This morning I was at a ritual circumcision (Please all do not start
another yes/no on circumcision discussion- I have tried to keep to what
is bothering me in relation to lactation here).  The person who performed
the circumcision told the mother that the baby should not be breastfed
for two hours before the ritual because "it is a surgical procedure".  My
understanding that the risk of feeding before surgery is only
related to general anesthesia and not to this type of procedure.  So by
the time the baby was brought into the room he was very hungry.  The next
upsetting thing is that when the baby was unwrapped, and BEFORE the
actual circumcision a bottle of some white fluid was put into his mouth.
I was too far away to see the bottle at all but my husband thought that it
did not look like EBM.

My questions:
1- Does the NPO rule really apply in a very brief procedure without a
general anesthetic?
2- Why in the world would it be OK to give the baby anything (maybe it
was EBM) to help calm him down only a minute or two before?
3- For Israeli Lactnetter, and others who know:  Is this the standard
advice given out by most of the practitioners?

I really think that this guy has no clue but before I put my foot in my
mouth again ( I said something to the mom before- not since I found out
about the bottle) I want to be sure that I have all my facts straight.

TIA
Sarah

Sarah Friend Barnett   LLLL, IBCLC
Bronx (New York City), NY  -  [log in to unmask]
" You are not obliged to finish the task,
 neither are you free to neglect it."       R. Tarfon

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