The decision for circumcision rests with the parents, who should make an informed choice considering medical, cultural, religious, and personal factors, ideally together. If parents disagree, especially after separation, they might need to apply to family courts for a joint decision or for one parent to have sole responsibility for the decision, with judges often expecting shared decision-making.
It Is Your Decision
The American Academy of Pediatrics considers circumcision a choice for parents to make. Some parents choose circumcision for religious or cultural reasons. It is important to consider the pros and cons, how the surgery is performed and the potential complications.
They can both request a circumcision to be performed, as well as consent to it being performed, on the grounds of their parental authority. However, it is important that both parents consent to the procedure.
CPS also says that parents should be the ones to decide what is in the best interest of their child. Keep in mind that circumcision isn't just done in newborns. It can also be done later in life if your child chooses to have a circumcised penis.
A common reason for parents to not circumcise their baby is their wish for the child to choose when they are older, reflecting current ethical debates on bodily autonomy. Other reasons include concerns about possible safety, risk of bleeding or infection, pain, later sexual function, or other mild complications.
In addition to personal, cultural, and religious aspects associated with the decision, you may have medical questions as well. Circumcision can be done at any age. Traditionally, the most common time to do it is soon after your baby is born, or within the first month of life.
Among our patients, when asked about pain during circumcision performed under local anesthesia on a scale 1-10 with 1 being no pain, and 10 being the worst pain of your life, more than 90% of patients rate pain as 2-3. Most patients do not take prescribed pain medications or any other pain medications.
Circumcision might have various health benefits, including:
Transactions of the American Medical Association. 1870;21:205–11). Since that time, doctors have embraced circumcision for many reasons, citing research that suggests it can reduce rates of sexually transmitted diseases, penile cancer, urinary tract infections and slow the transmission of HIV.
It is important that you call your insurance company to check your coverage before the procedure. In general, the cost of a circumcision is between $250 and $400. The cost is often divided into two bills: one for the procedure and one for the health care provider's time.
How does Circumcision make a difference to a woman? More pleasure- About 95% of men claim that their female partners were more satisfied after they got circumcised. There are also several pieces of research that state their intimate life has been way better after the procedure.
In New Zealand and Australia at the present time, newborn and infant male circumcision is legal and generally considered an ethical procedure, if performed with informed parental consent and by a competent practitioner with provision of adequate analgesia.
Newborn babies feel pain. The practitioner performing the circumcision should use some type of local anesthetic, given by a needle in the area where the circumcision is done. Additional methods of relieving pain include sucking on a pacifier dipped in a sugar solution, topical anesthetic cream and acetaminophen.
Medical reasons to not circumcise
Like the benefits, the risks are small but worth considering carefully. Complications from circumcision surgery are rare, but like all surgeries, there are some risks—including bleeding, infection and injury to the penis or urethra.
In most cases this implies that the procedure should be done before the onset of mini-puberty of infancy, which starts at 4 weeks and ends at 3 months [4]. During this time the foreskin gradually becomes larger, thicker and has a much better blood supply which increases the risk of bleeding during circumcision.
A tight foreskin is normal in babies and young boys. Most boys' foreskins do not pull back (retract) before the age of 5, but sometimes it's not possible until they're 10 or older. The end of a boy's penis may bulge or balloon when they pee, particularly if their foreskin is tight.
Affleck, it should be noted, was apparently circumcised in adulthood, after suffering injury during the filming of a superhero movie; a doctor decided that removing his foreskin would be easier than repairing it.
The NHS refused to fund the procedure due to beliefs that it had no medical benefit in the majority of cases. Findings from a survey carried out in 2000 showed that between 10-20% of British males reported being circumcised.
In Japan, routine male circumcision has never been implemented for newborns and children, and adult males are mostly circumcised at aesthetic clinics. However, media reports indicate a trend of Japanese mothers willing to have their sons circumcised.
In Australia, both the benefits and risks of circumcision are noted. The evidence does not support routine circumcision for all male infants. However, there is a consensus that parents can decide what is right for their child from a religious or cultural point of view.
Medical reasons for a boy to have a circumcision
Keep this area clean and dry and at each diaper change, apply petroleum jelly and a clean gauze pad. Continue this care until the discharge stops and the redness fades away in about two to three days. The penis usually heals in five to seven days.
1. It hurts to put it in, almost as much crying as the circumcision done without anesthesia. 2. In really good hands, 25% of the time the anesthesia does not seem to change the crying amount during the circumcision.
Constipation: Anesthesia and prescription pain medication can cause constipation. Be sure to drink plenty of water and eat plenty of vegetables and fruit. Use over the counter stool softener (docusate, Colace) or laxative (Sena, Senokot).
Cosmetic success varies greatly with all surgical interventions, however, a preputioplasty and a frenuloplasty are less invasive alternatives than a full circumcision or a dorsal slit.