FACTORS INFLUENCING CHILD ADOPTION AMONG WOMEN WITH INFERTILITY IN THE BAWKU MUNICIPALITY

ABSTRACT Having a child is an essential part of every marriage especially in a typical Ghanaian society where children are required for the continuity of lineage. Child adoption provides an alternative for having children and can be used to meet the needs of women who are unable to produce their own children. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing child adoption among women with infertility in the Bawku Municipality. The study was a qualitative research with an exploratory descriptive design. Fifteen women attending fertility clinic at the Presbyterian Hospital, Bawku who met the inclusion criteria were purposively sampled for the study. Data were collected by interviewing the women using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The study revealed that the women suffered both psychological and social consequences of infertility. The findings also indicated that the concept of child adoption is known to the women and there were various reasons why some will prefer either informal or formal child adoption. However, the process and requirements for child adoption were not well known by the women. The women stated that the benefits of child adoption include happiness, divine blessings from God, the child being a source of helping hand and also getting a child of your preferred gender. The women also stated the barriers associated with adopting a child as reaction of husbands, psychological dissatisfaction, perceived future uncertainties and unacceptability/discrimination by community members. Some of the women had a positive conviction on their ability to engage in child adoption while others had a negative conviction. The sources of information on child adoption as listed by the women include community members, mass media and religious sources. With regards to behaviours towards child adoption, some women were willing, others were not and yet others were ambivalent. The findings of this study have laid the grounds for efforts to be directed towards educating and supporting infertile women and their partners to explore the option of child adoption.