Circumcising your baby

One of the first decisions you make for them is whether or not to circumcise them. Despite some misconceptions, circumcising your child is primarily a family decision, not a medical one. So how do you choose?

Personal and family considerations

When you sit down with your partner to discuss circumcision, consider:

Your religious or cultural beliefs, as well as the beliefs of your family

How do you both feel about circumcision in general?

-Whether the child's father is circumcised or not. Does it matter that your son's penis is different from his male role model's penis?

The truth about health and circumcision

An uncircumcised penis is easy to care for and keep clean. Thus, improved hygiene is not a reason for choosing circumcision.

Circumcision has some potential health benefits. Although rare, circumcised men have a slightly lower risk of:

Urinary tract infections in little boys
Certain sexually transmitted diseases in men
Penile cancer

Since men are not at high risk in the first place, reducing their risk is not a huge benefit.

Decided to circumcise

The sooner you schedule your child's circumcision, the better. Make sure that the procedure is performed by an experienced specialist. In some states, this is done by an obstetrician in a hospital. In other states, pediatricians do this. Another option is a religious leader trained in circumcision.

Circumcision doesn't have to be as painful for your baby as it seems. There are methods of pain management that can help greatly reduce the pain of the procedure for your newborn. Before the procedure, be sure to ask about possible ways to relieve the child's pain. Also make sure you know: