Australia: Doctors recommend no circumcision until boy is at least six years old

Article here. Excerpt:

'PARENTS who want to circumcise their newborn son should wait until he is old enough to make his own decision, Australia's peak body of pediatricians says.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians will not change its policy against circumcision despite mounting evidence that the procedure can prevent the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

A long-awaited position statement by the college's pediatrics and child health division released last month differs from the previous policy, issued in 2004, by acknowledging that circumcision does have some medical benefits, such as protection against urinary tract infections in infants, HIV transmission and penile cancer.

But it says the potential complications of the surgery and anaesthesia, such as infection and bleeding, mean any benefits ''do not warrant a recommendation of universal circumcision for newborn and infant males'.