If you have an unborn baby, think about your circumcision decision now.   It isn't a trivial procedure, but as routinely as it is done, it may seem that way.  It does have it's consequences and possible complications, and causes extreme pain. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics has reversed it's stance on this medical procedure, please click here to see the following CNN article, entitled,  Pediatricians turn away from circumcision, dated March 1, 1999.

Your baby boy depends solely on you to make decisions in his best interest.  He knows not of our culture's or his family religious view about his foreskin. Even if he would choose to be circumcised, it would be respectful to wait and let him  make his own fully informed decision later.  Please don't inflict  an elective medical procedure on your baby (often without anesthesia) that you wouldn't be willing to undergo yourself!

"My son is intact, now what?"
Leave his penis alone.  Quite literally!  No special care is required...just allow the foreskin to be bathed like the rest of his body, and cleaned as the rest of the diaper area is when changing.  Some health care practitioners will tell parents to try to retract the foreskin for cleaning.  Do not retract the foreskin, and don't let anyone else, including the health care provider, do it either!  Think about it...to retract the foreskin, adhesions that keep it an intimate layer with the glans must be removed (torn), which makes the now two separate surfaces exposed to urine, feces, sweat, dirt, etc.  If the foreskin is left alone, there is nothing to get dirty and require cleaning!

The foreskin will naturally retract over the course of life...maybe in later childhood, maybe in puberty, or maybe even later.  Respecting your son to retract it himself without any pressure from anyone allows it to happen when it, and he,  is ready. 

Many health care practitioners are unfamiliar with this commonsense, simple approach to caring for the intact penis, and have invented a whole host of "conditions" that require removal or forceful retraction of the foreskin from the glans.  There is an excellent article in Mothering Magazine by Paul Fleiss, MD about care for the uncircumcised penis, and reasons many doctors give for wanting to circumcise or otherwise interfere with it.  Please go see, Protect Your Uncircumcised Son:  Expert Medical Advice for Parents 
(from Mothering,  Issue 103, November/December 2000) 

           Circumcision resources recent research, function of the foreskin, comments from health care workers, religious beliefs, symbolic bris ceremonies, and more.   

Circumcision Information and Resource Pages (CIRP)   mechanics of the procedure, cultural and religious issues, rationales for routine circumcision, foreskin restoration, female circumcision, more.