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Circumcision pluses outweigh risks: Pediatricians The US's most influential pediatric group says the health benefits of circumcision in newborn boys outweigh the small risks
In its latest policy statement on circumcision, the American Academy of Pediatrics moves closer to an endorsement but says the decision should be up to parents. "It's not a verdict from on high," said policy co-author Dr Andrew Freedman. "There's not a one-size-fits-all-answer." But from a medical standpoint, circumcision's benefits in reducing risk of disease outweigh its small risks, said Freedman, a pediatric urologist in Los Angeles. Recent research bolstering evidence that circumcision reduces chances of infection with HIV and other sexually spread diseases, urinary tract infections and penis cancer influenced the academy to update their 13-year-old policy. Their old stance said potential medical benefits were not sufficient to warrant recommending routinely circumcising newborn boys. The new one says, "The benefits of newborn male circumcision justify access to this procedure for those families who choose it." The academy also says pain relief stronger than a sugar-coated pacifier is essential, usually an injection to numb the area. The new policy was published online in Pediatrics. It comes amid ongoing debate over whether circumcision is medically necessary or a cosmetic procedure that critics say amounts to genital mutilation. In Germany, Jewish and Muslim leaders have protested a regional court ruling in June that said circumcision amounts to bodily harm. Circumcision involves removing foreskin at the tip of the penis. The procedure can reduce germs that can grow underneath the foreskin, and complications, including bleeding and infection, are rare. Despite the US decline, about half of baby boysin the USAstill undergo circumcision, or roughly 1 million each year. The country's overall rate is much higher than in other developed nations, but US rates vary by region and are higher in areas where it is a cultural or religious tradition, including among Jews and Muslims.
