country with a very high rate of circumcision (70% of the current male population, compared to 10-15% worldwide), yet we have one of the highest rates of children/adults living with HIV & AIDS out of the post-industrial nations.
Greg Millett of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even said the following: “overall, we found no association between circumcision status and HIV infection status” when he presented his findings to the CDC’s National HIV Prevention Conference.
While circumcision is very common in the United States, it is uncommon in Europe. This would lead one to assume that HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases would be much higher in Europe, where circumcision is rare. However, this publication clearly shows that HIV and sexually transmitted diseases are much higher in the United States:
“The percentage of the United States’ adult population that has been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS is six times greater than in Germany, three times greater than in the Netherlands, and one-and-a-half times greater than in France.(Fig. 5)[5]”
“…data from the Netherlands found that rates of reported incidence [of sexually transmitted diseases] are considerably higher in the United States.[6,7] Further, comparisons of prevalence (the proportion of a given population which is infected) find that the Chlamydia prevalence among young adults in the United States is twice that among young adults in the Netherlands.[8,9]*”
Less Chance of Penile Cancer/HPV
Penile cancer is among the diseases circumcision claims to prevent. However, it is important to remember that penile cancer is incredibly rare. Did you know that more men are diagnosed and more deaths occur from male breast cancer than penile cancer? The chance of dying from penile cancer is so low that it is not even presented separately by http://www.cancer.gov/ – it is lumped in with all male genital cancers (including testicular cancer and the much more common prostate cancer) at a total of 310 estimated deaths in 2010. Compare this to the annual circumcision death rate of approximately 117 neonates (first month of life). That’s more than SIDS (115 annually) and more than suffocation (44) and auto accidents (8) combined. (via Saving Babies)
The Journal of Infectious Diseases from the Oxford Journals did a study on the baseline prevalence of penile, scrotal, and perineal/perianal human papillomavirus (HPV) in heterosexual men on 5 continents. They found that “Neither condom usage nor circumcision was associated with HPV DNA prevalence.”
One of the most compelling items I found on the subject of penile and cervical cancer was a letter written from the American Cancer Society to the American Academy of Pediatrics:
“As representatives of the American Cancer Society, we would like to
discourage the American Academy of Pediatrics from promoting routine
circumcision as preventative measure for penile or cervical cancer.
The American Cancer Society does not consider routine circumcision
to be a valid or effective measure to prevent such cancers.Research suggesting a pattern in the circumcision status of partners
of women with cervical cancer is methodologically flawed, outdated and
has not been taken seriously in the medical community for decades.Likewise, research claiming a relationship between circumcision and
penile cancer is inconclusive. Penile cancer is an extremely rare
condition, effecting one in 200,000 men in the United States. Penile
cancer rates in countries which do not practice circumcision are lower
than those found in the United States. Fatalities caused by
circumcision accidents may approximate the mortality rate from penile
cancer.Portraying routine circumcision as an effective means of prevention
distracts the public from the task of avoiding the behaviors proven to
contribute to penile and cervical cancer: especially cigarette smoking
and unprotected sexual relations with multiple partners. Perpetuating
the mistaken belief that circumcision prevents cancer is inappropriate.”
Better to be Done as an Infant
It has often been said that circumcision is better to be performed on an infant for various reasons, but it is important to look at the subject logically. If a man is left intact, he can always choose to be circumcised later. However, once a circumcision is performed, it cannot be undone. There are many cases of men who are unhappy with their circumcision, and wish that they had the choice.
Even if he opted for circumcision later, not only would he have the choice, but he would also get adequate pain medication for the surgery and understand what is happening to his body. A large majority of routine infant circumcisions are not performed with any anesthetic. In fact, up to 96 percent of the babies in the United States and Canada receive no anesthesia when they are circumcised, according to a report from the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
This has many parents (and medical professionals) concerned about the pain associated with circumcision, but is a local anesthetic even enough?
In this research study, 11 male newborns were circumcised with a local dorsal penile nerve block, and 13 controls were circumcised without anesthetic. When the adrenal cortisol levels were compared, response to surgery was not significantly reduced by the administration of lidocaine. Some doctors use EMLA cream as an anesthetic. Not only is EMLA cream less effective than a lidocaine injection, but the manufacturer’s insert warns against its use on infants and on the genitals of children.
