Neonatal Circumcision

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Abstract
The Sounding Board articles by Schoen1 and Poland2 (May 3 issue) are impressive summaries of the medical evidence for and against routine neonatal circumcision. It appears that the risks of circumcision are minimal, whereas the benefits seem to be potentially greater, but this is not yet clear. Nevertheless, it seems apparent that preferences concerning circumcision are cultural or social, with health issues being only one factor. Poland is therefore on target when he suggests that the ultimate decision of parents concerning neonatal circumcision ("a procedure to be performed at the discretion of the parents") "may hinge on nonmedical considerations." A survey I recently conducted suggests that the choice to circumcise or not is a learned preference based on several factors, including impressions from medical evidence. A questionnaire was used to gather control data from healthy young men concerning their concept of self and body image. A total of 112 young men 18 years of age or older completed an anonymous questionnaire that included questions about their own circumcision status, that of their fathers and brothers, and their preferences and the reasons for them. Ninety-nine of the 112 indicated that they were circumcised and 13 that they were not. Only three of the circumcised men identified themselves as Jewish.