Circumcision: A Closer Look

Posting Date: 03/01/1999

CERVICAL CANCER

The idea that women who have sex with uncircumcised men will get cervical cancer is a myth that is hard to put to rest.

This is so untrue that the Academy did not even consider this in their new evaluation. Cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted virus and has nothing to do with the circumcision status of the male.

URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS

Some studies have found urinary tract infections to be more common in the intact male baby. Other studies have challenged that.

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If one accepts the claims of those who think not circumcising increases the risk, then you would have to do 200 circumcisions to prevent one urinary tract infection.

COMPLICATIONS

The complication rate of the circumcision operation itself - from bleeding to amputation of the penis - is at least one in 200 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. So you can see that there's no benefit at all.

PENILE CANCER

When it comes to penile cancer, the Academy notes that it is so rare that it should not be a significant influence on the decision to circumcise.

STDs

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have been claimed to be more common in the intact male. But is this true?

There is no doubt, as the AAP says, that behavioral factors are far more important in determining your risk of STDs and that there are some sexually transmitted diseases that are more common in circumcised men.

FATHER TO SON

The most common reason men give for circumcising their sons is so they will look like them. This is a poor reason to do this to a newborn baby.

DIFFERENCES: SEXUAL SATISFACTION OF WOMEN

Recent studies have found that sexually, circumcised men are different from intact men. The glans or tip of the intact penis is more sensitive. Circumcision removes the equivalent of 15 square inches of skin in the adult male. One study recently published in the British Journal of Urology found that intact men are more satisfying to their female lovers than circumcised men.