| Description |
The problem of this study was to identify a relationship between education about neonatal circumcision for parents during the prenatal period and their decision to circumcise term male neonates. The subjects were 260 expectant parents who attended hospital-based prenatal classes in Salt Lake City. Results suggested that attitudes and decisions relative to neonatal circumcision were rooted in tradition and familial beliefs. Prenatal education concerning the pros and cons of circumcision was viewed by subjects in a manner favorable to their previously formed beliefs. Certain demographic variables (sex, ethnic background, and income) did not correlate significantly with attitudes about circumcision, while other variable (religious background, years of education, and marital status) did correlate positively with attitudes about circumcision. Approximately 92% of the subjects had attitude scores above the mathematical mean on a semantic differential scale for measuring attitude toward neonatal circumcision. The higher the score, the more favorable was the attitude. Postpartum telephone interviews revealed that 97.1% of 103 subjects who had newborn males had their sons circumcised. Twelve prenatal class instructors, who were employed as nurses, had a broad range of attitude scores about neonatal circumcision. The majority of these instructors reported that they usually discussed neonatal circumcision to various degrees in their classes. |
