After their circumcision, your baby may be fussy and irritable. Hold them carefully so you don't put pressure on their penis. The tip may be sore, and the penis itself may look red and swollen. You may see a yellow crust on the tip as well.
It's normal for the newborn to cry, especially in the first 24 hours after the procedure. This is a big day for him. Some babies might have a change in feeding and/or sleeping patterns, while others may just be overall fussier. This is OK.
Infants may be fussy and in pain for some hours after a circumcision, but this usually does not last more than a couple of days. Signs of pain can include crying and problems with sleep and feeding. During the first 24 hours after circumcision, you may give acetaminophen regularly to manage your child's pain.
Neonatal male circumcision is a painful skin-breaking procedure that may affect infant physiological and behavioral stress responses as well as mother-infant interaction. Due to the plasticity of the developing nociceptive system, neonatal pain might carry long-term consequences on adult behavior.
It is common for your baby to be sleepy after circumcision. Be sure to wake him to eat if he sleeps longer than 2 to 3 hours since the last feeding. To soothe your baby after circumcision: Swaddle him and hold him close.
Newborn babies feel pain. The practitioner performing the circumcision should use some type of local anesthetic, given by a needle in the area where the circumcision is done. Additional methods of relieving pain include sucking on a pacifier dipped in a sugar solution, topical anesthetic cream and acetaminophen.
Your baby may seem fussy while the area heals. It may hurt for your baby to urinate. This pain often gets better in 3 or 4 days. But it may last for up to 2 weeks.
A circumcision is the removal of most of the male foreskin. The incision starts off red and tender. The tenderness should be much less by day 3. The scab at the incision line comes off in 7 to 10 days.
Usually, after the circumcision has healed, the penis requires no additional care. Occasionally a small piece of the foreskin remains. You should pull back this skin gently each time the child is bathed. Examine the groove around the head of the penis and make sure it's clean.
Circumcision can be done at any age. Traditionally, the most common time to do it is soon after your baby is born, or within the first month of life. Because the process is painful, a local anesthetic is used to numb the area and the surgery is performed while the baby is still awake.
The circumcision procedure is done quickly. The baby may cry during it and for a short while afterward, although infants typically experience minimal distress, says Dr. Elliot. Local anesthesia can greatly reduce your baby's discomfort.
Risks of circumcision
Apart from the initial swelling, bleeding and infection are the 2 most common problems associated with circumcision. Other possible complications of circumcision can include: permanent reduction in sensation in the head of the penis, particularly during sex. tenderness around the scar.
Circumcision takes only a few minutes. During the procedure, the baby is placed on a special table. Various surgical techniques are used, but they follow the same steps: The penis and foreskin are cleaned.
It's best to avoid full-body bathing until the second day after surgery, but sponge bathing is fine. After the second day, you can bathe your baby or toddler as normal; with newborns, you should wait until the umbilical cord has fallen off, at about two weeks. Avoid very warm water.
Pat the cut (incision) dry. You may also take short baths if you wish. Avoid strenuous activities, such as bicycle riding, jogging, weight lifting, or aerobic exercise, for 4 weeks or until your doctor says it is okay. You can return to work and normal activities, including driving, when you are comfortable doing them.
Most boys will be able to retract their foreskins by the time they are 5 years old, yet others will not be able to until the teen years. As a boy becomes more aware of his body, he will most likely discover how to retract his own foreskin. But foreskin retraction should never be forced.
Pain/Medications
Give your child acetaminophen (such as Tylenol®) as needed for pain. For pain that does not go away with plain acetaminophen, give your child acetaminophen (Tylenol®) with codeine or Lortab instead of regular acetaminophen at the next dose (if ordered by your doctor).
Some babies will sleep more than usual after the procedure and to miss a feeding while others are very unhappy for up to a week. Generally, you should expect him to be irritable for the first 48-72 hours following the circumcision and be back to themselves within 2-3 days.
The most common complications of male circumcision are bleeding and local infection [2,6,7], followed by unsatisfactory cosmetic results (too little or too much skin removed) and surgical trauma or injury.
Medical Reasons Parents Might Choose Not to Circumcise
Risks of circumcision surgery, although rare, include bleeding, infection and injury to the penis or urethra. The foreskin protects the tip of the penis.
Studies of men who were circumcised in infancy have found that some men experienced symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anger, and intimacy problems that were directly associated with feelings about their circumcision (Boyle, 2002; Goldman, 1999; Hammond, 1999).
You will want to avoid putting pressure on the circumcised penis in the first few days. 3) Most babies sleep quite well following the circumcision. The best sleeping position for your baby is on his side, supported by a blanket roll. 4) Healing is promoted by keeping the area clean and dry.
Penile adhesions in circumcised boys occur when the penile shaft skin adheres to the glans of the penis. There are three types of penile adhesions: glanular adhesions, penile skin bridges and cicatrix.
How long does circumcision take? The entire procedure takes approximately 20 minutes. Often, a bris takes less time.
The most recent American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines state that the health benefits of circumcision in newborn boys outweigh the risks of the procedure for families that choose to do it, but the AAP makes no recommendation for or against the procedure.