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Community Corner

Circumcision: A Touchy Subject for Many Newborn Parents

How do you make this difficult decision?

The decision to circumcise your male child is very personal and private. However, many people in the United States choose to do it in order to conform. In recent years there has been a movement to make parents more aware of the reasons for undergoing a medically unnecessary operation.

According to the Circumcision Resource Center, “the term "uncircumcised" suggests that to be circumcised is the norm… however, nonreligious male infant circumcision is not "normal" in any culture outside of the United States. From a global perspective, to be "uncircumcised" is to be normal, the way males are born, and the way most of the world’s males remain.” 

In American culture, more than half of males are circumcised. According to a US Census Bureau report, in 2000 “70 percent of the current male population of the US [had] been circumcised” and “110 of the 166 million males (66 percent) born during the century underwent circumcision in the newborn period." Circumcision has become a ritual part of a male child’s birth.

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So why is it that Americans feel so strongly about male circumcision? How does your family make this difficult decision, and what is your reason for doing so?

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