What would the nurse in charge do first after observing a 2-cm circle of bright red bleeding on the diaper of a neonate who just had a circumcision? 

While I do think the doctor may need to get involved if the bleeding will not stop, it shouldn’t be the first thing the nurse does. I agree with the previous answers that say this nurse should use clean, fresh gauze (sterile gauze) and apply gentle pressure. This is a baby’s nether regions we’re talking about, after all.

A circumcision will leave a baby bleeding for a little while. If it starts again, gentle pressure is what is needed first. It’s like when you give yourself a small paper cut. You don’t rush right to the doctor. You grab a piece of toilet paper, a paper towel, etc. and try to stem the bleeding yourself. If that doesn’t work, then the doctor gets involved.

A circumcision is performed on babies at birth or very shortly after by removing a very small part of the male genitalia due to a religious reason and purpose. This is a surgical procedure that takes skin off of a baby. There will be blood. However, the bleeding should stop. If the baby starts bleeding again, then the nurse should be aware of this.

She may see a small blood stain on the diaper of the baby when she is changing the baby. The main thing the nurse should do it not to ignore it and apply gentle pressure to the bleeding site with a clean and fresh gauze pad to try to stop the bleeding. Then the baby should be okay.