ArianTazwer: Created page with "{{Short description|Female parent}} {{Redirect-several|Mother|Mothers|Mom|Mum|Mothering|Motherhood|Maternity}} 1920}} {{pp-semi|small=yes}} {{pp-move-indef}} Statue of a mother with children at the [[Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno in Genoa]] A '''moth..."

2025-11-08T09:59:49Z

Created page with "{{Short description|Female parent}} {{Redirect-several|Mother|Mothers|Mom|Mum|Mothering|Motherhood|Maternity}} upright|thumb|Portrait of a woman holding her young child, {{circa|1900|1920}} {{pp-semi|small=yes}} {{pp-move-indef}} upright|thumb|Statue of a mother with children at the [[Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno in Genoa]] A '''moth..."

New page

{{Short description|Female parent}}
{{Redirect-several|Mother|Mothers|Mom|Mum|Mothering|Motherhood|Maternity}}
[[File:Portrait of a woman holding a baby (I0024828).jpg|upright|thumb|Portrait of a woman holding her young child, {{circa|1900|1920}}]]
{{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
[[File:Cimitero di Staglieno, statue of mother and children-img114.jpg|upright|thumb|Statue of a mother with children at the [[Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno]] in [[Genoa]]]]
A '''mother''' is the [[female]] [[parent]] of a [[child]]. A [[woman]] may be considered a mother by virtue of having given [[childbirth|birth]], by raising a child who may or may not be her biological [[offspring]], or by supplying her ovum for [[fertilisation]] in the case of [[gestational surrogacy]].

A biological mother is the female genetic contributor to the creation of the infant, through [[sexual intercourse]] or [[egg donation]]. A biological mother may have legal obligations to a child not raised by her, such as an obligation of monetary support. An adoptive mother is a female who has become the child's parent through the legal process of [[adoption]]. A putative mother is a female whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. A [[stepmother]] is a non-biological female parent married to a child's preexisting parent, and may form a family unit but generally does not have the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent in relation to the child.

A [[father]] is the [[male]] counterpart of a mother. Women who are [[pregnant]] may be referred to as expectant mothers or mothers-to-be.<ref>{{cite web|title=definition of mother from Oxford Dictionaries Online|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/mother?rskey=YplwRN&result=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815101848/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/mother?rskey=YplwRN&result=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 15, 2011|work=Oxford Dictionaries|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary|title=Define Mother at Dictionary.com|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mother|dictionary=Dictionary.com}}</ref> The process of becoming a mother has been referred to as "matrescence".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sacks |first1=Alexandra |title=The Birth of a Mother |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/well/family/the-birth-of-a-mother.html |access-date=9 September 2018 |date=8 May 2017 |language=en |archive-date=7 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907032325/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/well/family/the-birth-of-a-mother.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[adjective]] "maternal" refers to a mother and comparatively to "paternal" for a [[father]]. The [[verb]] "to mother" means to procreate or to sire a child, or to provide care for a child, from which also derives the noun "mothering".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of MOTHER|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mother|access-date=2022-02-12|website=Merriam-Webster |language=en|archive-date=2022-04-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416203833/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mother|url-status=live}}</ref> Related [[term of endearment|terms of endearment]] are ''mom'' (''mama'', ''mommy''), ''mum'' (''mummy''), ''mumsy'', ''mamacita'' (''ma'', ''mam'') and ''mammy''. A female role model that children can look up to is sometimes referred to as a ''mother-figure''.

==Types of motherhood==
[[File:Breast feeding cat.ogv|upright|thumb|A mama cat feeding her kittens]]
[[File:Crude Birth Rate Map by Country.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Map of countries by crude birth rate]]
[[File:Total Fertility Rate Map by Country.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|Map of countries by fertility rate]]
[[File:Share of births by age of mother, Europe (UN), OWID.png|thumb|Share of births by age of mother in Europe over time<ref>{{cite web |title=Share of births by age of mother |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-births-by-age-of-mother?country=~Europe+%28UN%29 |website=Our World in Data |access-date=25 May 2025 |language=en}}</ref>]]
[[File:Mother and child. Gandola Monastery. Lahaul, India. 2004.jpg|thumb|Mother and child. Gandola Monastery, [[Lahaul]], India.]]

