To Circumcise or Not To Circumcise

If you’re about to have a baby, the subject of circumcision may have entered your mind if it’s a boy. Circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin, the tissue over the head of the penis. The surgery usually occurs around the second day of a child’s birth.

Circumcision is a personal choice–but, of course, it’s one you’re making for another person, so you want to make sure you’re making the best decision.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, most boys are circumcised in the United States, although the numbers are declining somewhat since the 1970s. In other parts of the world, most non-Jewish boys are not circumcised. The difference seems to be almost entirely cultural. 

There is no right or wrong answer here, but a standard guideline is “like father, like son.” The father is most likely the person who will teach the boy how to handle his hygiene in this area, so taking Dad’s personal situation into account might be a good way to decide; however, there are other items to consider before making that final decision.

Benefits to circumcision include:

• Less risk of urinary tract infections
• Reduced risk of sexually transmitted disease in men
• Protection against penile cancer
• Decreased risk of cervical cancer in female partners
• Prevention of balanitis (inflammation of the glans) and balanoposthitis (inflammation of the glans and foreskin)
• Prevention of phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin) and paraphimosis (the inability to return the foreskin to its original location)

Risks of circumcision include:

• Pain
• Risk of bleeding and infection at the site of the circumcision
• Irritation of the glans
• Higher chance of meatitis (inflammation of the opening of the penis)
• Risk of injury to the penis

There are circumstances when circumcision may not be recommended by your doctor, including:

If your baby boy has only a small amount of foreskin. In this case, your doctor may refer to this as a “natural circumcision” and recommend that you not have a circumcision performed unless it is for religious reasons. Natural circumcision means that your son’s foreskin is not likely to cause hygiene issues, nor will it be prone to infection, as are some uncircumcised penises.

• If a baby boy has hypospadias (a condition where the opening of the urethra, the tube that empties urine, is in the wrong place) should not be circumcised.
• A family history of bleeding may prevent a surgeon from performing a circumcision.
• Premature birth may require waiting until the baby is healthy enough to leave the hospital before having the surgery.

It’s always recommended that you talk to your doctor before you make a decision about circumcision. It’s a decision that you need to feel good about and worth the time it takes to sort out the pros and cons of whether circumcision is best for your new son.