Singer Madonna has spoken about the "painful" struggle that she went through while adopting her son David from Malawi.
Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, the singer said that she was happy to be a "guinea pig" in the hope of easing future adoptions for other people.
Madonna is currently waiting for a High Court to decide on whether her adoption of David is legal, after claims that it does not conform with international conventions and procedures under the country's law.
"Up until this time there wasn't an adoption law, so consequently I'm sort of the template or the role model, so to speak, for future adoptions," she said.
"Hopefully after we get through this adoption it will be easier for other people to adopt children and I'm happy to be the guinea pig," she said.
The singer was presenting the film 'I Am Because We Are', a documentary about the plight of children in Malawi.
Speaking about her adoption struggle, she said: "Yes it was painful and it was a big struggle and I didn't understand it, but in the end I rationalised that when a woman has a child and goes through natural child birth she suffers an enormous amount."
"So I sort of went through my own kind of birthing pains dealing with the press on my front doorstep and accusing me of kidnapping or whatever you want to call it. In the end it made me stronger so I can't complain."
