Thoughts

[never2amazing]

What are your thoughts on the following article?:

www.cnn.com/2012/08/27/health/aap-circumcision-recommendation/index.html?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_health+%28RSS%3A+Health%29&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner&iref=obinsite

[rikkiandjulie]

I really have no issues with circumcision or not. I do understand that many people think it should be the childs' decision, but I've also never heard anyone say 'I wish i wasn't circumsized'. My child will be circumsized based on Julie's decision. I had no care either way. . . but this article is intriguing

[ElsaVonM]

I don't know if it would have changed our decision not to circumcise, but I doubt it. I do know people who wish they hadn't been circumcised, which made it feel less like my decision to make. Having boy/girl twins also played into it - as a non-religious person it just seemed bizarre to me that I would send off my male newborn to have part of his anatomy cut off while leaving my female newborn intact and cooing in my arms.

As far as the science goes, there are a lot of preventative things we could do at birth but don't, like taking out the tonsils or removing the appendix. When it comes down to it, circumcision only gained traction because of religion, not because of any minor health benefits it later happened to show, and these studies just seem kind of weird to me - like, we already perform this unnecessary medical procedure, so let's see if we can justify it. If you already want to do it because of personal preference or religious reasons, it's nice to know that there are added benefits. But no regrets here.

[ct]

My thoughts are in line with Leap's. The minor change in the AAP's stance doesn't really have an impact on my personal feelings about it.

[joyseattle]

We won't circumcise and this hasn't changed that. I have lots of thoughts and feelings, professionally and personally. Luckily, I'm pretty good at delineating them and remaining respectful of others' parenting choices.

[never2amazing]

For me it was the final suggestion from the AAP...it is up to the parents to decide.

Thankfully, DW and I stood in agreement and had Little Man circumcised. We did not do it for religious reasons, but for our own personal and private reasons.

[kershnic]

Leap covered my feelings. We will not circumcise. In my mind it's still an unnecessary surgical procedure and I have known men who were upset about having been circumsiced as babies.

[hlke]

I think the evidence is equivocal enough that the "parents should weigh the risks and benefits" is a reasonable policy position, but I think the AAP took a pretty uncritical look at the data. I'm not sure studies looking at adult men in high HIV prevalence African countries translates particularly well to American-born infants.

Fundamentally, the AAP still does not recommend routine circumcision, so it's not a huge policy change. The change in position has a lot to do with getting Medicaid to cover circumcision so that parents of kids on Medicaid are able to have a choice, and I support parents having that choice.

Maybe I'm naive, but I'd like to let our (theoretical) son decide around the time he becomes sexually active. Condoms are much more effective at preventing HIV and STDs than circumcision, and hopefully our son would choose that option. I know circumcision is more difficult when you are older, but that seems a reasonable tradeoff for not making an irreversible decision when your child is an infant.