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30 Hudson Valley Parent n December 2016 their partners. Like father, like son The idea of looking like the other males in the family is perhaps the strongest reason of all that parents opt for circumcision, even going to extremes to accomplish the task. Courtney Lueck of Red Hook didn't think twice about circumcis- ing her first born son. It wasn't until she was pregnant with her second son that she began to question her choice. "I read an article about circum- cision and how it desensitizes the penis and I thought, 'What have I done!' I really freaked out," she says. "But when it came down to it, I couldn't have my second son look different from his brother. I just couldn't do that to him." Angela Paul Gaito of Newburgh says she had her son circumcised when well after birth. "I am French and my husband is American. Our son was born in France where they don't circumcise infants. They believe the trauma of a birth is intense enough. But my husband felt very strongly that our son should be circumcised," she says. "This was clearly a cultural difference between us but I wanted to honor my husband's wishes. The pediatrician agreed to do it, but asked us to wait till our son was...2. By then we were living in America, and we had to travel back to Paris to have it done." Dr. Adele El Kareh, the director of OB/GYN office-based surgery at CareMount Medical in Fishkill and Poughkeepsie, has been delivering babies for 27 years. He says the deci- sion on whether or not to circumcise is usually made well before baby is born. "In their 28th week of pregnancy, mothers complete a consent form that includes the question of wheth- CIRCUMCISION (Continued from Page 29) NEWBURGH THE BELLS' AN AUTHORIZED ETHAN ALLEN RETAILER ROUTE 32 94 NORTH PLANK ROAD 845.565.6000 It's fab! It's fresh! It's smiles by the gallon! Designed, made, and curated only at Ethan Allen. All styles now at introductory prices. Ask a designer or visit ethanallen.com/disney for details. Introductory pricing ends March 31, 2017. ©2016 Ethan Allen Global, Inc. ©Disney bringthemagichome I N T R O D U C I N G