The American Academy of Pediatrics stopped short of advising against circumcision. The weight of the evidence would have to be significant for the academy to recommend an elective surgical procedure on every newborn male, and the evidence is not sufficient for us to make such a recommendation,'' said Dr. Carole Lannon, chairwoman of the task force that wrote the new policy statement for the academy, which has 55,000 members. Federal figures show that nearly two-thirds of American boys born in 1995 were circumcised, but the pediatrics academy said those statistics were taken from too small a sample to be reliable. The new policy statement, outlined in a report in the March issue of Pediatrics , the academy's journal, says parents should take into account cultural and religious traditions as well as the advice of a pediatrician when considering circumcision. In its last policy statement on the issue, in 1989, the academy said circumcision has potential medical benefits as well as risks and should be carefully explained to parents.
Some evidence shows penile cancer is more prevalent among uncircumcised males.
But the disease is so rare, striking just 1 in 100,000 American males a year, that the researchers found any added risk insignificant. The academy's report said pain relief is recommended because studies have shown that infants circumcised without anesthesia experience pain and bodily stress. The task force reviewed three forms of pain relief. One involves applying a local anesthetic in a cream about an hour before the procedure. The two others involve injecting anesthetics into the penis.