Hospital Circumcision Rate Drops By 10 Percent

Hospital Circumcision Rate Drops By 10 Percent

Circumcisions performed on new born babies in the United States have dropped by almost 10 percent in the past three decades. The data was collected from 1979 to 2010, and while the rate of circumcision fluctuated during this time, by the end of the study, it dropped by 10 percent.

In the course of the 32 years, the rate dropped from 64.5 percent to 58.3 percent. The peak of hospital circumcision was hit in 1981 with a rate of 64.9 percent while the lowest measurement was hit in 2007 with a rate of 55.4 percent.

The authors of the study mentioned that they didn’t take into consideration circumcisions performed outside of hospitals for religious or other reasons.

A circumcision is a medical procedure where a male’s foreskin is removed. Figures show that nearly a third of males worldwide are circumcised. The vast majority have the procedure performed for religious reasons. Out of the 30 percent of males that are circumcised 69 percent are Muslim and 1 percent are Jewish.

Two of the reasons behind the drop in circumcision rates are the small amount of time a newborn spends in a hospital and the influx of immigrants that come from cultures where circumcision is not a popular practice.

While sufficient research has not yet been conducted, there seems to be a number of health benefits like a reduction in urinary tract infection rates and increased protection from HIV.

Posted by George Daniels on Saturday August 24 2013, 2:21 AM EST. Ref: USA Today. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0