Talking about sexuality with your own child. The perspective of the parents of children born with arm

Purpose: Evaluate whether parents have ever discussed sexuality with their children with anorectal malformations (ARM), which sexuality issues they think should be addressed and who, in their opinion, should address these issues. Methods: Parents from the Italian Parents’ and Patients’ Association for Anorectal Malformation participated in meetings organized by the Association together with local Pediatric Surgical Units and were asked to fill in a questionnaire. Results: 103 parents participated. Overall, 66% of parents had never talked about sex with their children. Children’s age was marginally correlated with occasions to talk about sexuality (r =.202, p = 0.53) indicating that the older were the children, the more the parents talked about sexuality. The majority of parents reported that their children should have the possibility to talk about sex with them (72%), psychologists (57%), gynecologists/andrologists (47%), pediatric surgeons (33.5%), surgeons specialized in ARM (39.8%), friends (28%), nurses (24.7%) and teachers (20.4%), respectively. The most important topic they thought their children should address was handling serene sexuality, although the most common topic effectively discussed with them was the conception. Conclusion: Psychologists, gynecologists/andrologists, and pediatric surgeons are seen as key resources for talking about sexuality. A great number of parents express the wish that their children had more opportunities to discuss sexual topics with pediatric surgeons.