If you are having a boy, you need to decide whether or not circumcision is right for your baby. There are many medical and religious reasons as to whether you should or should not circumcise your baby boy. Before making your decision, research all the pros and cons.
My decision is that I’m for circumcision. This is why I decided to.
Ah, the great circumcision debate – to do it or not to do it? Well, when my son was born we had no choice. He was born with a condition called “Hypospadia” which meant that there was an abundance of foreskin, and it caused his penis to crook under. The doctor told us if we did not have him circumcised he would have great health problems when he got older. So at seven months, he had a surgical circumcision. We planned to have had him circumcised after birth anyway.
Now if I have another son in the future, I will have him circumcised with no regrets. My husband is circumcised and so is my son. That in itself is reason enough for me, but I have greater reasons to my decision.
It is a documented medical fact, according to the American Medical Association (AMA), that circumcised males have less penile cancers, less cases of AIDS, and less urinary tract infections. Though the risks to uncircumcised males are minimal, the risks are still there.
The risks for infections are greater in uncircumcised males. I know this first hand from an uncircumcised male family member who had many infections growing up, and now has a testicle that is swollen twice it’s size. The doctors told him it was because he wasn’t circumcised that he had the infections which led to the swollen testicle.
Also, the risks of giving a urinary tract infection to a female partner during intercourse are greater in uncircumcised males. Even so, women can still get urinary tract infections with circumcised males. The risks are greater with the uncircumcised ones.
So I chose to circumcise my son and will also circumcise any future sons too because of family and medical reasons.
However many boys who are not circumcised can lead healthy lifestyles with no problems. Cleanliness is a must if the foreskin is left in place. Learning to take special care to clean the penis and foreskin will help to keep infections at bay with the uncircumcised male.