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Baby boys are born with the foreskin fused with the [[glans penis]] by the balanopreputial lamina, a [[synechia| synechial membrane]], which prevents retraction. In addition, the tip of the foreskin ([[acroposthion]]) is usually too narrow to allow [[retraction of the foreskin]]. The preputial cavity is closed by the synechia and cannot be infected.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/>
Forcible attempts to retract the foreskin result in injury to the boy, so should be avoided. The first person to retract the foreskin should be the boy himself.<ref name="Wright1994">{{REFjournal |last=Wright |first=J.E. |title=Further to the "Further Fate of the Foreskin" |journal=Med J Aust |volume=160 |issue= |pages=134-135 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/wright2/ |quote= |pubmedID=8295581 |pubmedCID= |DOI= |date=1994-02-07 |accessdate=2020-05-16}}</ref>
Thorvaldsen & Meyhoff (2005) conducted a survey of 4,000 boys in Denmark. They report that the mean age of first foreskin retraction is 10.4 years in Denmark.<ref name="Thorvaldsen-meyhoff2005">{{REFjournal