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→Pain: Add quote.
The [[Circumcision methods]] are discussed in a separate article.
== Pain ==
In the past, advocates of circumcision claimed that a newborn child's nerve system was not yet fully developed, and that as a result, the child felt no [[pain]] during the circumcision procedure. [Kanwaljeet J. Singh Anand | Anand] & Hickey (1987) have shown that newborn children do in fact feel [[pain]], and more acutely than adults.<ref name="anand-hickey1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|first=KJS
|author-link=Kanwaljeet J. Singh Anand
|last2=Hickey
|first2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|pages=1321-9
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|quote=However, in decisions about the use of these techniques, current knowledge suggests that humane considerations should apply as forcefully to the care of neonates and young, nonverbal infants as they do to children and adults in similar painful and stressful situations.
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2019-11-08
}}</ref> This has led American health associations to recommend doctors take measures to reduce the [[pain ]] of circumcision in infants.
The [https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/|AAP Circumcision Policy Statement] (1999) states quite clearly that ''"There is considerable evidence that newborns who are [[circumcised]] without analgesia experience pain and physiologic stress"''. Furthermore, the pain is quite severe, and requires injections for proper pain management. Sucrose and Acetaminophen ''"cannot be recommended as the sole method of analgesia"''. Topical cream is no longer thought sufficient as ''"the analgesic effect is limited during the phases associated with extensive tissue trauma such as...tightening of the clamp"''.<ref>{{REFjournal
}}</ref> This is not a debatable fact, and yet, it is not widely accepted, even by some doctors. It might be hard for some doctors to accept, as they may have been taught that the infant does not feel [[pain]], and may have performed countless circumcisions with this idea. Usage of anesthesia for infant circumcision is still by no means the rule.
Penile injections of local anesthetic are now recommended by all of the major medical institutionsif a circumcision is to be performed. In their [http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13585.shtml Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs], the AMA states ''"When the decision is made to proceed with circumcision, local anesthesia should be provided for the procedure. [[Ring block ]] or [[dorsal penile blocks nerve block]] [injections] are most effective. [[EMLA]] cream has limited utility"''. Alarmingly, ''"Despite the clear evidence that newborn males generate brisk pain responses during circumcision, a recent survey of residency training programs found that 26% of programs that taught circumcision provided no instruction on the use of local anesthesia". The AMA reports that "Of physicians performing circumcision, 45% use anesthesia, 71% of pediatricians, 56% of family practitioners, and 25% of obstetricians"''.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (I-99): Neonatal Circumcision
|website=American Medical Association Official Website