• Knowledgebase: Newborn Questions: General

    Questions about the care of newborns, rashes, stooling.

    27. Does my baby boy need to be circumcised? - Top

    In most cases, no.

    There is no medical reason why a baby boy needs to be circumcised. It is a family decision that should be based on your beliefs and perhaps whether or not the father is circumcised.

    I suppose it is easier to clean a circumcised penis than an uncircumcised one, but that is more a matter of hygine than necessity.

    Everyone has heard of someone who "wasn't circumcised as a baby and it had to be done later and it was a big deal". That is rare, and usually only "needs" to be done if there are problems with recurrent infections.

    Circumcisions can cause problems too. Babies have had problems with bleeding and infection from circumcision.

    Circumcision can be painful. Most doctors now give a numbing medicine to block the pain. - Updated: March 5, 2001

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    • James L Horwitz, MD

    David C. Thomas, MD

    Barbara Lindberg, PNP