American Academy of Pediatricians to Announce New Policy on Circumcision
An influential group of pediatricians is expected to
release a new policy regarding infant circumcision next week. The new statement
may be a shift towards a greater acknowledgement of circumcision's health
benefits, experts said.
The new policy from the American Academy of Pediatricians
will be announced on Monday, Aug. 27, according to the media relations manager
for the organization.
Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics' stance on
circumcision is that, although some health benefits have been found, the
evidence is not sufficient enough to recommend circumcision be done routinely.
This policy, which the AAP adopted in 1999 and reaffirmed
in 2005, may have influenced insurance companies' reimbursement policies on
circumcision, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although nearly 80 percent of U.S. boys born in the 1970s
and 1980s were circumcised, that number decreased to 62.5 percent in 1999, and
54.7 percent in 2010, according to a recent study. And since 1999, Medicaid
policies in 18 states have stopped covering infant circumcision.
Experts expect that Monday's recommendations from the AAP
will announce a change in course.
"The general feeling is that this will be a
liberalization from current policy," which is fairly against circumcision,
said Dr. Stephen Moses, a medical microbiology professor at the University of
Manitoba in Canada, noting that he has no specific information about what the
new policy will say.
The new statement may not make a general recommendation
for or against circumcision, but instead, point out the benefits of the
procedure that should be used when counseling parents on the decision, Moses
said.
Studies conducted in Africa have shown circumcision
reduces the risk of acquiring HIV by about 60 percent, and the risk of
acquiring human papillomavirus (HPV), by about 50 percent. The procedure also
reduces transmission of herpes.
Although rare, the procedure has risks, including minor
bleeding and infection, according to the CDC. In the United States, the risk of
experiencing complications with circumcision ranges from 0.2 percent to 2
percent, depending on the person operating, surgical instruments used, and
other factors.
According to the Washington Post, the AAP's new policy
statement will conclude that the benefits of circumcision outweigh the risks.
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