=== Biological mother ===
Biological motherhood for [[human]]s, as in other [[mammal]]s, occurs when a [[pregnant]] female gestates a fertilized ovum (the "egg"). A female can become pregnant through [[sexual intercourse]] after she has begun to [[ovulate]]. In well-nourished girls, [[menarche]] (the first [[menstrual cycle|menstrual period]]) usually takes place around the age of 12 or 13.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mishra |first1=Gita D. |last2=Cooper |first2=Rachel |last3=Tom |first3=Sarah E. |last4=Kuh |first4=Diana |year=2009 |title=Early Life Circumstances and Their Impact on Menarche and Menopause |url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589004_3 |website=Medscape |series=5(2) |publisher=Women's Health |pages=175–190 |access-date=2018-08-27 |archive-date=2009-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606093904/http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589004_3 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Typically, a [[fetus]] develops from the viable [[zygote]], resulting in an [[embryo]]. [[Gestation]] occurs in the woman's [[uterus]] until the fetus (assuming it is carried to [[Pregnancy duration|term]]) is sufficiently developed to be born. In humans, gestation is often around 9 months in duration, after which the woman experiences labor and gives birth. This is not always the case, however, as some babies are born [[preterm birth|prematurely]], late, or in the case of [[stillbirth]], do not survive gestation. Usually, once the baby is born, the mother produces [[milk]] via the [[lactation]] process. The mother's [[breast milk]] is the source of [[antibodies]] for the infant's [[immune system]], and commonly the sole source of nutrition for newborns before they are able to eat and digest other foods; older infants and toddlers may continue to be breastfed, in combination with other foods, which should be introduced from approximately six months of age.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/solid-foods-weaning/|title=Your baby's first solid foods|date=2017-12-21|website=nhs.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-12-17|archive-date=2012-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318105745/http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/birthtofive/Pages/Weaningfirststeps.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Childlessness]] is the state of not having children. Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance. Childlessness may be [[voluntary childlessness]], which occurs by choice, or may be involuntary due to health problems or social circumstances. Motherhood is usually voluntary, but may also be the result of [[forced pregnancy]], such as [[pregnancy from rape]]. Unwanted motherhood occurs especially in cultures which practice [[forced marriage]] and [[child marriage]].

=== Non-biological mother ===
''Mother'' can often apply to a woman other than the biological parent, especially if she fulfills the main social role in raising the child. This is commonly either an [[adoptive]] mother or a [[stepmother]] (the biologically unrelated [[Significant other|partner]] of a child's [[father]]). The term "[[othermother]]" or "other mother" is also used in some contexts for women who provide care for a child not biologically their own in addition to the child's primary mother.

Adoption, in various forms, has been practiced throughout history, even predating human civilization.<ref name="Conn2013">{{cite book|author=Peter Conn|title=Adoption: A Brief Social and Cultural History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DoUh9LvIzRcC&pg=PA25|date=28 January 2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-33390-2|pages=25–64}}</ref> Modern systems of adoption, arising in the 20th century, tend to be governed by comprehensive [[statutes]] and [[regulations]]. In recent decades, [[international adoption]]s have become more and more common.

[[Adoption in the United States]] is common and relatively easy from a legal point of view (compared to other Western countries).<ref>{{cite news|last=Jardine|first=Cassandra|title=Why adoption is so easy in America|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3354960/Why-adoption-is-so-easy-in-America.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3354960/Why-adoption-is-so-easy-in-America.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=Telegraph|date=31 Oct 2007}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2001, with over 127,000 adoptions, the US accounted for nearly half of the total number of adoptions worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/child-adoption.pdf |title=Child Adoption : Trends and Policies |publisher=Un.org |access-date=2015-07-01 |archive-date=2022-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324001923/https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/child-adoption.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Surrogate mother===
{{Main|Surrogacy}}
A surrogate mother is a woman who bears a child that came from another woman's fertilized ovum on behalf of a couple unable to give birth to children. Thus the surrogate mother carries and gives birth to a child that she is not the biological mother of. Surrogate motherhood became possible with advances in [[reproductive technologies]], such as [[In vitro fertilisation|in vitro fertilization]].

Not all women who become pregnant via in vitro fertilization are surrogate mothers. Surrogacy involves both a genetic mother, who provides the ovum, and a gestational (or surrogate) mother, who carries the child to term.

