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Mother Wikipedia

dablink|For other uses of "mother" see Mother (disambiguation)
Image:Mother,Child,ReliefSculpture,SoldierField,Chicago.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Faces of mother and child; detail of sculpture at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Image:Female mallard nest - natures pics edit2.jpg|thumb|250px|Female mallard duck and ducklings
In the case of a mammal such as a human, the biological mother gestation|gestates her child (called first an embryo, then a fetus) in the womb from conception (biology)|conception until the fetus is sufficiently well-developed to be born. The mother then goes into labour and gives childbirth|birth. Once the child is born, the mother produces milk to feed the child.

In non-sexual organisms, "mother" can sometimes be used to mean "parent"; in the case of single-celled organisms that reproduce by fission, the mother is a cell that divides to produce "daughters".

Mothers typically have a very important role in raising children, and the title mother can be given to a woman other than a biological parent who fills this role. This is most commonly either an adoption|adoptive parent or a stepmother (the wife of a child's father). The term can also refer to a person with stereotypical traits of a mother.

Mothers are celebrated yearly, on Mother's Day, in many countries around the world. In many branches of Christianity, the Blessed Virgin Mary|Virgin Mary is also celebrated as the Mother of God.

"Mum"/"mummy" (usually British English), "Mom"/"mommy" (usually American English), "mama" and "ma" are some familiar or colloquial words for a mother. In many south Asian cultures, the mother is known as "Amma" or "Oma" or "Ammi", or variations thereof. The "M" sound seems to be universal to the word mother in many different languages.<ref>wiktionary:mother</ref> Many times these terms denote affection or a maternal role in a child's life.

In some societies, single motherhood, the state of an unmarried mother, has been treated as a serious social issue.

Last Modified:   2006-10-01