A biological mother is the female genetic contributor to the creation of the infant, throughsexual intercourse oregg 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 ofadoption. A putative mother is a female whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. Astepmother 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.
Afather is themale counterpart of a mother. Women who arepregnant may be referred to as expectant mothers or mothers-to-be.[1][2] The process of becoming a mother has been referred to as "matrescence".[3]
Theadjective "maternal" refers to a mother and comparatively to "paternal" for afather. Theverb "to mother" means to procreate or to sire a child, or to provide care for a child, from which also derives the noun "mothering".[4] Relatedterms of endearment aremom (mama,mommy),mum (mummy),mumsy,mamacita (ma,mam) andmammy. A female role model that children can look up to is sometimes referred to as amother-figure.
Types of motherhood
A mama cat feeding her kittensMap of countries by crude birth rateMap of countries by fertility rateMother and child. Gandola Monastery,Lahaul, India.
Biological mother
Biological motherhood forhumans, as in othermammals, occurs when apregnant female gestates a fertilized ovum (the "egg"). A female can become pregnant throughsexual intercourse after she has begun toovulate. In well-nourished girls,menarche (the firstmenstrual period) usually takes place around the age of 12 or 13.[5]
Typically, afetus develops from the viablezygote, resulting in anembryo.Gestation occurs in the woman'suterus until the fetus (assuming it is carried toterm) 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 bornprematurely, late, or in the case ofstillbirth, do not survive gestation. Usually, once the baby is born, the mother producesmilk via thelactation process. The mother'sbreast milk is the source ofantibodies for the infant'simmune 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.[6]
Childlessness is the state of not having children. Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance. Childlessness may bevoluntary 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 offorced pregnancy, such aspregnancy from rape. Unwanted motherhood occurs especially in cultures which practiceforced marriage andchild 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 anadoptive mother or astepmother (the biologically unrelatedpartner of a child'sfather). 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.[7] Modern systems of adoption, arising in the 20th century, tend to be governed by comprehensivestatutes andregulations. In recent decades,international adoptions 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).[8] In 2001, with over 127,000 adoptions, the US accounted for nearly half of the total number of adoptions worldwide.[9]
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 inreproductive technologies, such asin 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 forlesbian andbisexual women insame-sex relationships to become mothers has increased over the past few decades[when?] due to technological developments. Modernlesbian 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 parenting or in vitro fertilization.[10][11]
Transgender motherhood
This section is about transgender women who are parents. For pregnancy in transgender men and nonbinary people, seeTransgender pregnancy.
Transgender women may have biological children with a partner by utilizing their sperm to fertilize an egg and form an embryo.[12][13] For transgender women, there is currently no accessible way to carry a child. However, research is being done onuterus transplants, which could potentially allow transgender women to carry and give birth to children throughCaesarean 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.[14][15]
Sikkimese mother with childPercentage of births to unmarried women, selected countries, 1980 and 2007[16]Mother and children (Mahabalipuram, India)
The social roles associated with motherhood are variable across time, culture, and social class.[17] 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.[18]
Olga Pearson Engdahl wasAmerican Mother of the Year in 1963.[19]
Regardingwomen in the workforce, mothers are said to often follow a "mommy track" rather than being entirely "career women". Mothers may bestay at home mothers orworking mothers. In recent decades there has been an increase instay 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.[20] 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.[21][22] The 20th century also saw more and more women entering paid work.Mothers' rights within the workforce includematernity leave andparental 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.[23] Mothers are more likely than fathers to acknowledge their children's contributions in conversation.[24][25][26][27] The way mothers speak to their children ("motherese") is better suited to support very young children in their efforts to understand speech (in context of the reference English) than fathers.[24]
Since the 1970s,in vitro fertilization has made pregnancy possible at ages well beyond "natural" limits, generating ethical controversy and forcing significant changes in the social meaning of motherhood.[28][29] This is, however, a position highly biased by Western world locality: outside the Western world, in-vitro fertilization has far less prominence, importance or currency compared to primary, basic healthcare, women's basic health, reducing infant mortality and the prevention of life-threatening diseases such aspolio,typhus andmalaria.
