| Theme | Subtheme | No. of Responses |
|---|---|---|
| Parent refused | Baby’s father refused | 9 |
| • The father refused. (8 responses) • I really want but my husband does not want to hear anything about it. (1 response) | ||
| Baby’s mother refused | 5 | |
| • His mother refused. (4 responses) • My wife is refusing to bring him to the clinic. (1 response) | ||
| Someone else refused | Wider family refused | 4 |
| • My mother-in-law refused. (2 responses) • My in-laws are against the idea. (2 responses) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 18 | |
| Son still too young | Too young to undergo procedure | 12 |
| • He is still too young. (9 responses) • It is still too early to circumcise him. (2 responses)• It is too early; he is only 6 days old. (1 response) | ||
| Too young to be taken out in public | 4 | |
| • My baby is too young to be moved around. (2 responses) • My baby is too young to mingle with the public. (2 responses) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 16 | |
| Fear of harm | Fear of immediate harm | 11 |
| • It is too painful. (4 responses) • The mother is afraid it may not go well. (1 response) • It’s my first child. What if it doesn’t go well? (1 response) • I do not want any sleepless nights. (1 response) • My wife fears that the wound will take long to heal. (1 response) • I am worried about what will happen to the removed foreskin. (1 response) • The time for him to get circumcised has already passed. (1 response) • It will ruin my marriage. (1 response) | ||
| Fear of future harm | 3 | |
| • His peers will laugh at him when he is grown up. (2 responses) • It might create problems for him in future. (1 response) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 14 | |
| Son to be circumcised later | Near future | 8 |
| • I will come after his umbilical stump has fallen off. (3 responses) • I will bring him after 6 weeks. (2 responses) • I will come later; I first need to heal myself. (2 responses) • I will come after the pain from injections subsides. (1 response) | ||
| Later | 3 | |
| • Will come when the baby is older. (2 responses) • We will consider it when he turns 5. (1 response) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 11 | |
| Held up by decision making | Decision making in progress | 6 |
| • We need more time to think about it. (2 responses) • I am still thinking about it. (1 response) • As a mother, I cannot decide. (1 response) • My wife and I have not thought about it. (1 response) • I am still trying to convince my husband. (1 response) | ||
| Still awaiting someone’s approval | 4 | |
| • The father is not around so I cannot decide. (1 response) • I am still waiting for the father to give the go-ahead. (1 response) • I am still waiting for his grandmother’s approval. (1 response) • I still need to hear from my in-laws. (1 response) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 10 | |
| Male circumcision not part of family tradition | Male circumcision not practiced in clan | 4 |
| • No one has ever done that in our tribe. (2 responses) • It is not part of my culture. (2 responses) | ||
| Father not circumcised | 3 | |
| • I am not circumcised myself. (2 responses) • He has to be like his father, who is not circumcised. (1 response) | ||
| Older brothers not circumcised | 3 | |
| • His brothers are not circumcised. (3 responses) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 10 | |
| Son to decide for himself | Do not want to decide for him | 6 |
| • He will decide for himself when he grows up. (6 responses) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 6 | |
| External influence | Wider family’s influence | 2 |
| • My older sister advised me not to. (1 response) • My mother-in-law discouraged me from doing so. (1 response) | ||
| Health care workers’ influence | 2 | |
| • My doctor said I should not do it. (1 response) • My aunt who is a nurse said we should not just accept new things. (1 response) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 4 | |
| Son to be circumcised at home | Grandmother to perform procedure | 3 |
| • His grandmother will circumcise him. (3 responses) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 3 | |
| Other | Various other reasons | 3 |
| • Baby died. (1 response) • We are no longer in Harare. (1 response) • I will only do it if it is for medical reasons. (1 response) | ||
| SUBTOTAL | 3 | |
| TOTAL | 95 |