The truth of the matter is, infants cannot get the adequate pain treatment, including post-op pain medication, like an adult would. They don’t understand what is happening to their bodies, and most of all, they don’t have a choice.
Needing to Look Like Father/Brothers
This was a very important issue for me. My husband is circumcised, and so is his oldest son. I was worried that there would be issues with the new baby being different than his dad and brother. I didn’t want him to feel different or alone.
I found out that a distant family member was kept intact, even though his older brother and dad were circumcised. Although it seemed like it would be an awkward conversation, I just had to have my husband ask him about it. So he did. It turned out that he really didn’t care and it was never a big deal.
I connected with other men who grew up intact with circumcised dads, and they laughed saying, “I don’t even remember what my dad’s penis looked like…. and quite frankly, I wouldn’t want to remember!”
It all made sense even though I never thought of it that way. To my surprise, it just wasn’t an issue for these men. There were even online groups dedicated to keeping future sons intact, and I spoke with hundreds of parents who had made this same decision. Many of them now had grown children, and were happy to share their experience with me. I asked many questions, and it came down to this: as parents, we can only do what we think is best for our children. But, we also need to be able to grow and learn, so we can always make the best decisions possible. Sometimes, we learn that a past decision wasn’t necessarily the best, and that is OK. We adapt and move on, and our children will understand that. “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” – Maya Angelou
Needing to Fit in with His Peers
“Getting made fun of in the locker room” was a very common response for potential issues for boys who were not circumcised. This was also an important issue for me, much like the issue for my son to look like his father and brother. While this may have been an issue for men in previous generations, it is just not the same for boys growing up today.
In 2010, a slide presented by a CDC researcher at the International Aids Conference in Vienna claimed that circumcision rates in the US had dropped to 32.5% in 2009. While this number was not actually endorsed by the CDC, their 2010 reports still show circumcision rates have dropped over the years (54.7% in 2010). No matter which number you choose to use, the results are the same: circumcision rates are falling in the United States, and continue to do so. With at least half of American parents saying no to circumcision, intact boys will no longer be in the minority. Boys growing up in today’s generation will have the same amount of peers who are intact vs. circumcised.
Some regions in the US have a higher percentage of intact males, while other regions have a lower percentage, so it will vary depending on your location. However, it is important to remember that no matter what, children are going to be different than each other in a variety of ways. Some will be considered too smart, not smart enough, too fat, too thin, too tall, too short… the list goes on and on. The main thing is to be sure to teach our children to understand that they are unique and that they should love themselves for who they are. After all, they are special in their own ways, and that will never change.
Conclusions
Fast forward to now, and my son is happy, healthy and has never had a single problem whatsoever with being intact. As I’ve continued to research the subject, I’ve learned so much more than I could have imagined, such as the many important functions of the foreskin and how specialized it is. It is truly so much more than a “flap of skin”.
I’ve been so moved by the plethora of information I have discovered, that I even founded a grassroots non-profit organization called The WHOLE Network. I wanted to be able to reach other parents who were in the same shoes as I, and make sure they had a place for accurate information and support. As more and more parents seek out information, we continue to grow and help others. We have locations in each US state, as well as various countries worldwide. If anyone ever has any questions or needs information, we would love to help them and get them the accurate information they need.
We know that parents want what is best for their children. We understand that many moms and dads are simply trusting in the advice of their doctors or family. We aren’t here to condemn parents, or to make them feel guilty for past decisions. We are here to empower parents with information, and help inform them so that they can make educated decisions for the ones that they love most.
{ 94 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
As a circumcised man who has long known that his penis was not as good as those belonging to his intact brethren, I cannot praise too highly the parents who realise that their son’s future sexual life is far more important than their own cultural/religious views. Moses Maimonides admitted some 800 years ago that circumcision was performed in order to reduce sexual pleasure, and it does. Masturbation has always existed, it is not harmful or sinful, and has only been demonised in recent times. I have one son, who is happily and healthily intact.
Too many words I could say, but most importantly, thank you! Excellent post and so inspiring. I’m so so proud and relieved that we decided to keep our son intact. Keep doing what you’re doing!
