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Circumcision, like any surgical procedure, carries a certain amount of risk and in my mind, should be done only when the benefits outweigh the risks. Sometimes problems with the foreskin arise, that require circumcision. However, most of the routine circumcisions done in the newborn period are purely a matter of choice. Is it really justifiable to perform what is essentially a cosmetic, non-essential procedure on a newborn baby? Personally, I don't think it is.

The reasons parents choose circumcision vary from religious and cultural to hygiene issues or the desire for protection against diseases such as STD's and cancer of the penis. Of these factors, religious beliefs are probably the strongest and least amenable to change. Circumcising a child just so that he looks like everyone else strikes me as the worst object lesson in dealing with peer pressure that any parent could give!

Many parents choosing circumcision seem to see it as a routine procedure and pay hardly any thought to the small risk of bleeding, infection or lasting injury associated with circumcision. The problem with a complication that has a frequency of even 1 in a million, is that the statistics take on a different dimension when your infant son is that one.

Another negative aspect of newborn circumcision is that this is sometimes still carried out with minimal or no anesthesia on the theory that the babies do not remember pain. Note, it's not about whether they feel the pain, but whether they remember it! It's hard enough when tiny babies need shots or other painful procedures, but why a newborn would be subjected to avoidable pain is a question I cannot fathom.

A lower rate of infections or cancer in circumcised men has often been put forward as justification for circumcision, but proper hygiene and self care can protect against these conditions without necessitating removal of the foreskin. These health concerns are not enough to warrant circumcision in my mind, or why would the American Academy or Pediatrics consider routine circumcision purely a matter of parental choice and not a medically necessary procedure?

Considering, the small but real risk of complications and the doubtful/few benefits associated with circumcision, I would no sooner choose to circumcise my son than I would give him prescription medication which he didn't really need. Whatever choice a parent makes regarding circumcision, it should be an informed decision made with full consideration of the pros and cons.

Learn more about this author, Penny Phillip.
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