1. The baby must be healthy enough to be circumcised:
—The baby’s doctor must give the baby medical clearance for the procedure
—The anatomy of baby’s penis must be normal. If, as rarely occurs, the urinary opening—the urethra—emerges at the bottom of the penile shaft instead of at its end—a condition called “hypospadias”—then the foreskin of the penis may be needed for subsequent repair by a pediatric urologist and a circumcision should not be performed.
—The child must not have a bleeding disorder
2. The baby should not be hungry.
For the baby to be most comfortable during his circumcision he should not be extremely hungry yet should not have too full a stomach. If the baby is last fed too long a time prior to his circumcision, there is a good chance he will be begin crying from hunger and be already annoyed and uncomfortable before the circumcision begins. On the other hand, if the baby is fed just before the circumcision, there is an increased chance of the baby regurgitating and, besides creating a mess, possibly choking. It is best, therefore, to feed the baby about one hour before the brit milah ceremony is to begin.
3. If at all possible, the baby’s diaper should be clean at the start of the ceremony.
4. While the mohel will have all the equipment necessary for the performance of the circumcision, it is the parents’ responsibility to have clean diapers and some form of ointment (such as Vaseline, A&D, or Aquaphor) available for post circumcision care.