Editing Mother (section)

==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.]]<!-- maps should be wrapped with 'mim' template -->

=== 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>