Apart from religion , what other fctors might contribute to parents deciding whether or not to have a baby boby circumcised?

When an adult decides to be circumcised the decision-making process is easier because the patient is able, with informed consent, to make his own decisions. The decision to circumcise a male child, however, is a unique decision in the lives of most parents. “Some people request circumcision for religious reasons, some to incorporate a child into a community, and some want their sons to be like their fathers.
When it comes to circumcision, some societies around the world put significant pressure on parents to circumcise their male children. In Turkey, for example, a 2002 study concluded that strong cultural belief exists which insist that without circumcision a male will never gain a masculine identity.[47] Other studies support the same point adding that, “an important aspect of circumcision in Turkey is the values of society. It is unacceptable to not be circumcised, and boys feel ashamed and defective in such a situation.”[48] Turkey differs from the United States in that the average age of circumcision in Turkey is six years old.[49] The main influences on parents when making the decision whether or not to circumcise a child are religion as well as traditional societal expectations. Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country[50] and many fathers want their sons to grow up the same way they did. An elaborate Turkish circumcision ceremony is performed which involves music, special attire, and gifts bestowed upon the child after the circumcision is complete.[51]

South Korea is an example of a society whose norms have shifted from anti-circumcision to pro-circumcision over the last six decades. It is considered unique among its neighboring Asian countries because it is the only country in that geographical area which includes China, North Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, where male children are regularly circumcised.[52] A study performed in South Korea reveals that, prior to the United States presence there during World War II and the Korean War almost no male Korean children were circumcised.[53]

Like Turkey, most South Korean parents believe that the best time to circumcise their child is during early adolescence and not during the neonatal period. Most Korean parents believe the “major benefits of circumcision are improved sexual potency, penile growth, and the prevention of premature ejaculation; mothers, rather than fathers, believe these to be true.”[54] Studies have shown that circumcised boys are the norm and that boys who are not circumcised are often open to ridicule and shame from their peers.[55] South Korean parents believe that cultural identity and a sense of belonging are keys for their children to succeed in the Korean culture. Parents stated that a sense of belonging to the group was more important than any risks that circumcision could offer.[56]

Elderly circumcision has been an up-and-coming trend in South Korea. Uncircumcised fathers and grandfathers, at the urging of their sons and daughter-in-laws, have been submitting themselves to circumcision in the latter stages of their lives. A “culture of public bath-houses” has existed for years in South Korea; but studies are showing that children are ashamed of their uncircumcised fathers.[57] Most South Korean men who attend the bath-houses “tend to feel embarrassed” if they are not circumcised.[58]

The changing American population and cultural influences of the Hispanic population are reflected in our national rates of circumcision. Generally, the Hispanic culture does not embrace circumcision as much as Caucasians and African-Americans in the United States. A 1992 National Health and Social Life Survey found that, of the overall United States population, 77% of men reported they were circumcised.[59] That figure included” 81% of white men, 65% of black men, and 54% of Hispanic men.”[60] A cultural breakdown of United States circumcisions by race is addressed later in this paper.

-Source : http://www.usd.edu/elderlaw/student_papers_f2006/to_circumcise.htm
-BY: Artesa Marie Mae Lin BSN3-E

For me, Deciding whether to have your newborn son circumcised may be difficult. You will need to consider both the benefits and the risks of circumcision. Other factors, such as your culture, religion and personal preference, will also affect your decision.

During a circumcision, the prepuce or the foreskin, which is the skin that covers the tip of the penis, is removed. Circumcision is usually performed on the first or second day after birth. It becomes more complicated and riskier in infants older than 2 months and in boys and men. The procedure takes only about 5 to 10 minutes. A local anesthetic (numbing medicine) can be given to your baby to lessen the pain from the procedure.

In the Philippine culture, A few decades ago, genital incision of Filipino boys (pagtutuli) was purely a traditional custom. An amateur (manunuli) would perform it on local boys (as shown in Kidlat Tahimik's 1977 film about his childhood, "Mababangong bangungot" [The Perfumed Nightmare]). In some areas, the boys sit astride a banana log into which a wooden plug has been inserted as an "anvil". The traditional rite is only superincision, a dorsal slit, removing no tissue (but with variations).

Routine circumcision anywhere is always of babies or pre-adolescent boys - the great majority of men who have experienced sex when they have a foreskin would never tolerate having it removed. In the Philippines, it has strong elements of a "rite of passage" to manhood, though once he has healed, very little about a boy's life actually changes. At present, peer-pressure, parental pressure, medical pressure and the stigma against being supót (intact) make childhood circumcision almost - but not quite - inevitable.

Source: http://www.circumstitions.com/Philippines.html