The Circumcision Decision

My first born was a beautiful baby girl. I adored her and came home from the hospital beaming with joy at her perfect little fingers and toes. Four years later, we were blessed to have a son. We had been through it all before, or so we thought. We quickly realized that we needed to make a choice about whether or not we were going to circumcise our new baby. It was not easy. We faced our own ignorance on the subject, our cultural assumptions, and the opinions of those close to us. In the end, we left Casey intact, or uncircumcised. Several things we learned helped drive that decision.

The AAP no longer recommends routine infant circumcision.¹

After looking at over 40 years of medical research, the American Association of Pediatrics stated that the benefits were not significant enough for the organization to recommend the procedure. "Circumcision is not essential to a child's well-being at birth." says Carol Lannon, MD, MPH, FAAP, chair of the AAP's Task Force on Circumcision.

Circumcision has only potential health benefits.

Often times, a parent will decide to circumcise believing it to prevent a myriad of health problems. In actuality, circumcision does not ensure freedom from issues. An intact boy has a 1 in 100 chance of contracting a urinary tract infection in his first year of life; for circumcised babies this risk drops to 1 in 1000. The AAP states that the absolute risk is low, 1 percent at most. The risk for penile cancer is higher for intact men as well, but the overall risk is extremely low. Circumcised men may have a lower risk of certain STD's but lifestyle is the main factor in determining whether a sexually transmitted disease will be contracted. None of these potential benefits are strong enough to justify genital surgery on a newborn.

Circumcision is surgery, and therefore carries risks.

Any surgery carries inherent risks. The most common complications after a circumcision are bleeding and infection. Complications occur in 1 in 200 to 1 in 500 circumcised newborns.² Other complications include meatal stenosis, fistula, phimosis, and buried penis.

Circumcision permanently alters the function of the penis.