Male circumcision is a surgery to remove the foreskin, the natural covering of the penis. The foreskin provides sensation and lubrication for the penis. After the foreskin is removed, it can't be put back on again.

If it is done, circumcision is usually done soon after birth.

If you don't want your baby to be circumcised, he shouldn't be circumcised. Circumcision is a decision you make because you want it for your baby.

Circumcision may not be safe if your baby is sick or weak, has a problem with his penis, or has a family history of bleeding problems.

Some swelling and slight bleeding are normal after circumcision. Your baby may be fussy and have trouble sleeping for the first few days. He may feel some pain for a few days when he urinates. For about 2 weeks, he may feel some pain whenever urine or stool touches the tip of the penis.

Your baby will probably start to feel better within 3 to 4 days after circumcision. Even though he may feel better, his penis may look worse. The penis will usually look better about 7 to 10 days after circumcision.

It's important to keep your son's penis clean whether he has been circumcised or not. Keeping your young son's penis clean may help prevent infections and other problems.

Problems from circumcision aren't common. If they occur, they are usually short-term, such as minor bleeding or infection. Other possible problems include pain and irritation of the tip of the penis.

Long-term problems are even more uncommon, but they can include damage to the opening of the urethra, heavy bleeding, severe infection, or scarring.

Circumcision has some health benefits. For example:

• In the first year of life, urinary tract infections (UTIs) happen less often in circumcised boys than in boys who are not circumcised. But UTIs are not common.
• Some studies have shown that circumcised men are a little less likely than men who have not been circumcised to get or spread a sexually transmitted infection (STI), including HIV.

Your personal preference, religion, cultural belief, or ethnic background may affect your decision. The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) does not recommend circumcision as a routine procedure for all newborn males, but there may be benefits for some.^{footnote 1} But it's up to you whether you have your baby circumcised.

*Based on the best available evidence for these outcomes (evidence quality: borderline to inconclusive for infection and phimosis, borderline for heavy bleeding)

Benefits

The quality of the evidence about the benefits of circumcision is not strong. It is borderline to inconclusive.

Take a group of 100 baby boys. Circumcision may reduce their risk of having a urinary tract infection (UTI) within the first 15 months of life.

• Of 100 circumcised baby boys, none of them may have a UTI.
• Of 100 baby boys who are not circumcised, 2 may have a UTI. This means that the other 98 may not.

Circumcision also may reduce the risk of phimosis, which happens when the foreskin becomes too tight to be pulled back and causes swelling or other problems. (This can be corrected easily in most cases.)

• Of 100 baby boys who are circumcised, none of them will have this problem, because the foreskin has been removed.
• Of 100 baby boys who are not circumcised, 3 to 4 may have tightening of the foreskin within the first 15 months of life. This means that 96 to 97 may not.

Risks

The quality of the evidence about the risks of circumcision is borderline.

One risk of circumcision is that the procedure may cause bleeding heavy enough to require medical care. Out of 100 baby boys who are circumcised, 0 to 30 may have bleeding that is serious enough to need medical care. This means that 70 to 100 may not.

Understanding the evidence

Some evidence is better than other evidence. Evidence comes from studies that look at how well treatments and tests work and how safe they are. For many reasons, some studies are more reliable than others. The better the evidence is—the higher its quality—the more we can trust it.

The information shown here is based on the best available evidence.^{footnote 2, footnote 3, footnote 4, footnote 5, footnote 6, footnote 7, footnote 8, footnote 9} The evidence is rated using four quality levels: high, moderate, borderline, and inconclusive.

Another thing to understand is that the evidence can't predict what's going to happen in your case. When evidence tells us that 2 out of 100 people who have a certain test or treatment may have a certain result and that 98 out of 100 may not, there's no way to know if you will be one of the 2 or one of the 98.

Your child was born with a natural penis, and it is fine to keep it that way.

When cleaning your son's natural penis, be careful not to force the foreskin to retract. As your son gets older, teach him how to wash and care for his penis.

There may be reasons later in life when your son may need a circumcision. A boy or man may have problems retracting the foreskin or may have swelling of the foreskin that requires circumcision. But these problems are rare.

Circumcision is not just done in newborns. Keep in mind that your son can decide on his own later in life if he wants a circumcised penis.