A recent survey funded by the Australian government found that men were put off, confused, and intimidated by most parenting and childbirth information because it was targeted so clearly at women.
One suggestion that came out of the questioning: men-only childbirth classes, where they can ask questions in a embarassment-free zone. [So in Australia, discussing perineal massage in a roomful of strangers is fine, as long as they're all men?]
The Federal Minister of Children and Youth Affairs did put his finger on one thing, though [sic]: "It used to be that parenting information was in fact mothering information," he said. "I think there has been a change in our society, and fathers are taking a more active role in the parenting of their children. The information available to parents has to reflect that change."
Related: New dads want more involvement (but British midwive's think they're annoying [BBC 10/03]
Hi from Au.
I'll agree that the classes are mostly full of information about motherhood.
Duh.
As I see it, they can be full of fairly icky and/or confronting information only for someone who hasn't fully accepted that *they're about to have a baby*. I suspect that having men-only groups won't change things one little bit.