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Former White House Doctor Connie Mariano returns to reveal the added benefits later in life to having your newborn son circumcised after birth.
Should you circumcise your sone?
The are many medical reasons for saying yes.
I'm former White House Doctor Connie Mariano with EmpowHER.
While circumcision remains a personal decision for many parents, there is now some overwhelming medical evidence that shows the procedure can significantly reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
According to the CDC, clinical studies show circumcision reduces a man's risk of HIV during penile-vaginal intercourse.
But that's not all.
Uncircumcised men show an increased risk of genital ulcer disease, chlamydia, urinary tract infections, penile cancer, and cervical cancer for women who are partnered with uncircumcised men.
Studies also show an increased risk of HPV, the human papilomavirus, syphilis, and chancroid.
Now there are additional costs and risks associated with circumcision. And the procedure in no way should be considered a substitute for condoms and other safe sex practices.
But in my opinion and the CDC's, a little snip is well worth the risk.
I'm Dr. Connie Mariano for EmpowHER; To ask any question or for more information visit EmpowHER.com.
Add a Comment70 Comments
THERE is NO link between hair on the penile shaft and circumcision (it is purely genetic). I am a medical practitioner and a faculty member of a major mid-western university. I have taught human sexuality coursework at the undergraduate and graduate level. Please to not misinform other readers with what is at best anecdotal or personal information. Next, be sure to write that if a girl sits on a boy's that lap she should have at least 2 telephone books under her to avoid pregnancy. "Suck up a woman's moisture"?, where in the world did you find that pearl of sexual data? The ONLY men in the world that contract penile cancer are uncircumcised men, so maybe they ought to take that risk?. Dry intercourse is caused by lack of arousal and timely/skilled foreplay, when not linked to a medical condition or menopause.
October 29, 2012 - 3:10pmThis Comment
You advocate elective surgery to prevent a condition that only affects between 2 to 10 men out of a million in their lifetimes? And as far as hair goes, just a quick search on google scholar got me this applicable tidbit in under a minute:
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"Occasionally the peri-penile or scrotal skin may impinge on the penile shaft. This may be congenital or acquired from an OVER-ZEALOUS CIRCUMCISION. When the penis is stretched [erect], the HAIRY SCROTAL AND SUPRAPUBIC SKIN APPEARS TO SIGNIFICANTLY EXTEND ONTO THE SHAFT. If the penile skin is truly tethering the penis then plastic surgical procedures to elongate the skin on the shaft of the penis are appropriate."
[Nim Christopher & John P. Pryor (2002): Abnormalities of penile shape
and function, Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 17:2, 199-205]
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I love teachers, even incredulous medical practitioners that somehow end up teaching psychology/sociology classes, but you are incorrect. There is no hair on the inside of the foreskin. Upon erection, this skin becomes unfolded, and surrounds much of the shaft. My "personal anecdote" is NOT misleading; I have been seen and operated on by respected specialists who without hesitation explained it to me that this was related to the amount of tissue taken during my circumcision.
Please do not try to discourage people here from sharing their experiences. If you had no such complications, you wouldn't know.
In case you're wondering, I am also in the "medical field", but the other side of it--the side that does the [public] research that give doctors and pharma the treatments they provide. Our lab works to transdifferentiate between cell types to create isogenic, therapeutically usable cells for implantation. I'm not a dummy.
February 1, 2013 - 7:15amThis Comment
Circumcision is a horrible useless procedure. It should be illegal. The information in this article isn't even correct. Male genital mutilation needs to stop. The decision should be up to the individual-not the parents. It's not their body.
October 27, 2012 - 5:49pmThis Comment
I agree. His body, his choice. Under the 14th Amendment and the FGM Amendment as well as state laws which say you cannot leave a mark and court cases that say you cannot martyr your children, circumcision is illegal anyway bc we ALL have equal rights. This "doctor" is telling parents to do something illegal. Shame on her.
