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.