In the 1950s, the rate of circumcision in Australia was about 80 per cent. The ratio of cut to uncut has since reversed: It's estimated about 20 per cent of newborn boys are now circumcised.

What happened? What's behind the falling rates of circumcision, and is there any good medical reason to have a hoodie or a helmet?

Although rates are falling in Australia, there are still thousands of newborns being circumcised every year. Meanwhile, Iceland has considered banning the procedure on the grounds it disregards a boy's right to self-determination.

The proposal won support from around one-third of Iceland's doctors, and rattled the Jewish and Muslim communities, which practice ritual circumcision.

In the UK, some healthcare experts have called for a national ban on male circumcision to match the existing one on female genital mutilation. Earlier this year, a mother sued a doctor over her son's circumcision, which she says was performed without her consent.

In the US, a mother is suing a clinic for removing more than the foreskin.

"The numbers have really fallen over the past couple of decades," Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president-elect Dr Harry Nespolon told Hack.

One of the commonest reasons why a father would circumcise their child is so they would look like their father, and nowadays with most men not being circumcised to look like your father means you are not circumcised.

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Are there any medical benefits?

English-speaking countries such as the UK, Canada and Australia have seen a similar pattern of declining rates of circumcision from the 1970s. In the US, however, the rate has stayed high - more than half of newborn boys are going under the knife.

US health authorities also tend to recommend circumcision.

In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its policy on circumcision to recommend the procedure, saying there were more pros than cons:

"Evaluation of current evidence indicates that the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks and that the procedure's benefits justify access to this procedure for families who choose it," the policy statement says.

"Specific benefits identified included prevention of urinary tract infections, penile cancer, and transmission of some sexually transmitted infections, including HIV."

"The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has endorsed this statement."

Dr Nespolon from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners told Hack medical thinking on circumcision may have swung back a little towards the procedure.

"But only a little tiny bit," he said.

"Certainly in Australia we believe the benefits of circumcision don't outweigh the risks."

He said the kinds of illnesses circumcision may help prevent are not common in Australia and are mostly a product of social factors, not foreskin length.

"Things like urinary tract infections are really quite rare in boys," he said.

"Penile cancers are very rare in our country - about one in 250,000 men."

When it comes to sexually transmitted illnesses, it's more likely to be about your community and how often and who you sleep with, more than anything to do with how you're circumcised.

Studies show the most important factor in whether a child is circumcised are not necessarily what the national medical authorities are saying - it's whether the father is circumcised.

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