About 20-30% of Australian males are circumcised, with rates much higher in older generations (peaking at ~80% in the 1950s) and significantly lower for newborns today, around 1 in 5 or 1 in 7. Rates have fallen due to medical shifts but remain common in certain cultural/religious groups (Muslim, Jewish) and are often done for health reasons, though mostly in private hospitals now.
Newborn Circumcision Rates
Today, around 1 in 5 newborn boys in Australia, approximately 20%, undergo circumcision.
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The estimate indicates that circumcision is higher among countries where the Muslim or Jewish faith are commonplace, such as Iran (100 per cent), Iraq (99 per cent), West Bank (99 per cent), Yemen (99 per cent), Indonesia (93 per cent), Syria (93 per cent), and Israel (92 per cent).
However, most medical bodies in developed countries, including in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, take the opposite view. They do not recommend circumcision because they believe that the potential benefits of the procedure are outweighed by the associated risks.
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.
The ceremony imparts the customs, laws and cultural responsibilities of Aboriginal society. Traditionally, as part of the initiation, various physical rites take place, such as circumcision, tooth avulsion, plucking of bodily hair, scarification and the removal of fingernails.
However, a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals that neonatal male circumcision (NMC) rates in the United States declined nearly 5% in the 10 years following the American Academy of Pediatrics statement in favor of the practice.
During the 2000s, the prevalence of circumcision in men aged 14–59 differed by race: 91 percent of non-Hispanic white men, 76 percent of black men, and 44 percent of Hispanic men (of any race) were circumcised, according to Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
In addition to personal, cultural, and religious aspects associated with the decision, you may have medical questions as well. Circumcision can be done at any age. Traditionally, the most common time to do it is soon after your baby is born, or within the first month of life.
In New Zealand and Australia at the present time, newborn and infant male circumcision is legal and generally considered an ethical procedure, if performed with informed parental consent and by a competent practitioner with provision of adequate analgesia.
Cons of Circumcision
Like any surgical procedure, circumcision carries risks, including bleeding, infection, and scarring. In some instances, circumcision may not be performed properly, leading to issues like excessive removal of tissue, which can cause cosmetic and functional problems.
Among our patients, when asked about pain during circumcision performed under local anesthesia on a scale 1-10 with 1 being no pain, and 10 being the worst pain of your life, more than 90% of patients rate pain as 2-3. Most patients do not take prescribed pain medications or any other pain medications.
Circumcision might have various health benefits, including:
Conclusions: Pain is mild to moderate after circumcision in adults under general anesthesia with an intraoperative penile block. Severe pain is rare and mostly related to complications. Younger patients generally have more discomfort.
Traditionally, Zoroastrians do not practice circumcision. Circumcision is not required in Yazidism, but is practised by some Yazidis due to regional customs. Circumcision is forbidden in Mandaeism, and the sign of the Jews given to Abraham by God, circumcision, is considered abhorrent.
Australia has seen a decrease in circumcision rates over the last 70 years or so. Back in the 1950s, roughly 80 per cent of Australian men and boys were circumcised. That rate has steadily decreased and now, around 20 per cent of Australian newborns are circumcised.
Male circumcision is one of the most common procedures in the world. Approximately 40% of the worldwide male population is circumcised, and the prevalence is even higher among male children born in the United States [1,2].
For those circumcised (n = 91), the median regret score was 0 (IQR 0–25). For those uncircumcised (n = 28), median regret score was 0 (IQR 0–24). Overall, 55% of both groups reported no regret (DRS = 0), 24% had low-mild regret (DRS 5–25), and 21% yielded moderate-strong regret (DRS 30–100).
Christianity and circumcision
In the Old Testament circumcision is clearly defined as a covenant between God and all Jewish males. Circumcision is not laid down as a requirement in the New Testament. Instead, Christians are urged to be "circumcised of the heart" by trusting in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross.
In addition to HIV, male circumcision has been shown to reduce the risk of other heterosexually acquired sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Two trials demonstrated that male circumcision reduces the risk of acquiring genital herpes by 28% to 34%, and the risk of developing genital ulceration by 47%.
The late 2000s saw several watershed events, with the introduction of state-level bans on publicly funded circumcision, and a 2010 policy statement from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) that critically questioned the routine practice of infant circumcision [3,4].
The standard three-part test for Aboriginality in Australia requires a person to meet three criteria: descent (biological ancestry), self-identification (identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander), and community acceptance (being recognized as such by their Indigenous community). This definition, adopted by the Commonwealth government, is used for many government programs and services, although the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) uses a simpler two-part test (descent and self-identification) for general data collection.
The most notable exception to Pacific superincision is the Māori of New Zealand, who do not circumcise or superincise, although they have an indigenous term for the latter (ure haea or "split penis") and their tradition is that they stopped the practice when they arrived in New Zealand.
1. It hurts to put it in, almost as much crying as the circumcision done without anesthesia. 2. In really good hands, 25% of the time the anesthesia does not seem to change the crying amount during the circumcision.