The Member of Parliament for the Bosomtwe Constituency and former Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has opened up about his personal struggle with delayed childbirth, revealing that he and his wife waited 14 years after marriage before having a child.
According to him, the long wait was emotionally difficult, as he worked with children and was getting constant reminders.
Speaking in an interview on the Delay show aired on January 23, Dr. Adutwum shared how hard the wait was for both him and his wife.
“It took a long time. It took a long time. We got married in 1994, and the child came in 2008. 14 years of waiting.”
He recounted how painful the experience was for his wife, especially during church services when prayers were offered for couples seeking children.
He said she would often respond to altar calls for people praying for the fruit of the womb, and he would see her crying.
Dr. Adutwum explained how difficult the situation was for him, particularly as a teacher who worked closely with children and later went on to establish schools.
“When it gets to fathers’ day, and the children are making cards at school, then you are reminded that you want your own biological child. But you were dealing with children, Sunday school children, school children, but yours is not there.”
He explained that he deliberately avoided showing his emotional pain so as not to place additional pressure on his wife.
“I did not want to put pressure on her, because if she saw my emotional condition, the pressure on her would have been more difficult.”
However, he said his work with children helped him cope with the situation, as he focused on the broader impact he was making in their lives.
“I was happy that I was working with children, so I took it like if I don’t have some there are thousands of children that I’m having an impact on. I have opened schools, I’m helping children, so my impact on was tremendous, therefore i’m not going to worry.”
Dr. Adutwum said his prayer throughout the period was simply that God would one day show them mercy.
Dr. Adutwum is also one of the flagbearer aspirants of the New Patriotic Party, which is scheduled to hold its presidential primaries on January 31.
