Marriage should not be all about making babies - Doctor opines

Community psychologist and lecturer at the University of Ghana Legon, Dr Johnny Andoh-Arthur, has asserted that marriages should not be tagged with the main purpose of bringing forth children.

Discussing the man’s take on the effects of childlessness in a marriage durIng an interview with Nana Yaw Odame on eTV Ghana’s Men’s Lounge show, he observed that childbirth is important, however, in our part of the world, when a married man does not bear any children, society makes him feel inadequate and less of a man.

“Children are important. They are critically important but they are not all that there is to marriage. We live in a society where we’re always inclined towards birth so marriage and procreation are intertwined.

In the men’s world, children index our masculinity so when there are no children, society makes us believe we’re less of men and there are even certain roles that if you do not have a child, you cannot assume”, he said.

According to Dr Johnny, it is the expectation of most men that with the first years of marriage, they should begin to have children and when this does not happen, that is when the frustration begins.

He noted that also due to societal pressure, the men get frustrated so much that they are willing to try any remedy that they see around and this is where fake medicine sellers and fake pastors get the opportunity to exploit their problem for money.