Article published in Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1 / Spring 2010. doi 10.3149/thy.0401.78.

Author Dan Bollinger presents a study regarding circumcision deaths. Baby boys can and do succumb as a result of having their foreskin removed by circumcision. Circumcision-related mortality rates are not known with certainty; this study estimates the scale of this problem. This study finds that approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related deaths (9.01/100,000) occur annually in the United States, about 1.3% of male neonatal deaths from all causes. Because infant circumcision is elective, all of these circumcision deaths are avoidable. This study also identifies reasons why accurate data on these deaths are not available, some of the obstacles to preventing these deaths, and some solutions to overcome them.