“Will general anesthesia harm my baby?”

FDA sent a warning about general anesthetics and infants less than 3 years. Many things had been written about this. I had been almost 40 years in this speciality and feel is safer now for little kids than in the past. You must consult with a pediatric anesthesiologist.

In short, no. It depends on several factors (current age of the baby, and pre-existing medical problems, the type of operation, the length of the operation, etc). The general consensus is that we just do not know what long term effects general anesthesia poses to babies whose brains and organs are still developing (even after birth). Even if there were some long-term effects, they are unlikely to be obvious years down the road as we just do not have reliable means of measuring the effects of anesthetics in the brain.

If the operation is necessary, do it. If it is something that can wait until the child is at least a year or more older, put it off. It is all about cost-benefit.