A new study released by the National Health and Social Life Survey says circumcision rates are on the decline in the US, and have been falling for a while. According to the study circumcision rates peaked in the 1960s with 90 percent of boys born in the US being circumcised. The rate of circumcisions began to drop during the 1970s and now only about 57 of male babies are circumcised.

The decline is attributed in part to an increase in immigration from Asian and Latin American countries where circumcision is not common. Also, parents are doing more research, just as they do with everything else, and are opting not to have their sons circumcised because of that research. They are aware of more options, of differences among cultures, of the reasons to have a boy circumcised and reasons not to.

The study also found that there is even a decline in the number of circumcisions done by Jewish families. At one time it was very common to have a bris after the baby’s birth at which the male child would be circumcised in front of friends and family. This Jewish tradition is beginning to change, with more liberal Jewish families opting to have the bris without the circumcision.

Many doctors still recommend circumcision citing the many medical benefits attributed to the practice, including increased protection against sexual transmitted diseases, reduces rates of penile cancer, and fewer urinary tract infections. Opponents of circumcision say these medical benefits are over stated and the risks are often understated.

With a little more than 50 percent of male babies born in the US still being circumcised it is still a fairly common practice. Any parent considering whether or not to have their male baby circumcised should talk to their doctor and do some research of their own.

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