American Academy of Pediatrics on Circumcision

After reviewing 40 years worth of medical studies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force on Circumcision concluded that the "potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision... are not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision." While this 1999 policy may be revised soon, it is still the current official recommendation for parents and doctors. This report is also the first time the AAP has acknowledged(after decades of doctors mindlessly repeating the belief that babies don't feel significant pain) that circumcision without anesthesia is traumatic and if circumcision is to be done, anesthesia should be used. Here are some highlights from the report:

Role of Hygiene

"there is little evidence to affirm the association between circumcision status and optimum penile hygiene."

STDs including HIV

"behavioral factors appear to be far more important than circumcision status."

Penile Cancer

"in a developed country such as the United States, penile cancer is a rare disease and the risk of penile cancer developing in an uncircumcised man, although increased compared with a circumcised man, is low."

Urinary Tract Infections

"breastfeeding was shown to have a threefold protective effect on the incidence of UTI in a sample of uncircumcised infants. However, breastfeeding status has not been evaluated systematically in studies assessing UTI and circumcision status." meaning that the earlier UTIs studies results were confounded. Even if their numbers were accurate, in order to prevent one UTI during the first year of life by circumcising a baby boy, approximately 195 babies who will not get a UTI would need to be circumcised. Also infant girls commonly develop UTIs(in some studies at even higher rates than infant boys) and the standard treatment for them is antibiotics which works just as well for infant boys with UTIs. The AAP concludes this section noting that "the absolute risk of developing a UTI in an uncircumcised male infant is low (at most, ~1%)".

Ethics

Here they say while even though cutting off part of your baby's genitalia "is not essential to the child's current well-being" they are perfectly fine with parents and doctors using cultural tradition as justification. The report does not mention whether they also think cultural tradition is an acceptable reason to anesthesize infant girls and then cut off their clitoral hoods(biologically analogous to foreskin) as is the case here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWvi475cYZY
(the video is not particularly graphic as it was made by a mother who had her own clitoral hood cut off when she was a baby and she wants to continue the tradition)

If you want, you can read the full AAP policy here: http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/

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[ag8416]

my wife delivered our boy yesterday at the hospital. When i returned to the hospital the next day, they were minutes from doing circumsisian. i saved him like fucking superman. Btw, no anesthesia. My wife and her sister were annoyed with me. i just asked them to go get circumcized and then...silence

[paolo27th]

Wow, I didn`t know so many americans underwent this barbaric practice!

[1Femme1Stud]

Is anyone worried that the uncircumcised boy's penis may get stuck out and cause discomfort or bleeding if he gets an erection...? Kind of how a dog's does... Please respond. I am 37 weeks preg with a son and I want to make the best decision I can.

[Zojidak]

@beecee151 In America, parents are the ones to make this decision, yes. But are they making this decision after researching both sides of this issue in detail or are they just doing it like my parents did, where it was just assumed to be normal and no other questions were asked. Did you learn the reasons why we Americans first began non-religious circumcision? Or how about what are the functions of foreskin? Or what about hospitals that sell the infant foreskins without the parents knowledge?

[beecee151]

@Zojidak Good point and I could give dozens of other deals. This is like a Tic-Tac-Toe game. I can only say that U.S. Americans that are cut or not...(Mostly cut as of this post),.....many suffer from pre mature sensitivity! Who is to judge...Impossible. Do you have a choice to be born or exist?...shit happens. I can't belive this subject even exist. It is a parent's decision! ( Thank you Zojdak for having my say) B.C.

[Zojidak]

@beecee151 Women can freely choose for themselves if they want to shave or not. I cannot decide to have my whole penis, because part of it was cut off without my consent.

[beecee151]

@quallupiluit Do you believe females should not shave their underarms because millions of years of evolution knows best? My friends daughter is having a son in a few months and asked to look up if Medicaid covered the procedure. I eventually got the answer after reading endless debates about it. I have very much noticed that males that are uncut are against and those that are cut are for it. I have read debates from physicians using their jargon back and forth over it; must have taken days.

[TheWorstWarlock]

@ag8416 You're a true hero. You saved your son from butchers, my father handed me over to them. Your wife and sister in law should check themselves and consider why they want it done so much? Is it a subconscious desire of womens to make somehow diminish a man's phallus because they find it threatening?

[jfmom]

@ag8416 omg that is terrible, thank goodness you got there in time.. I had my son at home so there were no worries that someone might try to do such a horrible thing to him, When our ped asked if we were circing I think I gasped, like "ew why would you ask such a thing"lol He will be 3 in Aug and I am so glad that we have him whole, he is perfect!

[carlasue88]

automatic? Most boys aren't circumcised anymore (less than 1/3 were in 2009) - when was this clip first aired?

[TheChallenger2011]

@myoon87 very good point. The research that people mention is based on a developing country or third world country, this data has too many confounding variables to apply to developed nations. Considering most people in the United States (and other developed nations) have access to clean water and soap, these studies are really a joke!