Abstract
BackgroundChild adoption is a recommended alternative form of infertility management. Infertility is of public health importance in Nigeria and many other developing nations. This is a result of its high prevalence and especially because of its serious social implications as the African society places a passionate premium on procreation in any family setting.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of child adoption amongst women attending infertility clinics in teaching hospitals in Lagos State and to determine the factors that influence their attitude and practice towards it.MethodA cross-sectional descriptive design was used. Data were collected by using a structured questionnaire which was interviewer-administered. The study was conducted in the two teaching hospitals in Lagos State (LUTH [Lagos University Teaching Hospital] and LASUTH [Lagos State University Teaching Hospital]) from amongst 350 women attending the gynaecological clinics. All the patients under management for infertility at the gynaecology clinics during the period of the study were interviewed.ResultsMany respondents (85.7%) had heard of child adoption and 59.3% of them knew the correct meaning of the term. More than half of the respondents (68.3%) said that they could love an adopted child but less than half of them (33.7%) were willing to consider adoption. Only 13.9% has ever adopted a child. The major reason given for their unwillingness to adopt was their desire to have their own biological child. Factors that were favourable towards child adoption were Igbo tribe identity, an age above 40 years, duration of infertility above 15 years, and knowing the correct meaning of child adoption.ConclusionThere is a poor attitude to adoption even amongst infertile couples. Interventions need to be implemented to educate the public on child adoption, to improve their attitude towards adoption and to make it more acceptable.
Highlights
Adoption is the act of legally placing a child with a parent or parents other than those to whom they were born
Igbos were more willing to adopt than Yorubas and women of a higher educational level were more willing to adopt than women of a lower educational level (Table 4)
Most of the respondents were Christians (77.4%) The educational level of the respondents was mainly on a tertiary level (49.4%), closely followed by secondary education (42.3%); 2.3% had no formal education. This is similar to a study conducted in the South-east of Nigeria amongst infertile women where the modal age was within the age group of 30–39; 82.5% of the respondents had attained tertiary and secondary education with only 1.4% who had no formal education, showing a similar trend in the age at which infertility clinics were attended and the educational level.[11]
Summary
Adoption is the act of legally placing a child with a parent or parents other than those to whom they were born. Ancient adoption practices differed markedly from the modern practices of adoption. Foremost, they were legal tools to strengthen political ties between wealthy families and they provided male heirs to manage the estates of other notables. Infertility is of public health importance in Nigeria and many other developing nations. This is a result of its high prevalence and especially because of its serious social implications as the African society places a passionate premium on procreation in any family setting
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