In Australia today, fewer than 20 per cent of boys are circumcised. When considering circumcision for your child, you should be aware of the possible risks and benefits.
Because the foreskin protects part of the penis, circumcision is not routinely done on newborn boys in Australia unless there is a medical reason. Most doctors don't recommend circumcision. If you're not sure, it is best not to circumcise your baby. He can always make the decision to be circumcised later, if he wants.
It is most common in Jewish and Islamic faiths. In the United States, newborn circumcision is an elective procedure. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that about 64 percent of newborn boys undergo circumcision. However, this number varies among socioeconomic, ethnic, and geographic groups.
Present. Rates vary widely, from over 90% in Israel and many Muslim-majority countries, 86.3% in South Korea, to 80% in the United States, to 58% in Australia, to 45% in South Africa, to 20.7% in the United Kingdom, to under 1% in Japan and Honduras.
- Australia's routine circumcision rate peaked at 85 per cent between 1950-1980. - Due to a societal and cultural shift, the 1980s saw circumcision rates fall to 15 per cent in Australia.
From 1920-1970, circumcision was actively promoted in Australia. Most boys born in Australia around 1950 were circumcised. Since then, there has been a big move away from circumcision. Now less than 20% of Australian boys are circumcised.
In the 1970s, the Australian newborn circumcision rate decreased from 50% to 40%. In the 1980s and 1990s, less than 10% of babies were circumcised. In 2003, the infant circumcision rate in Australia was 13%.
In Japan, routine male circumcision has never been implemented for newborns and children, and adult males are mostly circumcised at aesthetic clinics. However, media reports indicate a trend of Japanese mothers willing to have their sons circumcised.
Among the non-circumcising nations are Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia, the U.S.S.R. , China, and Japan. People employing circumcision do so either for "health" reasons or as a religious ritual practiced by Muslims, Jews, most black Africans, non-white Australians, and others.
The rate of circumcision in Muslim nations is between 90 and 100 percent. This includes the Christians who form a significant part of some Arab states.
MC is not commonly practiced by the Chinese. While the prevalence of MC worldwide is almost 30%, only 5% of Chinese males are circumcised [12].
Both Muslims and Jews circumcise their male children. Why is Christianity the only Abrahamic religion that doesn't encourage circumcision? Because Paul believed faith was more important than foreskin. Shortly after Jesus' death, his followers had a disagreement over the nature of his message.
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The prevalence of circumcision varies widely in western countries led by the USA (71 per cent), New Zealand (33 per cent), Australia (27 per cent), the UK (21 per cent), France (14 per cent), Germany (11 per cent), Sweden (5 per cent), Italy (3 per cent) and Ireland (1 per cent).
Circumcision will be painful for the baby or child, both at the time of the operation and for some days after. The Paediatrics & Child Health Division of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians(RACP) strongly recommends the use of pain relief both during and after the operation.
Eventually, the foreskin should be retracted far enough during urination to see the meatus (the hole where the urine comes from). This prevents urine from building up beneath the foreskin and possibly causing an infection. As long as the foreskin doesn't easily retract, only the outside needs to be cleaned.
Most boys will be able to retract their foreskins by the time they are 5 years old, yet others will not be able to until the teen years. As a boy becomes more aware of his body, he will most likely discover how to retract his own foreskin. But foreskin retraction should never be forced.
The Catholic Church currently maintains a neutral position on the practice of cultural circumcision, as the church has a policy of inculturation.
It is most common among Muslims and Jews, as it is part of religious law in Judaism and is an established practice in Islam. Circumcision is also standard in the United States and parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, but is rare in Europe, Latin America, and most of Asia.
Catholic theology since the Second Vatican Council has increasingly emphasized that God's covenant with the Jewish people remains valid. It has never been revoked. This covenant includes infant male circumcision.
Slavic Russians are not usually circumcised. Most non-Jewish Russians don't really think much about circumcision. In terms of cleanliness, I should mention that many men are not really good with washing under their foreskins and it creates a very awful smell. Men who are circumcised don't have to worry about that.
As in all other European countries, male circumcision is uncommon in Italy, a country with a strong Catholic heritage that values and promotes the integrity of the human body.
Almost 60% of men reported that they would prefer to be circumcised and 76% of women stated a preference for circumcised sexual partners.
Cosmetic circumcision for newborn males is currently banned in all Australian public hospitals, South Australia being the last state to adopt the ban in 2007; the procedure was not forbidden from being performed in private hospitals.
Circumcision as a routine medical practice was a phenomenon unique to the Victorian America. A combination of religion, the medical monopoly on information, and the importance of cleanliness to medical professionals and individuals in American society created an environment in which circumcision continued to thrive.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians estimated in 2010 that 10 to 20 percent of newborn Australian boys are still being circumcised.