advice: talk to your doctor

Posted by Emily on November 18, 2002 at 20:38:37:

In Reply to: i have a question.. posted by tara fina on November 14, 2002 at 21:09:08:

First of all, I commend you for your obvious care of your boyfriend's children. They are lucky to have you, I am sure.

Now, my advice: Go talk to your doctor about circumcision, or look at the website I've linked to, here.

MEDICAL BENEFITS:
The only potential medical benefit of circumcision is that it was formerly believed to help prevent urinary tract infection in babies under 1 year of age. Research has disproved this theory in the past few years.

AIDS, ETC.:
AIDS is transferred through direct blood or semen contact. It has nothing to do with the foreskin. It can happen through sharing needles (or children who are injured by infected needles), unprotected sex with an infected partner, or another exchange of blood, such as an ambulance attendant who gets the blood of an infected patient into a cut or abrasion on his own body - in other words, this latter is very unlikely.

CLEANING THE FORESKIN:
Although most medical professionals do still recommend that the foreskin not be touched, it is important to clean it. You can pull it back very carefully, and only as far as it easily goes, in order to clean it. Babies are born with their foreskins closed and stuck together with a white, waxy substance. Over time, this goes away on its own, and the foreskin can be pulled back, but it will do this on its own; you shouldn't "help it along".

INFECTIONS:
It is no more likely that an un-circumcised boy will have an infection. But, if ANY boy gets an infection in his penis, take him to your doctor and it can be easily treated, usually with a topical cream. If it is properly treated, and on time, it will not progress to a urinary tract infection.

LOOKING LIKE HIS DAD:
Many fathers want their babies to look like them. Is this a good reason to put the babies through surgery?

SAFETY:
Every year, some babies die solely as a result of circumcision complications.

It is good to be informed about the things you are concerned about - then you can relax. It sounds to me as if these boys' mother is doing a fine job, although it is different than the way you might choose to do it. You can give them love and attention, too, and these boys can have a wonderful childhood.

• Info about circumcision

Follow Ups:

This page has been archived so the followup feature has been disabled. Please visit the our new Parenting Discussion Group to post a message. Or you can visit our old Parenting Board home page or click here for the Parenting Board Archives.