Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities along with filiation from the biological parents.
Adoption is intended to affect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition either through legal or religious sanction.
Couples who are experiencing great difficulty in having a baby or who know that a pregnancy is impossible will often fine the possibility of adoption an attractive alternative.
One major infertility advantage brought about by considering or applying for adoption is that it usually takes the pressure off the couple if they know that there is something working for them in the background should their treatment be unsuccessful.
I have personally seen many couples who happily adopt a baby after many years of infertility and who subsequently achieve a pregnancy of their own.
There is some evidence that the removal of chronic tension state by adoption can for these couples actually increase their fertility.
The Nigerian adoption laws are complex and vary from state to state
Prospective parents who intend to adopt a specific child must first obtain temporary custody of the child. Prospective adoptive parents are advice to obtain information on adoption from individual states through the state social welfare office where the adoption will take place.
For many couples considering adoption, some of the concerns on their mind include:
1. Can we love the adopted one like our own?
2. What kind of children are available for adoption
3. What will our families do or say if they find out
4. Won’t the child look for his or her parents when they grow up?
5. What will the society say? Will the child be accepted by friend and neighbors?
All this concerns usually disappear after as a couple, when you talk with the relevant adoptive agencies, read books about adoptions and learn how adoption is accomplished.
Adoption cannot solve all the problems associated with infertility and childlessness.
It is definitely not a cure for all the physical aspects of infertility and childlessness, and neither does it cures all the emotional pain, but adoption will provide a couple with the challenges and reward of loving and being loved by a child.
Most adoption agencies require that
1. The age between the adoptive patient and the child will be less than 40 years.
2. The couples should be in a stable relationship for at least 5 years
3. The couples should have a regular source of income
4. Neither of the couples should have a major illness which may reduce lifespan.
