Neonatal Male Circumcision Rates Reduced From 2012 to 2022

FRIDAY, Sept. 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — U.S. neonatal male circumcision (NMC) rates declined nearly 5 percent in the 10 years following the American Academy of Pediatrics statement supporting the practice, according to a study published online Sept. 15 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Ping Yang, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues examined trends in inpatient NMC procedures after the 2012 American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation. The analysis included more than 1.5 million discharges of male neonates (aged 0 to 28 days) annually identified from the 2012 to 2022 Kids’ Inpatient Database.

The researchers found that from 2012 to 2022, the overall prevalence of hospitalizations with an NMC decreased significantly from 54.1 percent to 49.3 percent. Most patient and hospital subgroups experienced decreases. Over time, White neonates had a significant decline (prevalence difference [PD], −5.3 percent), while prevalence among Black and Hispanic neonates remained stable. Neonates from the highest-income ZIP codes and those with private insurance had the highest NMC prevalence but experienced the largest declines. All census regions experienced significant declines in NMC prevalence rates, with the Midwest maintaining the highest prevalence (68.5 percent) in 2022 and the West maintaining the lowest (19.7 percent). Racial patterns persisted across all regions. 

“Despite overwhelming evidence that neonatal male circumcisions provide health benefits, increasing public skepticism in the United States toward medical recommendations may be driving more parents to choose not to have their sons get circumcised,” senior author Aaron A.R. Tobian, M.D., Ph.D., also from Johns Hopkins University, said in a statement.

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