Circumcising foreskin
Read a comprehensive article regarding the practice of circumcising foreskin.
Circumcising foreskin, has for many years been a controversial issue and topic of debate, never the less it has been practiced for millennia. Currently in the United States, it is so common, that foreskins are even somewhat rare and may become rarer. There are well-known religious, social, and medical reasons to recommend a baby to undergo circumcision; however, most major medical societies have taken an “impartial” viewpoint of this procedure, not renouncing neither recommending the practice of circumcising foreskin.
The medical analysis and viewpoint on circumcising foreskin:
Written In 1975, the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) released a statement saying in no uncertain terms that “there is no absolute medical indication for routine circumcision of the new-born.” Later on in 1983, the AAP and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG) reissued this position. They did so once more in 2005 restating this position of equivocation.
Today, the practice of baby circumcision is something common in many parts of the world. It has been estimated that a majority of males in the United States are circumcised. In the UK this percentage rate is lower with a rate of slightly under 4%. This number varies depending upon ethnicity and religious affiliation.
In the decades since, medical practice has come to rely increasingly on evidence from vast research and studies, which, as many American doctors see it, have come to support the existing rationale of circumcising the foreskin. When the CDC made its recent statement, it cited that some studies have showed that circumcision has many health benefits. Circumcision of the foreskin reduces the risk of urinary tract infection, several STDs, penile cancer, phimosis, balanitis (inflammation of the foreskin and head of the penis), and HIV. They noted additional benefits for women, whom their partners are circumcised, namely a much lower risk of cervical cancer that studies have found to be connected to human papillomavirus.
The reasoning behind the medical benefits of circumcising foreskin is very simple: the warm and wet region under the foreskin can sometimes house different bacteria and viruses that cause diseases. A circumcised penis can’t be colonized so easily; without the blanket, it’s harder to hide. Circumcision also removes a very large amount of Langerhans cells, a component of the immune system which, according to some proven research, is targeted by HIV.
Regarding baby circumcision, most physicians today agree that it is of up most importance to inform the parents of the risks and benefits of this procedure in an unbiased and accurate manner. In recent years, however, since large studies have revealed a large decrease in HIV transmission in circumcised males compared to uncircumcised males. These statistics may ultimately shed more light and bring some changes in recommendations in the near future, and there currently is a significant pressure for the AAP and ACOG to reconsider their initial positions and statements.
Read more on circumcising foreskin, and the different studies.