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This guide is the second in a series on unpopular decisions we parents make about our babies. It’s been a debate for a long time. Some parents choose to circumcise their baby boys for religious reasons, some just because they think it’s what they’re supposed to do. Others look at it as an unnecessary, barbaric practice. I think the important thing is that parents on both sides of the debates need to avoid demonizing parents on the opposing side.
Before TJ was born, my husband and I agreed to get him circumcised. At the time, the most prominent reason was for our son to be like his father, so that when it came time for him to be potty trained, he wouldn’t wonder why he looked so much different from his dad, and because Daddy wouldn’t know how to teach him the proper hygiene for someone who is uncircumcised. I apologize to both my husband and son for talking about such a personal thing in such a public forum.
Of course, the mommy message boards were lit up with arguments about circumcision. The prevailing opinion (at least the most vocalized opinion) seemed to be that it was an unnecessary surgical procedure, and that parents who subjected their son to it were no better than the parents in the Eastern hemisphere who subject their daughters to genital mutilation for the purpose of denying them sexual pleasure. I took offense at that, and I started to do my own research.
I do admit that there are risks to circumcision, but there are risks for many things we do for our children to keep them safe and healthy, including vaccinations.
As for benefits, a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that infant boys who are circumcised have fewer urinary tract infections than those who are not. When they get older, circumcision provided added protection against a rare type of cancer, penile cancer.
One of the biggest benefits I read about was the difference in the rate of HIV/AIDS infection between circumcised and uncircumcised men. I think we can all agree that the rate of HIV/AIDS infection has a lot more to do with the proper and consistent use of condoms than whether or not a man is circumcised. But the fact remains that even people who are educated about the importance of condoms do not always use them, for reasons as varied as religion, cost, comfort, and recklessness either inherent in personality or due to the influence of alcohol or other drugs. And there are many more people who are not educated about the proper use of condoms, as well. So accepting that people will either knowingly have unprotected sex or make a stupid mistake they’ll probably regret in the morning, I think I would rather give my son the added protection against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases by having him circumcised.
Still, the AAP’s report said that their findings were not enough to recommend circumcision as a routine procedure for everyone. They still recommend that every parent discusses the decision with their pediatrician to make the decision that is right for their own child. Hopefully, this recommendation should help parents on both sides of the debate to realize that even pediatric medical professionals are on the fence, so the other side should not be denegrated.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
