Circumcision, Something to Think About.

My pregnancy could be summed up as a long stint of research. From searching the internet for car seat reviews to figuring out all I could about breast feeding I became an almanac of baby knowledge. While there is so much I still hope to learn about early childhood development; I feel content with saying any decision I will be making for my son in the first year will be one I made with a clearly educated mind. Now that I am having a son the biggest decision I have to make is circumcision. This is honestly the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life. I have spent months researching the history, benefits, and even all the negatives about circumcision. While researching and talking to other moms I realized how little we truly know about circumcision. However, what shocked me the most is how much of what we have been told has been proven false or is just a plain myth.


The biblical story of Abraham is believed to be the introduction to circumcision. It is thought that God told Abraham that he and his family, and any people in the household (even slaves) were to be circumcised by the eighth day of life. It was believed that any man not circumcised would never walk in the path of God and should be separated from his people. However a boy that was circumcised held the mark of God and then was destined to live in God’s light. This brought on the tradition of making circumcision a celebratory social event among the Jewish. Today 98% of Jewish men are circumcised. Later on, Muslims began to pass down the tradition of circumcision so their sons could walk the life of Muhammad. Although circumcision is widely known to be associated with the Torah, ancient civilizations, like the ancient Egyptians also practiced the act of circumcising infants. Three out of four circumcised men in today’s age are Muslim.


Many other tribes, villages, and civilizations had begun the practice of circumcision. Although in the east it began with religious intent, circumcision held many other meanings with other cultures. Ancient Egyptians were known to hold mass circumcisions. In taking part you were proving your manhood by withstanding pain while also becoming a man that was “clean” and worthy of potential. Male circumcision in Africa differs with each language group. Among the Gikuyu, circumcision was performed on any boy who had finished the tribe’s education system where he learned about his people’s history. This circumcision was performed in front of all of the tribe’s people. The boy was then taught to show only bravery and strength. If he showed pain, he was then shunned from the community and cast out into the wild. However the Greeks believed that circumcising a man was mutilation. They believed a circumcised man held imperfect form and was a shame to the God’s. It was common for a man to be circumcised publicly as punishment for sexual crimes. That same act is now found in African tribes.
As time moved forward fear was associated with masturbation. In the 1890’s circumcision then became a practice to stop the temptation of masturbating. It was believed that a man who masturbated would develop forms of insanity. Masturbation became known as self-abuse and was treated as body defacement. Clitoridectomies (removal of the clitoris) were also performed to treat a woman who was caught masturbating. Shortly after the procedure was created, it became practiced just like circumcision is today. One of the leading advocates of circumcision was John Harvey Kellogg. He advocated the consumption of Kellogg's corn flakes to prevent masturbation, and he believed that circumcision would be an effective way to eliminate masturbation in males.

"The operation should be performed by a surgeon without administering an anesthetic, as the brief pain attending the operation will have a salutary effect upon the mind, especially if it be connected with the idea of punishment, as it may well be in some cases.”

Although we know now that circumcision does not protect a man from future mental illness; it is still a common misconception that circumcised men are protected from disease. For a long time circumcision was promoted as a way to protect young boys from sexually transmitted diseases. However, now we know that the only way a man can protect himself is using condoms or abstaining from sex completely. Another reason given to medically support the need of circumcision is the prevention of urinary tract infections. This too has recently been proven to be a false assumption. UTI’s among infants is incredibly rare. There are studies from Israel and Canada that suggest circumcision may actually cause an increase in the rate of UTI.

For an article written on the circumcision and urinary tract infections visit;http://voices.yahoo.com/circumcision-doesnt-effectively-prevent-urinary-tract-208991.html

If you are anything like me you will hear that and ask yourself “Why are we still being told to circumcise our boys if there are no medical findings proving it necessary or even beneficial?” Well, many pediatricians feel the same way you and I do. Many will leave the option to you, while never circumcising their own sons. In 2010 circumcision was voted the #1 parenting controversy. U.S. infant circumcision rate is now 32%, down from 56% three years ago, according to the CDC. Every year the rates of infant boys who leave the hospital circumcised are decreasing. Worldwide 82% of men remain intact and uncircumcised. Now plastic surgery’s second most common procedure is foreskin restoration. (Second to the boob job, of course) Why you ask? Many times, too much foreskin is removed during infant circumcision. This causes painful erections and scaring of the penis. So if you’re thinking circumcision will save your son from an “ugly” penis… you might be doing way worse damage than foreskin ever could. (Not to mention when an uncircumcised penis is erect, it’s common that foreskin stretches, and isn’t visible.)

