To Circumcise or Not: Should I Circumcise My Baby?
Content Updated on June 26, 2009
"It's barbaric!" says the anti group.
"It has medical benefits!" says the pro group.
I'm often asked by friends and relatives what my opinion is on the circumcision matter. Whether or not you circumcise your son is a personal decision, and by no means should you feel guilty if you choose to do it or not, but please consider some of the following points before you make that decision.
Circumcision makes it easier to keep the penis clean.
Yes, but it is possible to keep the penis clean even with a foreskin, and it really isn't difficult at all. It just takes some extra effort during bathing, after urination, before sex (to reduce the bacteria introduced into the vagina) and after sex. (As a woman, may I just point out that we females have a variety of genital hygiene related tasks that we must tend to frequently, far more than a simple cleaning with a flushable wet-wipe. Honestly, it really isn't that much of a big deal for us, so I don't see how a simple cleaning can be such a hassle.)
It can be difficult to get your young son to keep himself clean, in the same way that it can be difficult to get him to blow his nose or take a bath. Elderly and impaired men may need assistance, in the same way that they may need assistance cleaning themselves after a bowel movement.
Circumcision reduces urinary tract infections.
Some studies show that uncircumcised boys have more urinary tract infections (UTIs) than circumcised boys. UTIs are uncomfortable and painful, and the can lead to kidney damage or even death if they go untreated. The fewer you have, the better, but getting a UTI doesn't bring you to your doom as it may have in the past. Modern advances in medicine mean that we can use antibiotics to treat UTIs instead of just praying for a cure. Girls and women frequently get UTIs, and the female population seems to handle it just fine.
Circumcision reduces transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can result in life long suffering, deformity, and even death. Some studies show that circumcision can help reduce the transmission of STDs. However, circumcision is hardly a form of safe sex. Circumcision should not be used as a method of providing protection from STDs. Abstinence, monogamy between two healthy adults, and condoms (male and female versions) are the only effective methods we currently have for reducing or eliminating STDs.
Circumcision almost eliminates penile cancer.
Penile cancer can result in amputation of the penis and even death. A man's risk of developing penile cancer increases if he is infected with human papiloma virus (HPV, the same virus that leads to cervical cancer in women), smokes, and/or exposes his penis to UV light. It's a horrible disease, but should we remove a perfectly healthy body part from an infant just to prevent that body part from developing cancer later in life? I have ovarian cancer in my family. Should I remove my ovaries or decide to have my daughter's ovaries removed to prevent us from developing it? What about breast cancer? Should we remove breast tissue from girls to keep them from getting breast cancer? A more reasonable solution would be to teach everyone to recognize the signs of cancer and teach males how to reduce their risk of developing penile cancer, how to give themselves monthly self-examinations, and to get an annual exam by a physician. If there is a family history of any kind of cancer, it should be the patient who decides, with his doctor, how he will attempt to prevent it.
Circumcision reduces problems with tightening of the foreskin.
The tightening of the foreskin is a condition called phimosis. True, if the foreskin isn't there, then it won't tighten. However, if the foreskin on an uncircumcised penis does tighten, a circumcision can always be performed at that time. Most uncircumcised males never need to have a circumcision for medical reasons, though.
Circumcision makes the penis more attractive.
It depends on who you ask. Some women and men actually prefer an uncircumcised penis. In many cultures around the world, an uncircumcised penis is common, expected, and accepted. In the United States, however, circumcision is so common that many people expect to see a circumcised penis and are often surprised to discover that somebody hasn't been circumcised. Fortunately, though, this seems to be changing, since the infant circumcision rate in the US has been dropping and the uncircumcised penis is becoming more accepted. If being uncircumcised is a cosmetic problem for a teenage boy or adult man, he should decide whether or not to become circumcised.
Social ideals regarding what is and isn't attractive changes from generation to generation anyhow. Consider features like tattoos, feminine curves, hairstyles, piercings, and so forth and you can quickly see how one generation finds a feature repulsive while another finds it beautiful. Who knows, perhaps in the future the vast majority of Americans will decide that the uncircumcised penis is more aesthetically pleasing than a circumcised one.
Babies don't remember the pain of circumcision, but adults do.
True, I've never met a man who said that he remembered being circumcised as a baby, and men who have been circumcised as adults certainly recall the pain of recovery. (Fortunately we now use anesthetic during the procedure, so he doesn't have to feel the actual cutting.) However, babies still feel pain. Is it ethical to force an infant through pain that we wouldn't even want an adult to endure?
Some religious beliefs require circumcision.
The wonderful thing about beliefs is that they can change over time. Many major religions no longer practice animal sacrifice or endorse human slavery because such practices are now seen as unnecessary and/or unethical. This may also happen with beliefs regarding circumcision.
Circumcision can cause reduced sensitivity or increased sensitivity or no change in sensitivity.
Some men claim that they had reduced sensitivity after getting a circumcision as an adult. Also, some men claim that their foreskin adds to pleasurable sensations during sex, and those sensations are lost after circumcision. Some men who have had circumcisions as adults claim that the loss of sensation has left them unable to achieve orgasm. Of course, many circumcised men can have orgasms, so infant circumcision does not typically lead to sexual impairment.
Some men claim that after they have been circumcised as adults, they actually had an increase in sensitivity.
A study at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York found that on average there was no significant difference in sensitivity after an adult circumcision.
What's all this mean? For some men, getting a circumcision may increase their sensitivity. For other men, it may decrease their sensitivity. Some men may not notice any change in sensitivity. Conclusion: there is probably no way for sure to predict how circumcision may affect future penile sensitivity for any particular individual.
There can be surgical complications.
Every surgery can result in complications, no matter how small or routine the surgery. Complications can include allergic reactions to anesthetics or pain killers, giving too much anesthetics or pain killers, infection, excessive bleeding, or even gangrene, which can all result in death, and mistakes, such as cutting off too much skin or deformation.
That child doesn't get a choice in the matter.
The major problem with medically unnecessary infant circumcision is that the infant doesn't get a chance to have an opinion about a cosmetic procedure. If he grows up and decides that he would like to have his foreskin back, too bad, he can't get it.
Should I have my newborn son circumcised?
If it were me, I wouldn't do it. Many of arguments for routine infant circumcision are so easily dismissed for having little significant benefit and the potential complications are so great. It simply doesn't seem like a good idea unless it is medically necessary.
If you've already circumcised your sons or have been circumcised yourself and haven't had any complications and continue to function just fine sexually, great! Congratulations on not having complications. But if you're going to make such a decision in the future, please take time to really think about why you want to do it, and ask yourself, am I doing it for the health benefits or just to keep up with the Joneses?
Sources: http://www.circumcisioninfo.com, http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/, http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20030430/circumcision-does-not-affect-sensitivity, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/content/cri_2_4_2x_what_are_the_risk_factors_for_penile_cancer_35.asp
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