Child Adoption Awareness Among Women With Infertility In The Greater Accra Region

Abstract

The traditional Ghanaian society is pro-natal, where marriage's ultimate purpose is to reproduce children to continue the family lineage. Infertility is the most common reason for married women not having children. Infertility is one of the most challenging life experiences for women, and finding a solution can be difficult. Child adoption is an alternative coping strategy for couples to deal with infertility. The situation awareness model which was used as an organizing framework investigated child adoption awareness among women with infertility in the Greater Accra Region. A descriptive exploratory design was employed. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to conduct semistructured interviews with 14 women with infertility. Women with infertility in the community who visited St. Moses Hospital provided data. Analyses of the data were conducted using thematic content analysis after audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. Six significant themes and nineteen subthemes emerged. The findings demonstrated that childless women were aware of child adoption, but they were unknowledgeable about where to go or the procedure involved. Discrimination, cultural beliefs, property inheritance concerns, and procedural bottlenecks are the hurdles to child adoption. These findings have implications for nursing practice, research, and community sensitization. There is the need for education on child adoption as an alternative coping strategy for infertility.