Now, you may be thinking that it’s just a flap of skin. However, that just simply isn’t true.


Many have compared the foreskin to a very sensitive eyelid. This is because the foreskin protects the tip of the penis from being dried out. Others will compare the foreskin to the clitoris. This is the better comparison. The foreskin is an anatomically unique structure with its own complex vascular and neural systems and separate attachments to its parts and to the penis. (In English? The foreskin is its own miniature sex organ) At birth the infant boy’s foreskin is almost always fused to his glans as his penis as it is not fully developed and one function of the foreskin is to keep feces and other foreign substances from the meatal opening and the urinary tract of the infant and toddler. That is why the only care for the intact penis is to leave it alone, completely alone. The foreskin is actual a natural protection against urinary tract infections, if left intact the foreskin continues to be a protective barrier until older toddler years. When a man becomes a sexual being the foreskin keeps the tip sensitive as the penis is designed to be covered to keep the tissue soft and moist. Mucous inner lining reduces the need lubricants which impact's on the maintenance of the sensitivity of glans as well as reducing the need for vaginal lubrication and comfort during sex. The foreskin has over 20.000 erogenous nerves that make it a huge part of the pleasure in sex. During sex a man’s foreskin stimulates the woman’s genitalia creating what many women will call a sexual bond. Or pieces that fit together. (This coming from a woman who prefers an intact man.)

This link will take you to watch a circumcision. I urge you to watch one performed before you make the decision. Often, they will not allow you to accompany your son as the procedure is performed. http://circumcisiondecisionmaker.com/watch-circumcision-video/

For those who say it does not hurt an infant, you are wrong. In the procedure he is put in restraints, often infants will return to their parents and have bruises where these restraints were in place. The infant is comforted by curling up his body and recreating the womb like feeling. During a circumcision he has no ways of coping other than screaming. Surgically removing part of a baby boy's penis causes pain, creates immediate health risks, and can lead to serious complications. Risks include infection, hemorrhage, scarring, difficulty urinating, loss of part or all of the penis, and even death. Circumcision complications can and do occur in even the best clinical settings. Most complications are unable to detect until the boy is a toddler.

This will take you to an article titled The Lost Boys infant deaths related to circumcision. http://www.readperiodicals.com//201004/2026622071.html What they do not tell you is that this happens all the time. Circumcision is surgery. Like all surgery it has complications and huge risks.

Often times the infant will appear to be calm after a circumcision. I hate to be frank, but so is a child who was beaten, and then was given sanctuary after. This is a mental mechanism that all creatures have. Once the baby is redressed, swaddled, and return to his mother the horror is over. Often that is all the mother sees, is a baby coping with stress in his safe environment. So they believe the circumcision was not a traumatic event. The baby then will sleep soon after the procedure is done. This is a way of coping with stress. It is all too common for a baby to have a depleted appetite for the remaining day after a circumcision. Infants who are circumcised are known to lose more weight than the uncut baby.

Plan on Breastfeeding? Circumcision affects that too. Currently they are undergoing studies of 2012-2013 babies to prove it. So far what they found in 2012 backs what we breast feeding mommas fear. Due to the trauma of circumcision a baby often with draws from people, has longer fits of (NREM) sleep, and becomes uninterested in eating. La Leche League International (LLLI) first reported problems with breastfeeding by circumcised male infants in 1981. Breastfeeding problems among circumcised male infants have been verified by lactation consultants all across the country. Some saying a mother will have no problems with a baby’s latch until after a circumcision.

Finally, I would like to address the fact that this is the way we are born as human beings. If this skin was unnecessary, our species would have evolved by now to not be born with it. Circumcision is mutilation. We are removing a functioning part of their anatomy for what? A social status? I will leave my son intact, so I may teach him how to accept his body the way it was created. I know there may come a day where he will ask me why I made this decision. I am proud to say this is a decision I will make with confidence. When he asks, I will tell him I made this choice, so he could have one. I decided to leave him intact so his future sexuality would be decided by himself, as it should be. My son’s penis is not for me to cut.