To Circumcise or Not?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34811764/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

Over the past week, 2 respected medical journals published articles on male circumcision that came to completely different conclusions. Parents of newborn boys will have to make this decision on their own, without help from the medical community.

In Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Dr. Thomas Quinn and colleagues say that the American Academy of Pediatrics should revise it's circumcision policy to reflect recent and substantial evidence of circumcision's health benefits.

In the Annals of Family Medicine, Caryn Perera and colleagues argue that "current evidence fails to recommend widespread neonatal circumcision."

New data shows that circumcision reduces the risks of HIV infection and other viral STDs life herpes and HPV. There is some evidence that male circumcision reduces the risk of bacterial STDs too. It also prevents urinary tract infections, especially in boys younger than 1 year. These are possible benefits, they are not a sure thing.

"It is important to give parents information", said Dr. Michael T. Brady of Ohio State University. "Then they can make the decision they think is in the best interest of the child and (doctors) should be supportive of that."