choosing a pediatrician

Intact-Friendly Doctors List

Before choosing a pediatrician for your child, you may want to see if you can find a doctor in your area that is on our foreskin friendly list:

Join Your State Community Group

Join your state's Pro-Intact Advocates Facebook group to communicate with other parents of intact children in your area. They will most likely be the best source for telling you which doctors you should or should not trust. (The Pro-Intact Advocates state groups are not sponsored by YWB.)

Interviewing Pediatricians

If you can't find a doctor in your area on these lists, or through a recommendation, you may have to put a little extra time into finding the right fit your child. We recommend calling and asking to speak to the pediatrician on the phone. If the receptionist asks why, tell her you believe you want Dr. __________ to be your child's pediatrician, but you have a few questions about circumcision you want to ask them first. A few simple questions will give you a good idea of where the pediatrician stands on the issue and how educated they are on intact care:

Q: How do you feel about circumcision?

Great response: It's a cosmetic surgery and not necessary. I don't recommend it. If you're not sure, don't do it.
Acceptable response: It's not medically necessary, but is a choice for each parent to make.
Not going to be a good fit: It should be done at birth because the baby won't feel it. It's cleaner. It's healthier.

Q: If we decide to keep our child intact, how do we keep the penis clean?

Great response: There's no need to retract. Just clean what you can see. If the baby has a messy poop, a warm bath is sufficient.
Acceptable response: I am not all that knowledgeable on intact care, but I'm open to researching and learning. 
Not going to be a good fit: You should retract the foreskin to clean. 

Do you know a doctor's office that forcibly retracts patients or instructs parents to retract to clean their child's penis? We will send educational material to the doctor's office. In addition, contact Doctors Opposing Circumcision to file a formal complaint.