Birth Tourism to the United States of America and its Perceived Implications for Ghana

Abstract

The global appeal to give birth to US-born citizens by foreign parents is increasingly highlighted by a growing body of scholarship on its implications for US society. Based on mixed methods research conducted in three Ghanaian cities – Accra, Cape Coast, and Kumasi - this paper examines the awareness of birth tourism to the United States of America and its perceived implications for Ghana. Thus, 260 residents who are yet to give birth in the United States were surveyed, and 15 interviews with the parents of 25 US-born citizens were conducted. Mabogunje’s (1970) migration system theory served as an interpretive guide in the analysis. The paper argues that the travel to have a US-born citizen is an open secret; positive feedback from co-nationals pushes some pregnant Ghanaian women to give birth in the US. The city residents also agree that the travel to have US-born citizens will act as a precursor to migration from Ghana to the United States of America, with the most significant implication being brain drain. The paper recommends that origin countries should create an enabling environment that dissuades potential birth tourists from using US-born citizenship as a conduit to secure their long-term economic futures.