PLIGHTS OF CHILDLESS COUPLES IN A PRONATALIST IGBO SOCIETY: STUDIES IN UMUOMAKU, ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The issue of childlessness has led to so much damage and most times led to broken homes. Couples feeling ridiculed, constant visit to ‘prayer houses’, herbalist homes and spiritual centres despite the wave of modern technology in virtually all sphere of life is appalling. This is because advancement in technology avails peoples the opportunity to facilitate solutions to problems that hitherto were very difficult to solve. Childlessness has major psychological and social implications for affected persons, especially in settings where childlessness is highly valued. The study documents how childlessness is perceived in a pronatalist Igbo society and the multitude of adverse consequences suffered by affected individuals. Childlessness evokes strong negative feelings among the Igbo being represented by the Umuomaku in Anambra State. It is important to note that childlessness goes beyond the core of the individual in African setting. Nevertheless, how men and women respond and the language they use reflect their individual experiences. These individuals experience unimaginable social and emotional burdens on a daily basis in their homes and the community at large. In desperate moves to avoid being tag childless, these couples go to any length to have children. Using thematic and narrative approach, the study uses qualitative methodology and relies on Primary and secondary sources of information for its analyses.