October 27, 2012 - 5:55pmThis Comment
I am sick and tired of dry and abrasive intercourse. A circumcised man often has a hairy shaft bc his skin has to come down from his pubic bone area to accommodate the erection since the foreskin was SUPPOSED to do this job. This causes abrasions inside a woman. On top of that a dry glans will suck up a woman's moisture. Circumcision of males harms men AND women. You are NOT "EmpowHER"ing anyone with the load of bull you have posted on this site. Time to take it down. By the way "This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here." is clearly NOT true.
http://mondofown.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/how-women-are-harmed-by-male.html
http://www.circumcisionharm.org/
October 27, 2012 - 6:02pmThis Comment
Your "information" is just not true. You are either brainwashed, or you know the real truth and are just trying to brainwash others.
Anyone reading this, please go here for the truth about circumcision-- how being INTACT and WHOLE is truly best, for both the man AND the woman he is with. There is plenty of information on this website, so please browse it thoroughly: http://www.sexasnatureintendedit.com/
Also, here is an informative flowchart about how circumcision is mainly done these days just for financial gain: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/294349_417587101622284_1682623836_n.jpg
And, a few more links for anyone interested in even more:
http://www.thewholenetwork.org/3/post/2010/11/50-reasons-to-leave-it-alone.html
http://www.sexasnatureintendedit.com/10F/doctor_northrup.html
^Scroll down the main page and read The Pleasures of Natural Sex, it talks about the foreskin and why its useful for the man, and also about why it was done in the first place (originally done in the 1800s to prevent boys from masturbating).
http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goldman1/
^Negative subconscious and psychological effects of circumcision.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=417587101622284&set=a.257423117638684.59482.256658781048451&type=1&ref=nf
http://youtu.be/MDuDhkiDdns
^(Extremely graphic video of what happens to the baby boy during the procedure).
His body, his choice. Leave it alone.
October 27, 2012 - 5:41pmThis Comment
What a completely INSANE article. What is the matter with people? Do they have no sense at all? Forced genital cutting (infant circ) is a human rights violation and medically unethical. Not to mention completely unnecessary (despite what many people have been led to believe - the 'info' here is easily debunked). How can anyone in a supposedly 'civilized' society support something so heinous? It just goes to show how the power of 'culture' can make people believe and do some pretty despicable things. Shame on you.
October 27, 2012 - 5:34pmThis Comment
Why would anyone encourage parents to reduce their son's sexual organ to prevent voluntarily acquired sexually transmitted diseases? Only American cultural prejudice can explain such an illogical conclusion. This article, as most that promote circumcision, does not discuss the structure or function of the foreskin, nor does it discuss the very real risks of the procedure. I should know. I represent those who have been damaged by this needless surgery. See www.thecircumcisionlawyer.com.
October 27, 2012 - 5:32pmThis Comment
So no discussion of the vastly increased chance of meatal stenosis in boys? Of erectile dysfunction in men? Corrective surgery for circumcision problems? Painful erections due to too much skin being removed? Pubic hair on the shaft due to scrotal tissue being dragged up during erections? Sexual difficulties and pain in partners of circumcised men? No mention of the USA having both the highest circumcision and HIV rates in the western world? That Europe has some of the lowest circumcision and HIV rates in the world? Of the cost, frustration and discomfort endured by men trying to restore what was taken without their consent? Of the fact that men are left with only 4,000 nerve endings (women have 8000 in their clitoris) after 20,000+ are surgically removed without consent? And what about the hundred or so baby boys that die every year in the USA alone from circumcision - do they think the 'snip' was worth it? Do their shattered families?
October 27, 2012 - 5:29pmThis Comment
You're supposed to be a doctor right? What ever happened to "First Do no Harm"? Yes you are right, it is a personal decision, for the baby who will become a man someday. His body, his choice!
October 27, 2012 - 5:25pmThis Comment