circumcision - looking for advice/guidance:

(before i make my post, that i am in no way making this post to start arguements/flaming anything. i would hope that we are all open-minded and accepting enough here not to pass judgement on the decisions that other would make. should this topic bring about any negative reactions/hurtful things/etc. i hope it can be deleted by a moderator.) -

here goes:

my husband and myself have decided to circumcise our son (once he is born! which will hopefully be SOON!). when i asked my midwife about if this would be done at the hospital, she informed me that its not common here for it to be done in hospital. (i forgot for the moment that circumcision is not done as often here as it is in the US for reasons other than medical/religious). she said i could ask my GP about performing it. (that is something i'm not sure if GPs do here.)

i am looking for some advice from other mothers who maybe have been or know someone who has been in this situation. i am looking for the best way to go about this. we have found several private clinics who offer the service and we're also wondering if anyone here has had experience with someplace like that.

i've asked about this here, as i do not know where else/who else i could ask (besides at my surgery or while in hospital), i was looking for/hoping for maybe someones personal experience in dealing with this issue and their child.

thank you..and please, don't flame me for this decision.
trish

Wish I could help you - both my sons were born in the US.  One is circumcised and the other isn't.  I'm kind of surprised it's not done at the hospital here, as I should think one would want it done (except if being done for religious reasons) as soon as possible.

Hi there, Im due in five weeks myself, July 21st, and from the scans they couldn't tell what I am having, <darned baby keeps it's legs crossed  lol  and Ive been told the exact same thing as you, that being circumcised is not done a lot here, they don't seem to encourage it at all in fact according to how I understand it, but I had my little boy in the US and had it done then and there and IF I happen to have another boy in a few weeks time I will also have it done with him.

 I didn't know it was unusual until one day my SIL was changing my son and made a comment on him being circumcised because apparently she had never seen anyone that way before.  lol  So Im interested in what people have to say as well about it.

I'm kind of surprised it's not done at the hospital here, as I should think one would want it done (except if being done for religious reasons) as soon as possible.

I'm not surprised.  They won't do any procedures unless it's medically necessary.  Also, I've had some pretty disapproving statements made when I did inquire about circumcisions.

I've tried looking at a few routes.  Firstly, it seemed the NHS was totally out of the picture because of the medically 'necessary' claim.  Then I looked at going privately, but our only private hospital which is close will not perform any 'surgical' procedures on children under 3.  It seems that many circumcision are performed by Jewish Mohels.  I thought about this route too and looked at a few of their websites to get an idea of their procedures.

Whilst I believe that the Mohels are trained in this area, some of them are not medically trained (although I did find a website of a Jewish doctor who is also a Mohel).  Call me finicky, call me neurotic, but I'm not letting anyone with a knife near my son's bits that isn't a trained medical doctor.

I also found a clinic in London that specialises in circumcisions.  But again, it's a trust thing for me.  How do I know this doctor is okay?  I did go hunting for his name in conjunction with the Royal College of Surgeons, but didn't really find any references.

So at this point (17 months), my son is still uncircumcised.  I would still like it done, but I also realise the longer I leave it, the more painful it is.  Until I can find someone that I trust, I suspect I will leave him the way that he was made.  For me trust is paramount.

... Call me finicky, call me neurotic, but I'm not letting anyone with a knife near my son's bits that isn't a trained medical doctor.

definitely wouldn't call you any of those things! i feel the exact same way...

I also found a clinic in London that specialises in circumcisions.  But again, it's a trust thing for me.  How do I know this doctor is okay?  I did go hunting for his name in conjunction with the Royal College of Surgeons, but didn't really find any references.

after looking online, i found probably the same clinic (or agency) in london you came across. and like you, was able to find any references (which is why i asked here, hoping someone might have had some sort of experience, something that might help me out..)
i really had no idea this would be so difficult to find assistance with this here...

i really had no idea this would be so difficult to find assistance with this here...

