Circumcise my baby boy?

[Irieguy]

I am an obstetrician and have performed over 200 circumcisions. So, I have had this conversation with numerous families and am aware of the medical literature. I'll give you the basics in case it is helpful (both pros and cons):

1. The circumcision procedure is not particularly gruesome or painful. It takes me 90 seconds and some infants hardly cry. Most infants cry harder, and longer, when they have their heel sticks done for blood tests. It's not likely that it bothers them more than being born.

2. There is no compelling medical reason to have your infant circumcised.

3. Penile cancer (lifetime) and urinary tract infections in the first 2 years of life are less common in circumcised males. But both are so uncommon that it is not a very important consideration from a statistical standpoint.

4. It is easier to clean a circumcised penis. It is also not very difficult to clean an uncircumcised one, but this is a concern for some mothers.

5. The argument "he can always get a circumcision later if he wants to," is the single worst argument against circumcision that exists.

6. Circumcision is more common in America than non-circumcision and most humans prefer to be common when it comes to matters concerning their sexual organs.

7. Most American women, when polled, will say that they prefer circumcised males.

8. The arguments that "the penis was not meant to be circumcised" or that the intervention is "unnatural" are very flimsy in a modern society. Armpit and genital hair were not meant to be removed, and artificial scents were not "meant" to be applied to the female body, but there does seem to be a social convention for sexuality that involves altering our natural appearance... right or wrong.

9. An uncircumcised male is unlikely to ever endure any significant emotional trauma or relationship difficulty solely due to his uncircumcised state.

10. Some infants will develop a condition called phimosis, where the foreskin contracts and can no longer be retracted over the head of the penis. This sucks and requires circumcision later in childhood or infancy. This condition is common enough, and a big enough deal, that it would be the compelling reason for me to choose circumcision for my son if all other factors were completely equal.

Irieguy