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Your baby boy?s future sexual pleasure might not be the first thing you think about when deciding whether or not to have him circumcised. But reduced sensitivity of the penis is often cited as a reason against circumcision, with little evidence to back it up.
But now, Canadian researchers based out of Queen?s University in Kingston, Ont. say the penises of men who were circumcised when they were born are just as sensitive as intact penises.
How, exactly, did they figure this out"
The researchers worked with a group of 62 men, ages of 18 and 37. Thirty of the men were circumcised, while 32 were intact. Researchers tested four places on the penis with different stimuli: touch, pain, warmth detection and heat pain. The result" Penises with foreskin and without were equally sensitive to the different stimuli, suggesting the foreskin is not the most sensitive part of the penis.
Jenn Bossio, the researcher who performed the study at the Sexual Health Research Lab at the University, says there is a lot of research on the health benefits of circumcision, but little on the sexual outcomes of the procedure. ?Parents of infant boys need to be fully informed before they decide to circumcise their sons or not,? says Bossio.
Next, she plans to study men with sexual dysfunction, like erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation, as men with these conditions may have either lower or higher sensitivity in general.
The Canadian Paediatric Society does not recomm...