Medical Questions » Male Problems Questions » Question No. 601
| Question: | I am pregnant, and my husband wants any son of his to be circumcised. I am not so sure, and would like your opinion. Should it be done? Why is it done? |
| Answer: | Circumcision as a religious ritual is known in many different cultures, but the idea that circumcision is ' normal' in countries of the British Commonwealth, is relatively recent. It started only at the end of the nineteenth century, and appears to stem from the hygiene problems, penile infections, and subsequent adult circumcisions suffered by soldiers in the Crimean wars, and to some extent in the First World War. Fathers at that time swore that they would not put their sons through such agony in adult life, and started the ritual of infant circumcision.
Today there is no medical reason to support the continuation of this ritual. Hygiene is not a problem in modern society, and it is possible for parents and children to adequately clean their penis, as much as their ears or any other part of the anatomy.
Removing the foreskin may adversely affect the man in later life. The foreskin is the most sexually sensitive part of the penis, and if excess is removed, it may decrease sexual pleasure.
If performed under the age of 6 weeks, circumcision is normally done without any anaesthetic, as the risk of this makes the operation even more dangerous. It is thus a traumatic experience for both the baby and the doctor.
There are also risks associated with the procedure. Although any bleeding from the penis may appear to be adequately controlled when the child leaves the surgery, catastrophic bleeding may occur unnoticed into a nappy that nighl. Scarring of the penis due to infection may also occur.
Some men will need to be circumcised later in life, but fewer than 1% of men will need this operation for infections, tight bands, cancer or other reasons. Some of us will also need to have our tonsils removed later in life, but this is not a valid reason for removing them at birth.
Many public hospitals in Australia are now refusing to allow this operation. This is because the vast majority of the medical profession can see the disadvantages of the procedure. It really is no more than a left-over tribal ritual.
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