My baby has six fingers

I was recently delivered of a baby boy, my first son a few weeks ago. On examination, we discovered that his left hand has six fingers instead of the normal five. While some of the family members want us to cut off the extra sixth finger, some others want us to leave the extra finger alone. Kindly advise.

Nneka (by SMS)

Even though the sixth finger may be harmless, in order to avoid any form of future embarrassment to the child, it is usually advisable to remove the sixth finger. This should be done at a very early age by a competent doctor in order to reduce discomfort and bleeding.