Since reaching out on the Internet the subject of circumcision has been mentioned a lot, and since in the UK it is very rare (I believe! No-one I know has been circumcised as an infant, although it isn’t exactly a dinner party conversation piece heh) I was astounded to hear that so many Americans have it done on a routine basis. It just seems crazy to me, why remove something for the reason of “you might have problems with it later so best get rid of it when you’re a baby and don’t remember it”. I read a satirical blog post on how we should remove all baby’s toes shortly after birth because it will be much simpler in the long run, what with the possibility of ingrown toenails, fungus, etc. To me, the two seem equally ridiculous!
Something that, as a Man, is a point that I think worth emphasising… One significant side effect of being circumcised is that sexual please is significantly reduced. I’m sure we all want our children to one day have a truly fulfilled sex life. The foreskin contains, by far, more nerve endings that the head of the penis. So removing it will stop your son ever experiencing the full sensations of sex, and in the extreme this could lead to increased issues with arousal and ejaculation. (see the ‘many important functions’ link in the main article). If I am blessed with a son, I will not let anyone near his penis with a knife!
Thank you! We have 4 intact sons, but my husband and stepson are circumcised. The “matching” argument is such a non-issue. Our youngest has hypospadias, so he is missing part of his foreskin and he pees off to the side. We can’t help that he looks different, but his brothers certainly understand! By the way, with all we’ve learned along the way, my husband is so upset that he was circ’ed. He greatly wishes he still had his foreskin. He didn’t know any better when he had my stepson circ’ed, and thought that’s just what you did. I never learned about the functions of the foreskin, etc until after having three boys, but I am so very thankful that the idea of amputating healthy body parts off my baby was something I would never do and found quite insane. Although I didn’t understand it’s wonderful purposes, I would never have part of my new baby’s body removed! And, thankfully a childbirth instructor told me it didn’t need retracted, so I never messed with my boys’ foreskins despite a pediatrician telling me I should retract to clean. Thanks again for an excellent article!
“ ‘It’s cleaner’ and ‘he’ll have fewer problems’ were the most common responses. I had yet to hear a single response that was in favor of not circumcising.”
I gather that when these things were said to you, YouTube was already up and running. For a health care professional to say those anytime during the past 5-6 years was frankly unprofessional. Meanwhile, they don’t reveal that it is often done without anesthesia and so hurts like hell. To cut a baby without lidocaine should be a criminal offense.
The circ rate in the USA nowadays is 50-55%; I do not believe the 33% figure for 2009. The circ rate varies widely by locale (with midwest highest, west of Rockies lowest), race (African American highest, Latino lowest), Medicaid reimbursement, parental income and education, and so on. Many American parents grew up in a totally circumcised environment and so have emotional difficulties raising an intact son. It would help a lot if USA medicine would lead here, but it refuses to do so. The AAP does not recommend circumcision, but also says that doctors should circumcise if the parents wish it for any nonmedical reason.
@Nicola: the American obsession with making the penis bald is one of the very weirdest aspects of American childbirth and sexual attitudes. Almost every American white man your father’s age was circumcised 1-2 days after his birth. I call this the American Foreskin Holocaust.
My son was circumcised at the age of 9. He had phimosis. His foreskin was a long and tight turtleneck impossible to retract. I never attempted to clean it and we never had an issue with infection. When he was 4 I took him to a urologist who recommended removal. His father rejected the procedure.
During a hike when he was 9 yrs I watched him urinate off a low bridge into water. His urine came out as a spray, three feet in circumference. I knew then why our toilet area was always covered urine splash. The other related problem was that urine bubbled up under his foreskin draining out after evacuation.
His father and I agreed we needed help. We were told his phimosis was severe and we had two options. 1. The foreskin could be surgically split open, but that leave flaps of skin. 2. Circumcision.
The circumcision was done under anesthesia at Children’s Hospital Seattle. As always our boy trusted us. He didn’t worry. He understood something was wrong with his penis.
He is 21 now and every few years I ask him if he is/was ok with the procedure. I get quiet answers, nothing negative. But, in general I think he is ok with it.
He has never expressed discontent. I worry though, after reading this article and an abundance of others, that he will do his own research and find himself inadequate or lacking sexually.
I almost wish someone would say: “having a circumcision is ok.”