Traditionally, and still in most parts of the world today, a mother was expected to be amarried woman, with birth outside of marriage carrying a strongsocial stigma. Historically, this stigma not only applied to the mother, but also to her child. This continues to be the case in many parts of the developing world today, but in many Western countries the situation has changed radically, with single motherhood being much more socially acceptable now. For more details on these subjects, seeLegitimacy (family law) andsingle parent.
The total fertility rate (TFR), that is, the number of children born per woman, differs greatly from country to country. The TFR in 2013 was estimated to be highest inNiger (7.03 children born per woman) and lowest inSingapore (0.79 children/woman).[30]
In theUnited States, the TFR was estimated for 2013 at 2.06 births per woman.[30] In 2011, the average age at first birth was 25.6 and 40.7% of births were to unmarried women.[31]
Maternal mortality map, given as the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births in 2012Infant mortality rates under age 1, per 1,000 live births in 2013
Amaternal death is defined byWHO as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes".[32]
In 2006, the organizationSave the Children hasranked the countries of the world, and found thatScandinavian countries are the safest places to give birth, whereas countries in sub-Saharan Africa are the least safe to give birth.[34] This study argues a mother in the bottom ten ranked countries is over 750 times more likely todie in pregnancy or childbirth, compared to a mother in the top ten ranked countries, and a mother in the bottom ten ranked countries is 28 times more likely tosee her child die before reaching their first birthday.
Childbirth can be a dangerous process in the absence of effective measures to reduce death. When none of these measure are taken, the maternal death rate has been estimated as being within the order of magnitude of 1,500 deaths per 100,000 births.[37] Modern medicine has greatly alleviated the risk of childbirth. In modern Western countries the current maternal mortality rate is around 10 deaths per 100,000 births.[38]
Religious
TheHindu mother goddessParvati feeding her son, the elephant-headed wisdom godGanesha
Nearly all world religions define tasks or roles for mothers through eitherreligious law or through theglorification of mothers who served in substantial religious events. There are many examples of religious law relating to mothers and women.
History records many conflicts between mothers and their children. Some even resulted inmurder, such as the conflict betweenCleopatra III of Egypt and her sonPtolemy X.
In modern cultures, matricide (the killing of one's mother) and filicide (the killing of one's son or daughter) have been studied but remain poorly understood.Psychosis andschizophrenia are common causes of both,[42][43] and young, indigent mothers with a history ofdomestic abuse are slightly more likely to commit filicide.[43][44] Mothers are more likely to commit filicide than fathers when the child is 8 years old or younger.[45] Matricide is most frequently committed by adult sons.[46]
In the United States in 2012, there were 130 matricides (0.4 per million people) and 383 filicides (1.2 per million), or 1.4 incidents per day.[47]
In art
Charity, by French painterWilliam-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1878Lemminkäinen's Mother, an 1897 painting byAkseli Gallen-Kallela: She is shown having just gathered her son'sLemminkäinen's broken body from the dark river.This Congolese figure was used to protect women who had lost successive children to miscarriages or infant death and is considered one of the great masterpieces of African Art.Brooklyn Museum
Throughout history, mothers have been depicted in a variety of art works, including paintings, sculptures and written texts, that have helped define the cultural meaning of 'mother', as well as ideals andtaboos of motherhood.
Fourth century grave reliefs on the island ofRhodes depicted mothers with children.[48]
Paintings of mothers with their children have a long tradition inFrance. In the 18th century, these works embodied the Enlightenment's preoccupation with strong family bonds and the relation between mothers and children.[49]
At the end of the nineteenth century,Mary Cassatt was a painter well known for her portraits of mothers.
