WEDNESDAY, July 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Most parents want the doctor to answer their questions about circumcision, but they do not want a specific recommendation for their baby, according to a report published July 21 by the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.
Matthew M. Davis, M.D., of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues directed a national poll asking parents to describe the role of health care providers in assisting with decisions about circumcision for their infant.
The researchers found that most parents (81 percent) believe that the pediatrician or family physician is the preferred source of information about circumcision. Regarding the best time to get information about circumcision, 87 percent of parents say before the baby is born, 11 percent say at the hospital once the baby is born, and 2 percent say at the baby's first check-up. Although most parents want the health care provider to answer their questions and provide scientific information about circumcision, only 23 percent say that the health care provider should recommend a specific decision for their infant.
"With regard to circumcision, this poll shows that parents don't want directives or advocacy from their health care providers, but rather a neutral source of accurate information and support for the family's decision, whatever it may be," the authors write.
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