I feel your pain, my dear!  If you have any luck with this, please do pass along the information and I will do likewise.

I feel your pain, my dear!  If you have any luck with this, please do pass along the information and I will do likewise.

i will do that definitely

Lunar, I can understand that you've thought this through carefully and you're certain that you want to do this to your son ... but the common view in the UK  (and one I share) is that circumcision is mutilation and so, yes, you're likely to find it very hard to get it done by  the medical profession unless it's for a medical reason.  If you must have it done, I guess you could get it done in the US some time when you visit friends / family to show him off.  Just another option you might not have though of, and I can't believe I'm suggesting it!

Hi...all four of my sons are not circumcised (contrary to their father's wishes! Although the two teenage sons, one who is almost 20, have both actually thanked me for not doing it just because their dad didn't want them to be different than himself and others. I am in no way trying to say that you should change your mind, or that your decision is "wrong" in anyway...because there is no right or wrong. I just wanted to share my very positive experience) and I have researched the history and pros and cons of circumcision throughout motherhood. I just wanted to throw in that I received a letter from my insurance company here in the states a while ago that stated that all unnecessary procedures, including circumcision, would no longer be paid for by insurance. I think the trend is already moving in the other direction here as well, as when I had my twin sons almost four years ago, I had my OB tell me that he wouldn't perform circumcisions and wanted to know if I needed a name of another doctor if I had decided to go that route. Anyway...I can understand that it wouldn't be common to do it at the hospital over there since only a small percentage of them are performed.

I was wondering if there is a US military base hospital near you that you could maybe contact? They might have some info of where to go, or even if you could have it done at their facility.

Wow...just one of the very first decisions you will be constantly making once he arrives!! Good luck on the big day!

Best wishes, geally

Though I am not, nor have ever been, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (I am, however occasionally addressed as 'Mr'!), it does seem to me that the prevailing view amongst surgical practitioners over here is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", and the view of the NHS seems about the same, though possibly more for reasons of economics.  Otherwise, we'd all have our appendices removed at birth, possibly even have total blood replacement, &c, &c, against the slim actuarial chances of something untowards happening to us later in life.  In my case a total brain transplant might have been beneficial, according to my closest and dearest friends.

My totally unsubstantiated view is that while medical men and women over here are in the main not paid directly by their patients/clients or by their patients' insurance agents, they are less likely to succumb to witchdoctory, quackery, charlatantism, or snake-oil salesmanship.

btw, though a reasonably unrepentant Brit, I was born in the American Hospital in Mexico City.  Now what does that tell you about me, that makes me in one respect probably different from Graham? 

Now what does that tell you about me, that makes me in one respect probably different from Graham? 

Probably more than I ever wanted to know.   

While I appreciate the concern mothers would have about non-medically trained mohels near their son's 'bits' (!!) I would suggest to you that certainly in the UK, a mohel will have done far more circumcisions than any other facility in the UK with the possible exception of that clinic in London. And if you are Jewish in the US, you're much more likely to get it done by a mohel than in hospital. BTW, I wonder if the docs in that London clininc are Jewish? Also, I believe mohels get pretty rigorous training.

I agree, balmerhon.  I would trust a mohel, if I were to have it done (haven't decided, and don't even know if it's necessary to decide since we won't know what we're having for like another month or so.)

I think they have to observe forever and be observed forever...it's like a medical residency.  Your OB/GYN probably would have the same type of training, honestly.

I agree, balmerhon.  I would trust a mohel, if I were to have it done (haven't decided, and don't even know if it's necessary to decide since we won't know what we're having for like another month or so.)

I think they have to observe forever and be observed forever...it's like a medical residency.  Your OB/GYN probably would have the same type of training, honestly.

Ditto!!!  (Except I am not pregnant, I think)  I've seen them done, and they are professionals. (been to a lot of bris')

I'm fairly certain that if you were to check the statistics, mohels are no more likely to botch things up than a doctor - possibly less so. But the reality is that with any surgical procedure, there is a risk.