American poet, essayist and feministAdrienne Rich has noted "the disjuncture between motherhood aspatriarchal institution and motherhood as complexly and variously lived experience".[50] The vast majority of works depicting motherhood in western art history have been created by artists who are men, with very few having been created by women or mothers themselves, and these often focus on the "institution of motherhood" rather than diverse lived experiences.[51] At the same time, art concerning motherhood has been historically marginalized within thefeminist art movement, though this is changing with an increasing number offeminist publications addressing this topic.[52]
The institution of motherhood in western art is often depicted through "the myth of the all-loving, all-forgiving and all-sacrificing mother" and related ideals.[51] Examples include works featuring theVirgin Mary, an archetypal mother and a key historical basis for depictions of mothers in western art from theEuropean Renaissance onwards.[53] Mothers depicted in dominant art works are also primarily white, heterosexual, middle class and young or attractive.[50]
These ideals of motherhood have been challenged by artists with lived experience as mothers. An example in western contemporary art isMary Kelly'sPost-Partum Document. Bypassing typical themes of tenderness or nostalgia, this work documents in extensive detail the challenges, complexities and day-to-day realities of the mother-child relationship.[54] Other artists have addressed similar aspects of motherhood that fall outside dominant ideals, including maternal ambivalence, desire, and the pursuit of self-fulfillment.[52] While the ideal of maternal self-sacrifice and the 'good mother' forms an important part of many works of art relating to theHolocaust, other women's Holocaust and post-Holocaust art has engaged more deeply with mothers' trauma, taboos, and the experiences of second and third-generation Holocaust survivors.[55] For example, works by first-generation survivors of the Holocaust such asElla Liebermann-Shiber andShoshana Neuman have depicted mothers abandoning and suffocating their children in an effort to stay alive themselves.
Increasingly diverse representations of motherhood can be found in contemporary works of art.Catherine Opie's self-portrait photographs, including of herself nursing, reference the existing Virgin Mary archetype while subverting its norms around sexuality by centering her identity as a lesbian.[50] Rather than attempting to make her experience of motherhood fit into existing norms, Opie's photographs are "non-traditional and non-apologetic representations".[56]
In her 2020 photography collection,Solana Cain explored the meaning of joy for Black mothers to challenge the lack of images in mainstream media that represent Black motherhood.[57]Renee Cox'sYo Mama series of nude self-portraits challenge historical representations of both the black female body and ofmaternity and slavery in the US, the latter of which is often characterized by the "extreme passivity and devalued love" typically associated with motherhood.[58]
Synonyms and translations
Mother with child inPeruMothers with children in liberatedGuinea-Bissau, 1974
The proverbial "first word" of an infant often sounds like "ma" or "mama". This strong association of that sound with "mother" has persisted in nearly every language on earth, countering the natural localization of language.
Familiar or colloquial terms formother in English are:
Ma(মা),Mata (মাতা),Amma (আম্মা),Ammu (আম্মু) used inBangladesh,India.
Ma,mam, andmammy are used inNetherlands,Ireland, the Northern areas of theUnited Kingdom, andWales; it is also used in some areas of the United States.
Mama was imported intoJapan from American influence post-World War II, and is a less formal term for mother[59]
In many other languages, similar pronunciations apply:
In many south Asian cultures and the Middle East, the mother is known asamma,oma,ammi or "ummi", or variations thereof. Many times, these terms denote affection or a maternal role in a child's life.
The modern English word is from Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor, from Proto-Germanic *mōdēr (cf. East Frisian muur, Dutch moeder, German Mutter), from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr (cf. Irish máthair, Tocharian A mācar, B mācer, Lithuanian mótė). Other cognates include Latin māter, Greek μήτηρ, Common Slavic *mati (thence Russian мать (mat')), Persian مادر (madar), and Sanskrit मातृ (mātṛ).
Inzoology, particularly inmammals, a mother fills many similar biological functions as a human mother.
Mammals
Many othermammal mothers also have numerous commonalities with humans.
Primates
Thebehavior and role of mothers in non-human species is most similar in species most closely related to humans. This meansgreat apes are most similar, then the broadersuperfamily of all apes, then allprimates.
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