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Warning: You may not want your children to read some topics in this section. |
The benefits and risks
Pain relief for circumcision
How is a circumcision performed?
Care after a circumcision
Circumcision in Australia
Circumcision is the removal of a fold of skin (called the foreskin or prepuce) that covers the head of the penis (called the glans).
Circumcision has been documented as far back as about 4000BC with mummified ancient Egyptians being found to be circumcised and hieroglyphics depicting the procedure. The circumcision of baby boys, teenagers and men is believed to have originated in societies that lived in hot, dry environments. The ritual of circumcising boys when they reached puberty is well documented in African tribes and traditional Australian Aboriginal communities.
Many boys born into Jewish and Muslim families have been ritually circumcised for many years (and continue to be so) for religious reasons. Routine male circumcision has never been a common practice in European, Scandinavian, Asian or South American countries, with rates being typically less than 1%.
In the mid 1800's up to 10% of American men were circumcised, mainly African-American rather than white Caucasian Americans. The practice started to become more popular among doctors in the late 1800's in an effort to prevent masturbation (which was thought to be responsible for many illnesses including blindness and insanity!) It is now known that circumcision does not affect a man's desire to masturbate.
The routine circumcision of baby boys within days of the birth progressively became more popular in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK after the 1940's. However, when the new National Health Service (NHS) was introduced in the UK, they wanted a cost-benefit analysis of all procedures they would be providing.