How much pain does the baby feel?
Simply put, we don’t really know but this is a very controversial area. There is clearly some discomfort. Many studies have been done to try to ascertain how much pain the baby feels. These studies, however, reflect the clinical experience of hospital circumcisions, not traditional brisses that were done by mohels. There are other reasons why the baby will cry such as when his diaper comes off and he is exposed, and when he is held down. I believe the reason that this question is asked with such increasing frequency is because of the non-traditional circumcision techniques that are used today by doctors or non-traditional mohels. A circumcision can take up to a half an hour or longer when performed by a doctor or in the hospital. In a traditional bris, the entire ceremony takes about fifteen minutes. The “bris” part takes about thirty to forty seconds.
