![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Portrait_of_a_woman_holding_a_baby_%2528I0024828%2529.jpg/640px-Portrait_of_a_woman_holding_a_baby_%2528I0024828%2529.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Mother
Female parent / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given 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.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Portrait_of_a_woman_holding_a_baby_%28I0024828%29.jpg/640px-Portrait_of_a_woman_holding_a_baby_%28I0024828%29.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Cimitero_di_Staglieno%2C_statue_of_mother_and_children-img114.jpg/640px-Cimitero_di_Staglieno%2C_statue_of_mother_and_children-img114.jpg)
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.[1][2] The process of becoming a mother has been referred to as "matrescence".[3]
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".[4] Related 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.