Facts About Circumcision
According to surveys, most parents decide to have their sons circumcised for much the same reasons. Indeed, there is no clear health incentive to perform routine circumcisions.
That's the policy statement of every medical society in the world, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. But in the United States, which has the highest rate of neonatal circumcision, the debate has yet to be laid to rest.
"In America, it's still an ongoing controversy about whether circumcision is really necessary," says Jack Sherman, M.D., associate chairman of pediatrics at Nassau County Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y.
"In 1971 and 1975, the AAP said it wasn't necessary. Later, they amended their policy statement." The AAP's 1999 policy statement, based on a review of 40 years of data, states that circumcision has potential medical benefits.
They advise, however, that parents not use that as their primary criterion when making a decision. Confused yet? Can't make up your mind on who to believe anymore? Well, here's some more food for thought.
boys in the hoodThe primary risk associated with an intact penis is believed to be penile cancer, a rare condition affecting 10 in every million American men annually.
In the U.S., uncut men contract the disease at three times the rate of circumcised men, yet the American Cancer Society officials cite lower penile-cancer rates in countries that do not practice circumcision.
Meanwhile, studies swing back and forth regarding a correlation between early urinary-tract infections and circumcision. They are similarly inconclusive about the foreskin being more susceptible to STDs. The latest research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , found "no significant differences between circumcised and uncircumcised men in their likelihood of contracting sexually transmitted diseases." So is the foreskin hygienic or not?