Circumcision to Prevent HIV and STDs

Question: Should we circumcise our son as a future preventative against STDs, such as HIV?

Answer: No, you should not circumcise your son for future STD and HIV prevention.

Condoms are the safest and most reliable protective barrier against HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, and other STDs. Circumcision does not offer the proven and effective protection that condoms can provide your son and his partners.

Circumcision also does absolutely nothing to prevent teen pregnancy. It offers no protection against HPV, the virus which causes genital warts and increases the risk of cervical cancer, penile cancer, and rectal cancer. HPV is commonly spread by genital to genital contact, as well as genital to oral contact.

Your job as parent is to educate your son about safe sex practices when he is an appropriate age, usually at the start of puberty. It’s important to sit down and have an open, honest conversation about the significance of wearing a condom every time he is sexually active. Since he will be young, he will probably be embarrassed by the conversation. That’s OK. Despite the awkwardness, he will still be listening.

Above all, you must advocate for your son’s health and well-being. These discussions should be a part of your continuing dialogue throughout his adolescent years and into adulthood, as you’ll want him to maintain safe sex practices when he is a college student with raging hormones and new-found freedom.

Future STD prevention is not a good reason to justify circumcising your son. Since you’re a loving and caring parent, you’re going to make sure he understands the importance of safe sex through the usage of condoms. Leave him intact, and he’ll be able to enjoy the many benefits of his foreskin when he does become sexually active, and thanks to his education about condoms, he will safely be able to explore his sexuality as he matures into a young man.

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