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Get a Second Opinion Before You Cut

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Carlin Ross

When I tell people that I'm having a baby boy, the first question they ask is whether I'm going to circumcise -  I answer with a resounding "no".  Then they'll share some story about a friend's child whose foreskin wouldn't retract and they ended up circumcising at a later age. 

A little science: all baby boys are born with their foreskin attached to the glans of the penis.  Their foreskin doesn't retract and you should never try to retract it yourself.  This is normal until they get older.  By 6-10 years old, their foreskin should detach from the glans naturally and retract all on its own. 

This is true for 95% of all intact boys; however, in 5% of cases the foreskin doesn't automatically retract.  You can race to your surgeon OR you can take the approach this mother did (bravo, mom):

"I feel for the couple with the seven year old whose foreskin won’t retract. We went through that with both of our boys. My husband is cut, but I put my foot down and demanded that both of our boys be left intact. The older of the two started having problems with his foreskin when he was around four (he’s eight now). It wouldn’t retract and the doctor thought it was very tight. The urologist gave us some steroid cream and said, basically, “good luck, it probably won’t work; see you back in two weeks to schedule the circumcision.”

Two weeks later his foreskin was retracting like it was supposed to. Yea! Problem solved.

Fast-forward two years to when our youngest was two. Same problem. We went to a different urologist (for insurance reasons). He spent less than two minutes looking at my son’s penis and said: “He’s fine, leave it alone. A lack of retraction isn’t an issue until he is at least eight or older.”

Guess what: both foreskins now retract normally. I’m very glad I pushed for alternatives and didn’t immediately agree to a circumcision. So definitely get a second opinion before you cut."

Why not let the body take care of itself?

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