Information for Parents & Childbirth Professionals

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Did you know?

• Parents and doctors in Canada, England, & Australia abandoned circumcision years ago.
• More and more American parents are saying 'no' to circumcision.
• No national medical organization recommends newborn circumcision.
• The foreskin is erogenous tissue.
• The foreskin is important for women during sex.
• Circumcision is painful and invasive.
• Circumcision was introduced to America as a 'cure' for masturbation in the 1880s.

Danish Study: Male circumcision associated with sexual problems

A 2011 study in Denmark concludes that "circumcision was associated with frequent orgasm difficulties in Danish men and with a range of frequent sexual difficulties in women, notably orgasm difficulties, dyspareunia [pain during intercourse] and a sense of incomplete sexual needs fulfillment." A ScienceNordic article covers the study and interviews one of the researchers: "Previous studies into male circumcision have looked at the effects it has on the men. But scientists have never really studied the effects this has on the women's sex lives."

Boulder Daily Camera: "More parents opt out of circumcision"

The number of circumcisions in the United States is declining. A new article by Aimee Heckel examines the reasons why a growing number of parents are choosing to not circumcise. A new mother describes it in simple terms: "There was just no good reason," she says. "The foreskin is there for protection, just like an eyelid."

Educational video narrated by Dr. Dean Edell

Spanish subtitles available at Google Video. You can also download a copy of this video in MPEG format: NOCIRC Video 2008.mpg (160 MB).

Boulder Weekly article on Circumcision

The Boulder Weekly recently ran a front-page article on the current controversy over circumcision: To cut or not to cut? The debate over circumcision gets snippy
by Pamela White

It's Time to Question Circumcision

• What do medical organizations say about circumcision?
     They don't recommend it, so why do we do it?
• What is the foreskin? Why is it there in the first place?
     Find out why all men are born with a foreskin or take the Foreskin Quiz
• The foreskin is at the tip of the penis, so does it have anything to do with sex?
     Of course it does!
• Are there any reasons we shouldn't circumcise? At least 25
• Does a man's foreskin do anything for women? It's called the 'gliding action'
• Is circumcision painful? How is circumcision done? See for yourself
• How did circumcision start in America? As a 'cure' for masturbation in the 1880s

Doctors Opposing Circumcision:

Genital Integrity Policy Statement (2008)
"We call on healthcare professionals everywhere to make clear to the public that non-therapeutic circumcision of children is unhealthy and injurious to children and should not be performed."

What Is Your Foreskin IQ?

Take the Foreskin Quiz by Jack Travis, M.D. It's just 12 questions, but you'll be surprised by the answers!

College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (2004):

"Current understanding of the benefits, risks and potential harm of this procedure... no longer supports this practice for prophylactic health benefit. Routine infant male circumcision performed on a healthy infant is now considered a non-therapeutic and medically unnecessary intervention... Routine infant male circumcision does cause pain and permanent loss of healthy tissue."
Official Medical Statements on Infant Circumcision

A 2007 study by Sorrells, et al. shows circumcision removes the most sensitive parts of the penis. From the press release: George C. Denniston, M,D., MPH, President of Doctors Opposing Circumcision, commented, "This new study provided further evidence of the permanent and irreversible lifelong injury of non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision and raises grave ethical questions regarding the continued performance of child circumcision. We call upon the American Academy of Pediatrics to defend children from this practice." Visit Circumstitions.com for an excellent analysis complete with anatomical diagrams showing what areas of male anatomy are most sensitive.