I used to do circs before hospital discharge, but with shorter stays now
prefer to do it at the 1-week checkup.  (If I have to do a circ at all, I
like the baby to be at least 24 hours old, and already nursing well.)  I often
 have a baby's dad in the room (rarely mom, but
she'd be welcome).  A parent's finger is the best "pacifier", and gives
them the sense that they're helping (which they are).  I don't restrict
pre-circ breastfeeding, although I do have abm-fed babies NPO for two
hours if possible.  I personally carry the baby immediately to its mother
for a post-circ snuggle and nursing, which gives me a chance to tell her
how it went and discuss follow-up care.

Like everything else, parents need to be empowered to make choices for
their children, including the choice to be present for the circumcision,
and to nurse before and immediately after the circumcision.  (I do wish
fewer of them would choose to circumcise their babies for non-religious
reasons, of course, but I don't seem to have much luck talking them out of it.)

--
Anne Montgomery, M.D.
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St.Peter Hospital Family Practice Residency
Olympia, WA