Introduction

The decision to circumcise your newborn son can be a difficult one.  Although many families have very strong feelings for or against circumcisions, there are just as many families that feel conflicted.  This section is intended to give you some general information as well as some of our own personal experience with this procedure.

The pediatricians at High Desert Pediatrics are very experienced with doing circumcisions.  We have done hundreds of them.  We feel that the decision to circumcise or not to circumcise your baby boy is completely up to you and we are more than happy to perform this procedure for you unless there are medical reasons for not doing a circumcision.

The rate of circumcision in Albuquerque, from our personal experience, seems to be about 70-80%.  Locally, it seems to be very common in the Caucasian and African American communities, somewhat less common in the Hispanic community, and not very common in the Native American and Asian communities.

What is a Circumcision?

Circumcision in males is the surgical removal of the foreskin.  The foreskin is the skin that covers the head  of the penis (also called the glans of the penis).  The primary function of the foreskin is to protect the glans from trauma.

Why do a Circumcision?

Certainly, there are many cultural and religious reasons for having your baby circumcised.   It is very common in many regions of the world and just as uncommon in many more.   From a medical point of view, the American Academy of Pediatrics has not found any evidence that routine circumcision in the newborn period is medically beneficial and, therefore, does not recommend it for medical reasons.  The AAP does, however, acknowledge that personal parental preference is a valid reason for performing this procedure.

The potential benefits most often cited include reduction in urinary tract infections (UTI’s), irritation, transmission of certain sexually transmitted diseases, and penile cancer.  While there may be a small potential for benefit there is also a small risk associated with the procedure.  Our feeling is that the potential benefits do not clearly outweigh the potential risks to make this procedure routinely recommended.

Our position in this matter is that while there are some conditions where a circumcision is potentially beneficial, the typical newborn boy has not demonstrated that he has any of those conditions or is at risk for any of those conditions in the future.  Therefore, if you would like us to circumcise your baby, it is for personal preference reasons only.