Parents face so many difficult decisions when it comes to having a child: decisions about nursing, sleep patterns, discipline, teaching methods and, in the case of boys, whether or not to circumcise. In addition to being the most common surgery for males in the U.S., circumcision has been practiced in various cultures for centuries. Yet when it comes to the health and best interest of your newborn, is circumcision the way to go?
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
Protection against a number of sexually transmitted infections- the moist inner surface of the foreskin is both a magnet and a refuge for infectious agents.
1. HIV/AIDs. In the past 20 years since the outbreak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic more than 20 million people have died, and 40 million people now carry HIV with 2.5 million new cases each year. More than 30 separate studies, including the gold standard, 3 randomized clinical trials in the past 3 years, have proven that circumcision is 50-60% effective in preventing the acquisition of HIV on exposure. This evidence is accepted by the UN, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. NIH among others, and 5 African countries are starting mass adult circumcision programs. At the same time multiple attempts at developing an HIV vaccine have failed.
2. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This is the most prevalent STI in the United States (US) – 6 million new cases/year. An international study involving 5 nations has shown that HPV is 3 times more commonly found on uncircumcised penises as compared to those circumcised. HPV is the cause of penile, cervical and anogenital cancers.
3. Chlamydia is second in prevalence to HPV as an STI in the US. Women sexual partners of uncircumcised men are 5 times more likely to have high antibody titers to Chlamydia as the partners of circumcised men. Chlamydia is a leading cause of female infertility.
4. Syphilis has long been known to be more common in uncircumcised men. Easy tearing of the delicate inner foreskin lining during intercourse offers entry to the spirochete.
5. Chancroid. Less lethal than syphilis but prevalent in under developed countries. During the Korean War, 90% of chancroid cases in US soldiers occurred in the 30% who weren’t circumcised.
6. Herpes simplex. A recent study showed that circumcision reduces the acquisition of genital herpes by 25%.
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