Male Newborn Circumcision on a Three Decade Decline

NCHS has released a new report on estimates of male newborn circumcisions performed during the birth hospitalization. Using data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), annual rates of newborn circumcision are presented for 1979–2010.

Key Findings From the Report:

• Across the 32-year period from 1979 through 2010, the national rate of newborn circumcision declined 10% overall, from 64.5% to 58.3%.
• During this time, the overall percentage of newborns circumcised during their birth hospitalization was highest in 1981 at 64.9%, and lowest in 2007 at 55.4%.
• In the Western states, the rate dropped to 40.2 percent in 2010 from 63.9 percent in 1979.  Rates in the Northeast were flat overall. In the Midwest, they mirrored trends in the national rate. In the South, they generally increased from 1979 until 1998 and then declined.