The knowledge, attitude and practice of child adoption among infertile Nigerian women
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J Obstet Gynaecol. 2002 Mar;22(2):211-6. Links
The knowledge, attitude and practice of child adoption among infertile Nigerian women.
Ezugwu FO, Obi SN, Onah HE.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Parklane Specialist Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria.
To determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of child adoption among infertile Nigerian women we undertook a questionnaire survey of 279 consecutive infertile women seen in three tertiary care centres in South Eastern Nigeria within a 9-month period. The data were analysed by means of simple percentages and descriptive and inferential statistics, using t-tests, chi-square tests and regression equations at the 95% confidence level. Two hundred and sixty-four questionnaires were analysed. Although 228 (86.4%) of the respondents were aware of child adoption, only 72 (27.3%) knew its correct meaning. Fifty-seven (21.6%) women knew how to adopt a baby while the rest did not; 183 (69.3%) respondents expressed their unwillingness to adopt a baby while the remaining 81 (30.7%) were willing. Twelve (14.8%) of these 81 respondents (or 4.5% of all respondents) had either adopted or made an effort to adopt a child at the time of the study. The major reasons given by the 183 respondents unwilling to adopt a child were: adoption not a solution to their infertility (84 respondents); adoption psychologically unacceptable (78 respondents); fear of unknown parental background (75 respondents) and abnormal behaviour in the child (75 respondents). Univariate analysis showed six factors significantly associated with a favourable attitude to child adoption: a correct knowledge of the meaning of adoption (P=0.00007), duration of infertility >5 years (P=0.0002), previous orthodox specialist treatment (P=0.0002), tubal infertility (P=0.002), no living child (P=0.02) and maternal age >35 years (P=0.03). In a multiple logistic regression involving these six factors, with attitude to adoption as the dependent variable, two factors were associated significantly with a favourable attitude to adoption: correct knowledge of the meaning of adoption (OR=1.9, P=0.04) and previous orthodox specialist treatment (OR=2.9, P=0.05). Although the majority of infertile Nigerian women have heard of child adoption, only a minority knew its real meaning, its legality and the process it entails. Approximately one-third of them were disposed favourably to adoption as a treatment option for their infertility. The Nigerian experience was compared and contrasted with the experiences of other countries. Factors associated with a favourable attitude to adoption were presented and discussed. In the presence of such factors, especially when the probability of cure of infertility is small, child adoption as a treatment option should be offered early so that willing couples can initiate the processes.
PMID: 12521712 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
The knowledge, attitude and practice of child adoption among infertile Nigerian women.
Ezugwu FO, Obi SN, Onah HE.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Parklane Specialist Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria.
To determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of child adoption among infertile Nigerian women we undertook a questionnaire survey of 279 consecutive infertile women seen in three tertiary care centres in South Eastern Nigeria within a 9-month period. The data were analysed by means of simple percentages and descriptive and inferential statistics, using t-tests, chi-square tests and regression equations at the 95% confidence level. Two hundred and sixty-four questionnaires were analysed. Although 228 (86.4%) of the respondents were aware of child adoption, only 72 (27.3%) knew its correct meaning. Fifty-seven (21.6%) women knew how to adopt a baby while the rest did not; 183 (69.3%) respondents expressed their unwillingness to adopt a baby while the remaining 81 (30.7%) were willing. Twelve (14.8%) of these 81 respondents (or 4.5% of all respondents) had either adopted or made an effort to adopt a child at the time of the study. The major reasons given by the 183 respondents unwilling to adopt a child were: adoption not a solution to their infertility (84 respondents); adoption psychologically unacceptable (78 respondents); fear of unknown parental background (75 respondents) and abnormal behaviour in the child (75 respondents). Univariate analysis showed six factors significantly associated with a favourable attitude to child adoption: a correct knowledge of the meaning of adoption (P=0.00007), duration of infertility >5 years (P=0.0002), previous orthodox specialist treatment (P=0.0002), tubal infertility (P=0.002), no living child (P=0.02) and maternal age >35 years (P=0.03). In a multiple logistic regression involving these six factors, with attitude to adoption as the dependent variable, two factors were associated significantly with a favourable attitude to adoption: correct knowledge of the meaning of adoption (OR=1.9, P=0.04) and previous orthodox specialist treatment (OR=2.9, P=0.05). Although the majority of infertile Nigerian women have heard of child adoption, only a minority knew its real meaning, its legality and the process it entails. Approximately one-third of them were disposed favourably to adoption as a treatment option for their infertility. The Nigerian experience was compared and contrasted with the experiences of other countries. Factors associated with a favourable attitude to adoption were presented and discussed. In the presence of such factors, especially when the probability of cure of infertility is small, child adoption as a treatment option should be offered early so that willing couples can initiate the processes.
PMID: 12521712 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
2002 Mar