Will It Hurt?
This is most parents' biggest fear about circumcision. Although we now know that newborns do feel pain, the pain of a bris, especially in the hands of a well-trained mohel, is minimal. After having gone through the process, parents say it hurt THEM much more than it really bothered their child!
Nonetheless, we want to do everything we can to make the procedure easy on your newborn son. The best way to minimize the discomfort is to perform the circumcision as quickly as possible. Mohelim are trained to perform circumcisions competently, but also quickly. It takes Dr. Katz less than a minute to perform a circumcision. So, it's over before you know it.
In addition, Dr. Katz can offer you an anesthetic cream
to apply before the bris. It numbs the skin, greatly decreasing any pain your baby may feel. It is your choice whether to use the cream or not. Traditional Jewish law does not sanction its use. However, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist movements have passed provisions allowing the use of anesthesia for a bris.