This issue makes me feel sad.
Claudia, circumcision is a procedure that was meant for rare circumstances when it was truly needed. In your situation, I would say circumcision was OK. (((hugs)))
Claudia, I’m sorry to have to say this but most likely your son was going through a normal and temporary phase of foreskin development that would have resolved itself soon without interference. I’m sorry that you did not have the information you needed and that you now feel guilty. This info might be helpful for you:
Common Questions Regarding Normal Separation of the Prepuce (foreskin) http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/common-questions-regarding-normal.html
Ballooning in the Intact Child
http://www.drmomma.org/2011/06/ballooning-in-intact-child.html
From the first link:
“Spraying While Urinating
Some boys will spray at one time or another during the process of penile growth. If your son has entered a spraying phase, simply instruct him to retract his foreskin enough to expose the meatus when he urinates (if he can do so himself and without pain of course). This is a phase and won’t last that long. But it might come and go several times during the separation process. There is no difference in the amount of spraying between intact or circumcised boys – this has much more to do with a child’s aim and the development of his urethra than whether or not he is intact.”
I hope this helps you make a decision that you feel better about with your next boy.
Your story makes me think that my boyfriends mother had the same concerns with spraying when urinating..my bf actually sits down to pee! When I asked why he said that his mother suggested it and thats how he grew up. My bf was never circumcised and we’ve never had problems sexually, nor has he in his 23 years of existence. Now, I’m 25 weeks pregnant with our first (a son), and we’ve decided circumcision is not necessary. My doctor was glad about my decision and said she does not care to do them and never had anyone come in with a problem that would need fixing with circumcision. But I don’t think anyone should feel bad about having their child circumcised as long as they have the child’s best interest in mind. <3
Claudia, there was nothing wrong with your son’s penis. The only problem he had was being born into a culture where very few people, even doctors (and especially parents) don’t know what’s normal. You are both victims of that culture. You did not have the benefit of wise, informed people around you to reassure you that what you were seeing is entirely normal. Many, many boys have long, tight foreskins, and many spray when they pee. This is common. It is not a defect, nor a reason for surgery. You and your son were taken advantage of.
He may very well feel badly if he ever learns the whole truth. Or he may choose not to give much thought to the matter, like many men. In any case, if he ever approaches you with misgivings or anger about what was done to him, then just explain how you were doing your best with the (mis)information you had, and that had you known better, you would have done better.
Thank you for this excellent article.
I left a comment yesterday. I have not heard back from you. I feel it is important to publish it, so others do not panic and circ their sons, “just n case”. If you feel the comment was wrong, or something, pls let me know what you would like me to change. Thanks
Franny, I have not received any other comment from you.
Claudia, many boys “spray” when urinating, especially if they have longer foreskins. I remember from camping trips when I was a kid and the boys all lined up to pee. The boys with longer foreskins can’t control the overhang and it moves around and causes what you describe. I think you did your best with the knowledge that you had, but I just have to ask 1. did your son ever complain about a problem? 2. Did you exhaust every other avenue before finally submitting to a circ as a last resort when everything else failed. If the answer to these 2 questions is yes, then having a circ was OK.
I’m from the UK and neither of my two boys were circ’d, it just wasn’t a consideration or even brought up in conversation. However recently my husband had to undergo circumcision for medical reasons. He didn’t hesitate to go ahead once he’d seen the ureologist as he knew he would be in less pain once the procedure had been done and healed. He’d suffered from problems relating to a tight foreskin for a number of years.
He drove himself to the hospital one evening full of confidence and not a worry, when he returned later he was in absolute agony (he’s not the type of person to complain either). After the anaesthesia had worn off he was in so much pain, and it took at least a week for the pain to go, swelling to subside, and longer than two weeks for the stitches to finally disolve and healing to complete. Despite all this it was still the right decision for him. However I cannot imagine putting a baby or child through this trauma for cosmetic reasons – and lets face it thats what it is unless its for religious or medical reasons.
Taking care of a baby’s/child’s foreskin is easy – leave it alone! When they get to around 5 they can gently retract the foreskin as far as is comfortable (not far at all) and swish it around in the bath (thats it). When they are older and can retract it fully, they do that while in the bath or shower and the job’s done.