=== Lesbian and bisexual motherhood ===
The possibility for [[lesbian]] and [[bisexual]] women in [[same-sex relationship]]s to become mothers has increased over the past few decades{{when|date=October 2014}} due to technological developments. Modern [[LGBT parenting|lesbian parenting]] originated with women who were in heterosexual relationships who later identified as lesbian or bisexual, as changing attitudes provided more acceptance for non-heterosexual relationships. Other ways for such women to become mothers is through adopting, [[foster parent]]ing or in vitro fertilization.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lesbian parenting: issues, strengths and challenges|url=http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=AONE&docId=A96237890&source=gale&userGroupName=wash_main&version=1.0|access-date=2011-01-25}}</ref><ref name="hooks2000">{{Cite book|author=Mezey, Nancy J|url=https://archive.org/details/newchoicesnewfam0049meze|title=New Choices, New Families: How Lesbians Decide about Motherhood|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8018-9000-0|location=Baltimore|url-access=registration}}</ref>

=== Transgender motherhood ===
{{about|transgender women who are parents|pregnancy in transgender men and nonbinary people|Transgender pregnancy|section=yes}}
[[Trans woman|Transgender women]] may have biological children with a partner by utilizing their sperm to fertilize an egg and form an embryo.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Halim|first=Shakera|date=2019-08-05|title=Study shows sperm production for transgender women could still be possible|url=https://www.healtheuropa.eu/sperm-production-transgender-women/92733/|access-date=2021-12-12|website=Health Europa|language=en-GB|archive-date=2021-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212232143/https://www.healtheuropa.eu/sperm-production-transgender-women/92733/|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name=":112">{{Cite web|title=Reproductive Options for Transgender Individuals|url=https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/transgender-reproductive-options|access-date=2021-12-12|website=Yale Medicine|language=en|archive-date=2021-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212214702/https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/transgender-reproductive-options|url-status=live}}</ref> For transgender women, there is currently no accessible way to carry a child. However, research is being done on [[Uterus transplantation|uterus transplants]], which could potentially allow transgender women to carry and give birth to children through [[Caesarean section]]. Other types of motherhood include adoption or foster parenting. However, adoption agencies often refuse to work with transgender parents or are reluctant to do so.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kinkler|first1=Lori A.|last2=Goldberg|first2=Abbie E.|date=2011-10-01|title=Working With What We've Got: Perceptions of Barriers and Supports Among Small-Metropolitan Same-Sex Adopting Couples|journal=Family Relations|volume=60|issue=4|pages=387–403|doi=10.1111/j.1741-3729.2011.00654.x|issn=0197-6664|pmc=3176589|pmid=21949461}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Montero|first=Darrel|date=2014-05-20|title=Attitudes Toward Same-Gender Adoption and Parenting: An Analysis of Surveys from 16 Countries|url=https://advancesinsocialwork.iupui.edu/index.php/advancesinsocialwork/article/view/16139|journal=Advances in Social Work|volume=15|issue=2|pages=444–459|doi=10.18060/16139|issn=2331-4125|access-date=2021-12-12|archive-date=2021-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212232142/https://advancesinsocialwork.iupui.edu/index.php/advancesinsocialwork/article/view/16139|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Social role==
{{See also|Sociology of the family#Sociology of motherhood}}
[[File:Sikkim 1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sikkimese people|Sikkimese]] mother with child]]
[[File:Percentage of birth to unmarried women, selected countries, 1980 and 2007.png|upright|thumb|Percentage of births to unmarried women, selected countries, 1980 and 2007<ref name="non_mar1">{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db18.htm|title=Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States|work=CDC/National Center for Health Statistics|date=May 13, 2009|access-date=September 24, 2011|archive-date=September 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906063823/http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db18.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[File:Mother and children. Mahabalipuram.jpg|upright|thumb|Mother and children ([[Mahabalipuram]], India)]]
The social roles associated with motherhood are variable across time, culture, and social class.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.01192.x | volume=62 | title=Conceiving and Investigating Motherhood: The Decade's Scholarship | journal=Journal of Marriage and Family | year=2000 | pages=1192–1207| last1=Arendell | first1=Terry | issue=4 }}</ref> Historically, the role of women was confined to some extent to being a mother and wife, with women being expected to dedicate most of their energy to these roles, and to spend most of their time taking care of the home. In many cultures, women received significant help in performing these tasks from older female relatives, such as mothers in law or their own mothers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://biology.unm.edu/fasmith/Web_Page_PDFs/Smith_Brown_1996.pdf |title=The Changing Role of Women in North American Mammalogy |publisher=Biology.unm.edu |access-date=2015-07-01 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104934/http://biology.unm.edu/fasmith/Web_Page_PDFs/Smith_Brown_1996.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Olga Engdahl 1951.jpg|thumb|upright|Olga Pearson Engdahl was ''American Mother of the Year'' in 1963.<ref>[http://www.americanmothers.org/past-national-mothers-of-the-year Website list] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110323130748/http://www.americanmothers.org/past-national-mothers-of-the-year |date=2011-03-23 }}</ref>]]

