Mother

A mother is a biological and/or social female parent of an offspring.[1] Because of the complexity and differences of a mothers' social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother to suit a universally accepted definition.

Biological mother

In the case of a mammal such as a human, the biological mother gestates a fertilized ovum. As a viable fertilised ovum or "embryo" ideally develops into a fetus. Gestation occurs in the mother's uterus from conception until (under ideal circumstances, barring illness or defect) the fetus is sufficiently developed to be born. The mother experiences labor and gives birth. Once the child is born, the mother produces milk via the lactation process. The mother's breast milk is the source of anti-bodies for the infant's immune system and commonly the sole source of nutrition for the first year or more of the child's life.[2][3][4]

Surrogate mother

A surrogate mother is, commonly, a woman who bears the embryo to term for a couple biologically unable to have children. Upon the child’s birth, the surrogate mother surrenders all her rights and responsibilities to the child[5] with sole intention of surrendering the infant to at least one of the biological parents. [6][7]

Title

The term mother is often given to a woman other than the biological parent, especially if she who fulfills the main social role in raising the child. This is commonly either an adoptive mother or a stepmother (the biologically unrelated wife of a child's father). In lesbian cultures, a non-biological mother, or so-called "othermother" exists.

Currently, with advances in reproductive technologies, the function of biological motherhood can be split between the genetic mother (who provides the ovum) and the gestational (commonly known as a surrogate) mother (who carries the pregnancy), and it is also possible neither will serve as the social mother (the one who rears the child). A healthy connection between a mother and a child form a secure base, from which the child may later venture forth into the world.[8]

Social role

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.[9][10] The social role and experience of motherhood varies greatly depending upon location. The organization Save the Children has (controversially) ranked the countries of the world, and found that Scandinavian countries are the safest places to give birth, whereas countries in sub-Saharan Africa are the least safest to give birth[11]. This study argues a mother in the bottom ten ranked countries is over 750 times more likely to die 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 to see her child die before reaching their first birthday.

Mothers are more likely than fathers to encourage assimilative and communion-enhancing patterns in their children.[12] Mothers are more likely than fathers to acknowledge their children's contributions in conversation.[13][14][15][16] The way mothers speak to their children is better suited to support very young children in their efforts to understand speech (in context of the reference English) than fathers.[13]

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.[17][18] 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, womens' basic health, reducing infant mortality and the prevention of life-threatening diseases such as polio, typhus and malaria.

References

• "The Evolutionary Biology of Human Female Sexuality", By Randy Thornhill, Steven W. Gangestad [23]
• "Motherhood - How should we care for our children?", By Anne Manne[24]
• "Mother nature: maternal instincts and how they shape the human species", By Sarah Blaffer Hrdy [25]

Notes

1. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mother
2. http://www.dhushara.com/paradoxhtm/biology.htm
3. GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
4. Chapter 46 ANIMAL REPRODUCTION
5. http://www.yourdictionary.com/law/surrogate-mother
6. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/surrogate_mother.
7. Surrogate motherhood By Larry Ogalthorpe Gostin
8. Diane S. Feinberg, M.Ed. The Importance of Mother and Child Attachment
9. "In most Western countries the family model of a sole male breadwinner is in full retreat."
10. Why Are Fathers Important? Interview with Dr. Ross Parke, professor of psychology at the University of California at Riverside, author of Fatherhood (1966) and co-author of Throwaway Dads (1999). Accessed 19 September 2007.
11. Save the Children, State of the World's Mothers Report 2006.
12. Gendered differences in parents' encouragement of sibling interaction: implications for the construction of a personal premise system
13. Fathers' speech to their children: perfect pitch or tin ear?
14. Hladik, E., & Edwards, H. (1984). A comparison of mother-father speech in the naturalistic home environment. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 13, 321-332.