Hi,
Its so strange...I posted a reply on here last night, but I see absolutely no sign that it ever went through. But I still got an e-mail saying there were replies...weird huh? Anywayz, i'll try to rewrite what I wrote again.
I am currently 23 weeks pregnant with a baby boy and have been trying to decide whether or not to circumcise. I live in The U.S. where it is a very common practice. But that is not enough of a reason for me to do it.
I asked the opinion of a few of my female friends (not in regards to circumcising children as none of them have babies more just a general perspective on the subject.) Every one of them said I should def do it and a few were quite pushy about it. When I asked there reasoning behind there opinions the answers were all the same. None of them are attracted to uncircumcised men. They wouldnt want to have sex with one and they find them strange and gross. I was asked but the majority of them if I would want my son to be in a position where girls didnt want him and he was made fun of because he was uncircumcised. I myself find this response baffling as I dont really understand why it would make such a difference from them. My boyfriend (who is not for the U.S.) is uncircumcised and I have never even given it a second thought. Cosmetic appeal is not enough of a reason for me to decide to circumcise. I am much more interested on the potential health aspects of circumcision.
Ive done a ton of research on the subject...and there does appear to be some truth to the rumor that circumcision helps to prevent, uti, certain stds (especially HIV) and penile cancer. I believe penile cancer and uti's have been proven to be greatly reduced by circumcision. As for the STDs I have found evidence that there is a reduction in STDs among circumcised, especially found to be true with HIV. But I am not sure what other factors were involved... for instance Were the circumcised men who participated in these studies (in Africa for example where the majority of studies have taken place) more likely to use condoms because of the knowledge they had received on the subject? That could be a huge factor.
So although there have been some signs that circumcision reduces STDs there isnt really any conclusive evidence to prove that. Health orgnanizations (in the U.S.) do not recommend or not recommend it.
Because of this I am still very much on the fence about what to do. I dread the idea of putting my infant son through a painful surgery but I would hate to not have it done and then find that current studies have proven the health benefits of doing it and that it is now recommended. It would be much worse to do as a young child then as an infant. I really dont know what to do.
My mother doesnt think I should do it. She said if she were to have another son now, she is sure she wouldnt do it (my brother is circumcised..but back then she says it was just done routinely and she didnt put much thought into it). My brother thinks I shouldnt do it. Hes done a bunch of research for college health classes and doesnt believe there is any real benefit to doing so... My boyfriend also doesnt want it done..but to him it is a strange foreign practice as it is not done in his country (unless there is a true medical reason for it.) My father on the other hand thinks I should do it. I wonder if this stems from his religious background as he was raised jewish. He is however not a practicing Jew and hasnt been for as long as I can remember. He is very interested in the potential health benefits and thinks there is enough proof to warrant the babies circumcision.
I dont know what I am going to do...although I think I am leaning towards not circumcising.... At least I have a few months left to think about it! lol
She said she did it because it's the norm in her lifstyle it really was just a genuine question
