When to Circumcise and Why
Which brings up the question: If you miss the two-week window, should your child be circumcised at all? Michael LePatourel and his wife Lizelle of Edmonton had their son in Taiwan, where doctors do not perform circumcisions. “I’m circumcised and I would like my son to be as well,” says LePatourel. “But by the time we moved back to Canada, Miguel was almost two. We’re worried it might be too traumatic now [at three and a half].”
Dr. Martins says, “In my view, if the child is doing well I wouldn’t take the risk,” which can include pain and excessive bleeding. And since it’s an elective procedure, you may be bumped for more urgent operations. You can also expect to pay $1,000 to $2,000 for the procedure (newborn circumcisions are about $200).
when to circumcise late
There are a few reasons why a child would benefit from a non-newborn (medical) circumcision. The most common is phimosis, a condition where the foreskin cannot fully retract from the head of the penis. There is some evidence that circumcision can also help boys who are prone to urinary tract infections and/or who have backflow of urine from the bladder to the kidneys. There are studies that show circumcision can lower some cancer rates and reduce the risk of developing a sexually transmitted disease (most notably, a French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis study that found three times fewer circumcised participants had acquired HIV compared with control participants). “These are more an issue in countries where there is not the regular use of condoms,” says Dr. Pippi Salle. “I don’t see it as a major ‘pro circumcision’ reason in Canada.”
Nancy Ripton is a freelance writer and co-founder of justthefactsbaby.com. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons.
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