--- title: CDC: Why Are U.S. Circumcision Rates Declining? description: Why are newborn circumcision rates dropping in the U.S.? In a report released Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that hospital... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7140579/cdc-why-are-u-s-circumcision-rates-declining/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2011-09-02T20:20:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T10:49:49.514Z article:section: Health og:title: CDC: Why Are U.S. Circumcision Rates Declining? og:description: Why are newborn circumcision rates dropping in the U.S.? In a report released Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that hospital... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7140579/cdc-why-are-u-s-circumcision-rates-declining/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc68f5b54066bed0c/698a9436186892839a6ce56e/circumcision-newborn-baby-boy-feet.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 307 og:image:height: 173 og:image:alt: circumcision newborn baby boy feet og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: CDC: Why Are U.S. Circumcision Rates Declining? twitter:description: Why are newborn circumcision rates dropping in the U.S.? In a report released Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that hospital... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc68f5b54066bed0c/698a9436186892839a6ce56e/circumcision-newborn-baby-boy-feet.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # CDC: Why Are U.S. Circumcision Rates Declining? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=fb7cc7dc-ee60-49fd-9893-cc67f455f020&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 2, 2011 8:20 PM UTC  Jade Albert / Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 2, 2011 8:20 PM UTC Why are newborn circumcision rates dropping in the U.S.? In a [report](http://1.usa.gov/qoagTe) released Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that hospital circumcisions had declined over the past 10 years, after more than a decade of increase.more The rate of in-hospital circumcision rose from 48.3% in 1988-91 to 61.1% in 1997-2000, the CDC [reports](http://1.usa.gov/qoagTe). To gauge current rates of circumcision, the researchers looked at numbers from three large, independent data sources, all of which collect discharge data on inpatient hospitalizations. Every data set showed a decline. For example, the 1999-2010 National Hospital Discharge Survey showed that fewer than 12 million of nearly 20 million newborn boys were circumcised over the past decade. The survey showed that the rate of in-hospital circumcisions dropped from 62.5% in 1999 to 56.9% in 2008. The other two measurements showed similar drops. But the CDC noted that all three data sources underestimate the actual rate of newborn circumcisions in the U.S., since they don’t take into account circumcisions performed outside the hospital. The ritual is strictly observed in certain religions; Jewish families, for example, often have a mohel perform the bris at home. Still, what would explain the overall declining trend? The CDC suggests many factors, including insurance coverage. The report says that circumcision rates in hospitals in states where Medicaid routinely covers it were 24% higher that hospitals without the same coverage. In addition, [reports](http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20110901/circumcision-rates-are-dropping-in-the-us) WebMD: --- > “” --- However, the authors of the CDC report prefaced their findings by noting that recent evidence shows that circumcision greatly reduces the risk of HIV transmission through heterosexual sex. Data also suggest that lack of circumcision is associated with other sexually transmitted infections, including Chlamydia, genital ulcer disease and [human papillomavirus, or HPV](http://healthland.time.com/2011/01/07/study-circumcision-may-help-lower-hpv-risk-for-some-women/). Women who have sex with uncircumcised men appear to be at higher risk of cervical cancer, which can be caused by HPV. Debate over circumcision continues to swirl: [last spring](http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/27/san-francisco-group-seeks-ban-on-male-circumcision/), an anti-circumcision activist group tried to get the practice banned in San Francisco, saying that baby boys should be afforded the same protections as baby girls against circumcision. For more information on the new CDC report, click [here](http://1.usa.gov/qoagTe). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7140579/cdc-why-are-u-s-circumcision-rates-declining/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7140579/cdc-why-are-u-s-circumcision-rates-declining/"},"headline":"CDC: Why Are U.S. Circumcision Rates Declining?","datePublished":"2011-09-02T20:20:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T10:49:49.514Z","description":"Why are newborn circumcision rates dropping in the U.S.? 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