It is frustrating to feel social pressure to do something that just doesn't make any sense. Something has no logic, and yet everybody's doing it, and so you have to justify what is normal and what makes sense. Normally, our conversations are around pregnancy and birth on this podcast and how what the world does just doesn't make sense, but today we're going to wander over into the newborn phase to talk about one of the most controversial topics there is: circumcision.

​There's a lot to cover, and it's going to be broken up into a series 'cause it's just way too much for one blog. Some of it's not gonna be fun. In fact, most of it's not gonna be fun, and some of it's gonna be a little painful to talk about, but it's some things that you as mamas and maybe as daddies, maybe as grandparents, really need to understand so that you could make a good decision. So let's not waste any more time. Let's dive in.

Today’s topic is not an easy day. It's not a fun day. The rest of the blogs on this topic are not easy and they're not fun. But I get this question quite frequently. It's one like many topics that I have come completely full circle on as a result of many things, part of which is being a part of it, being the nurse that assisted with it. I've seen this myself, I don't even know how many times, probably hundreds of times, and so you can rest assured that what you are hearing today comes directly from experience.

​If you're a regular reader, you are used to feeling that pressure of feeling like you're supposed to do something or that you have to do something that some social norm tells you. And honestly, that's probably why you listen because you're looking for support, affirmation, and information to back what your gut tells you is right.

Your baby boy is born, with a perfect penis, just like God meant for it to be made. And yet, within a day or two of birth, the doctor comes strolling into your room if you're at a hospital and asks if you want him circumcised. Some go along with it without a thought. Some go along with it out of social pressure for various reasons, and others are prepared and stand up against it.

But have you ever thought about why a doctor would ask if you want to cut off a perfectly healthy part of your perfectly healthy baby boy, mainly for cosmetic reasons? There's nothing else we do that with. It doesn't make any sense. And whether you realize it or not, circumcision really is a social norm, even where it doesn't seem like it should be.

Consider the terms "circumcised" or "uncircumcised." The word "uncircumcised" implies that if you haven't been circumcised, something is wrong with you. There's an UN there. Something missing, something that you haven't done that you should have done.

​Did you know that some cultures perform female genital cutting routinely? They cut away part of the female anatomy as a cultural routine. Are you cringing right now? Most of my listeners are women. Why does it make you cringe to think about females being cut but not the cutting of your boy? It's the same concept. Yet one is illegal in most places, and the other is done routinely.

I took some time to look in every single one of the textbooks I still own that deal with newborns or adult male anatomy. Every single picture, except for one, was circumcised. That means anyone studying what is normal sees circumcised as normal. Imagine being a provider who's never seen an intact penis because all you've seen in books and on patients is circumcised. One day a man comes in with an intact penis, and you don't know what that is.

​The only intact picture I had was abnormal. That implies intact penises bring issues. There was not one picture of a normal, intact, surgically unaltered penis—baby or adult, real or drawing.

Let's talk about the anatomy. Normally, the glans is the head of the penis. It's reddish, has lubrication, and is covered by foreskin. At birth, the foreskin has adhesions holding it in place over the glans. These adhesions usually stay until around three years old.

​The foreskin protects the glans from friction. The glans is very sensitive. The foreskin keeps it lubricated and comfortable from underwear, clothes, and diapers. Every baby is born intact, and the foreskin allows natural retraction over time, with no forced intervention.

Circumcision first appears in Genesis 17 as a covenant between God and Abraham. Every male thereafter was circumcised on the eighth day. When Jesus came, Christians began emerging from Jewish traditions, which caused confusion about circumcision's relevance. Acts 15 clarifies that circumcision is not a commandment in Christ. God now desires circumcision of the heart, not the body.

​In the 1800s, circumcision became common in the US as a way to prevent disease or masturbation. It was not medical or biblical—it was punitive, aiming to desensitize the glans and discourage sexual activity.