Regarding [[women in the workforce]], mothers are said to often follow a "[[mommy track]]" rather than being entirely "[[career women]]". Mothers may be [[Housewife|stay at home mothers]] or [[Working parent|working mothers]]. In recent decades there has been an increase in [[Stay-at-home dad|stay at home fathers]] too. Social views on these arrangements vary significantly by culture: in Europe for instance, in German-speaking countries there is a strong tradition of mothers exiting the workforce and being homemakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ined.fr/fichier/s_rubrique/26128/540.population.societies.2017.january.en.pdf|title=Has childlessness peaked in Europe?|website=Ined.fr|access-date=17 December 2017|archive-date=21 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221105932/https://www.ined.fr/fichier/s_rubrique/26128/540.population.societies.2017.january.en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Mothers have historically fulfilled the primary role in raising children, but since the late 20th century, the role of the father in child care has been given greater prominence and social acceptance in some Western countries.<ref>[http://pascal.iseg.utl.pt/~cisep/conferencias/conferencia_20021016/Papers/kjeldstad55.PDF] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815170110/http://pascal.iseg.utl.pt/~cisep/conferencias/conferencia_20021016/Papers/kjeldstad55.PDF|date=August 15, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucgstp.org/lit/gn/gn064/fathersimportant.htm |title=ucgstp.org |publisher=Ucgstp.org |access-date=2015-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225030354/http://www.ucgstp.org/lit/gn/gn064/fathersimportant.htm |archive-date=2008-02-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 20th century also saw more and more women entering paid work. [[Mothers' rights]] within the workforce include [[maternity leave]] and [[parental leave]].

The social role and experience of motherhood varies greatly depending upon location. Mothers are more likely than fathers to encourage assimilative and communion-enhancing patterns in their children.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ann M. Berghout Austin1 and T.J. Braeger2 |url=http://fla.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/10/30/181 |title=Gendered differences in parents' encouragement of sibling interaction: implications for the construction of a personal premise system |journal=First Language |publisher=Fla.sagepub.com |date=1990-10-01 |volume=10 |issue=30 |pages=181–197 |doi=10.1177/014272379001003001 |access-date=2011-10-27 |archive-date=2008-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904200612/http://fla.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/10/30/181 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mothers are more likely than fathers to acknowledge their children's contributions in conversation.<ref name=speech/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hladik |first1=E. |last2=Edwards |first2=H. |year=1984 |title=A comparison of mother-father speech in the naturalistic home environment |journal=Journal of Psycholinguistic Research |volume=13 |pages=321–332 |doi= 10.1007/bf01068149|s2cid=144226238 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leaper |first1=C. |last2=Anderson |first2=K. |last3=Sanders |first3=P. |year=1998 |title=Moderators of gender effects on parents' talk to their children: A meta-analysis |journal=Developmental Psychology |volume=34 |issue= 1|pages=3–27 |doi= 10.1037/0012-1649.34.1.3|pmid=9471001 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/07x9h9vv }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mannle |first1=S. |last2=Tomasello |first2=M. |year=1987 |chapter=Fathers, siblings, and the bridge hypothesis |editor-first=K. E. |editor-last=Nelson |editor2-first=A. |editor2-last=vanKleeck |title=Children's language |volume=6 |pages=23–42 |location=Hillsdale, NJ |publisher=Erlbaum }}</ref> The way mothers speak to their children ([[Baby talk|"motherese"]]) is better suited to support very young children in their efforts to understand speech (in context of the reference English) than fathers.<ref name=speech>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Fathers%27+speech+to+their+children:+perfect+pitch+or+tin+ear%3F-a0107202406 |title=Fathers' speech to their c

Mother - Revision history

ArianTazwer: Created page with "{{Short description|Female parent}} {{Redirect-several|Mother|Mothers|Mom|Mum|Mothering|Motherhood|Maternity}} 1920}} {{pp-semi|small=yes}} {{pp-move-indef}} Statue of a mother with children at the [[Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno in Genoa]] A '''moth..."