"I felt horribly judged." 3 mums on their circumcision decision and why they made it.

According to Better Health Victoria, fewer than 20 per cent of boys in Australia today are circumcised.

The decision to circumcise a newborn baby boy usually comes down to parental choice based on family, religious or cultural reasons. Doctors may also perform medical circumcisions later on if the child or adult male has a medical issue such as recurrent urinary tract infections. 

Mamamia spoke to three parents to hear their personal thoughts and experiences of circumcision in Australia.

Kelly, Sean and son Beau*

Kelly and husband Sean had son Beau circumcised when he was just four weeks old. Although Kelly’s father is Jewish, it wasn’t for religious, but personal reasons.

"Sean, his brothers, father and stepfather are all circumcised. We felt that from a hygiene perspective, Sean would find it more difficult to explain how to care and clean an uncircumcised penis," Kelly said.

"We have several friends who are medical professionals and they had strong opinions that we shouldn’t be going ahead, but I had my heart set on it. We weren’t particularly nervous and the practice in Sydney had a good reputation.

"I watched the procedure, but it was the after-care that was more traumatic for Sean and I. That was when we began questioning our decision. I often wonder if we had a second son, would we do it again?"

Rebecca and Eddie*

With a Jewish father, it was very much an assumption that if Rebecca gave birth to a boy, he would be circumcised as a newborn.

"A relative of my father performs circumcisions, and he called me immediately after I gave birth to organise it. At first it made sense as my partner (who isn’t Jewish) was also circumcised and people gave me the argument that it’s nice for father and son to look the same," Rebecca said.

"Personally I think that the 'comparing the penis' argument is a bit strange. When my son is old enough to care or notice, he probably won’t be hanging out naked with his dad. But if he is, then it’s easy to simply explain why they are different."

Rebecca did her research, reading the same advice over and over: there is no medical reason to perform circumcision on a newborn baby.

"After my son was born I fielded phone calls from my dad’s relative putting pressure on us. He didn’t seem to care that he was asking me to travel for two hours to another city just eight days after giving birth.

"I eventually decided against circumcision for my son and I’m glad I made that choice."

Jayne and son Chris*

Jayne is mum to 31-year-old son Chris who she had circumcised when he was three weeks old.

"My obstetrician initially asked me why I wanted Chris to have the procedure and told me that clinically it was discouraged, but he accepted my choice and agreed to do it," Jayne said.

"The medical team were mostly excellent and the procedure itself went very smoothly. The worst part was actually when the nurses told me they would not hold my baby in theatre and that I was being cruel. I felt horribly judged by those women who had no idea that I was also a nurse.

"I wanted Chris to have it done mostly due to my experience nursing young boys, teenagers and men who required circumcision for a variety of reasons. I also had family reasons as the men in our family were circumcised and I wanted Chris to feel included.

"I believe it is a personal choice that every parent must make and I have never regretted my decision. My son Chris appears to have made it to the age of 31 without any trauma or recall either."

* While the women in this story are known to the writer, their names have been changed for privacy reasons. 

Feature Image: Getty.