My huband showed our boys his stitches and explained he had to have an operation. Hopefully if they ever experience problems as young adults or men they will feel they can come back to dad and talk to him about the time he had stitches in his willy! Then if it is ever necessary they can consider circumcision, when they are able to understand why they have to suffer the pain of an operation like this.
My husband and I researched circumcision with my oldest son. After viewing a video on the web my circumcised husband said “NO WAY!” I am proud of that choice and feel sorry for thos who ar not strong enough to step away from the pack. All the mothers I meet can’t believe my choice. I however, and my boys couldn’t be happier. My father is Bemudian and intact he has never had and issue in his whole life.My husband is circumcised and gets irratation often. To all the parents out there be strong and stop carring what thers think. Isn’t this what we teach our kids? To be happy the way they are? My boys are and I am proud of that!
I am extremely passionate about the issue of circumcision. Unless for actual genuine medical reason, not hypothetical maybes, it should NOT BE DONE! This idea of aesthetics really annoys me, the concept of wanting your children to look like their siblings and parents. Well, I’m heavily pierced and tattoed. Does this mean I have the right to tattoo or pierce my baby girl, so she looks like mummy? As for religion, I cannot think that any deity would deem it necessary for a child to be mutilated without anesthetic. My husband is not circ’d. By son is not and never will be circ’d, unless it is absolutely 100% medically necessary and there is no other route possible. We have enough knowledge and information to know that the old excuses no longer hold water. We need to inform ourselves, and others who still consider it an appropriate thing to do to an infant. And we need to psh for it to be made illegal without the consent of the child. If that means God has to wait until a boy is ten before he is circumcised and can be recognised, then so be it.
I think that one of the scariest aspects of having intact sons is the ignorance of the medical community. It is not possible for a 9 year-old to be accurately diagnosed with phimosis. All of these “issues” (ballooning, spraying, not retractable) are generally just the normal stages of development of the intact penis that physicians are completely uneducated about. Just an example- my husband is a physician and recently saw his first case of phimosis in an adult patient, and the urologist that he consulted had already recommended circumcision. My husband decided to try steroid cream first since it is 85% effective and less invasive. It worked. But you still hear circumcision being recommended as a first line of treatment and for problems that do not actually exist. The urologist later joked that my husband lost him some money on that patient. At least he was honest.
I just have to wonder how many physicians say to themselves after circumcising a baby, wow, that was easy money. I’m sure there are many. I once heard of a female physician that bragged about putting all her kids through college performing infant circumcisions. Doesn’t it seem pretty unethical that this woman’s kids benefitted from cutting off a part of those poor babies bodies? It does to me.
Isn’t it interesting that so many people put there lives in the hands of crazy manipulative doctors… I’m happy your husband took matters into his own hands.
My husband and I are blessed to be having our first little boy in July. Each one of these topics have come up in conversation between us, and I’m thankful you chose to address them all. Not only did the information help back what I’d been reading up on, it took the angle of Scientific proof, rather than the “feeling” of never wanting to hurt your new little blessing. This topic couldn’t have come up at a better time, we’ll be sitting down with our Doula tonight to discuss our birth plan and future plans on Circumcision. As of now, my husband and I are divided on the issue and both just want to do whats best. Thank you for the insightful information. Hilary.
Thank you for writing this article and for your extensive research on the matter & passing it on to us. I am most likely having my first girl, but this issue if we were going to have a boy perplexed me. Why would God give boys this foreskin if it were not needed & not an important part of the body, same question would go for our gallbladder where so many are getting them taken out… I can’t thank you enough, I will keep the above organization in mind if I ever have a boy. This has been the best article I have come across so far, thank you.
Years ago, I succumbed to a pushy husband who demanded his son look like him and an untruthful nurse who sided with him, and signed the consent form for my son’s foreskin to be cut off. I will forever regret that decision, but I was not informed. that said, I don’t want anyone to ever to say it’s okay because I didn’t know…..my heart knew, even if my mind didn’t, and it will never, ever be okay that I allowed this to happen to my precious, perfect baby son. He is an adult now and says he is happy with it, but it doesn’t make me feel any less responsible. I failed to protect my son and I hold myself accountable.
← Previous Comments