##"Children belong to all". Motherhood and social parentship in Wagadugu/Burkina Faso
Child care in Wagadugu is, as in West Africa in general, not a matter of single mothers, or at times even of single fathers, but of a community, specifically of the extended patrilineal family to which the child belongs. A closer look also clearly shows how important the matrilineal relatives are in this respect, and how neighbours and even outsiders also lend a helping hand now and again. Such a concept implies the idea of "social parenthood". This broad support basis, that includes various forms of fosterage, makes it possible for the mother to seek work outside the household. The money earned there is reinvested in the maintenance of the social network. Social parenthood is closely linked with the extraordinary significance of one's own, in most cases biological, mother. The relationship to one's mother is for both men and women of utmost importance throughout their life and outweighs the affinal relationships by far. The Western ambiguous approach to motherhood is a stumbling block when it comes to understand the realities of life of West African women.##
Keywords: motherhood in Africa, child care in Africa, social parenthood, parenthood in Africa
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