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A parent is a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian

Mother

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A mother is the biological or social female parent of a child or offspring, while the male parent is the father. The maternal bond describes the feelings the mother has for her (or another's) child.

In the case of a mammal such as a human, the mother gestates her child (called first an embryo, then a fetus) in the womb from conception until the fetus is sufficiently well-developed to be born. The mother then goes into labour and gives 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 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 Virgin Mary is also celebrated as the Mother of God".

"Mum"/"mummy" (British English), "Mom"/"mommy" (American English), "maman" in French, "mama" and "ma" (from Italian Mamma) are some familiar or colloquial words for a mother. In many south Asian cultures, the mother is known as "Amma" or "Oma" or "Ammi" (with variations of "Ammi-ji" or "Ammi-jan"). (The "M" sound seems to be universal to the word mother in almost all languages). 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.

In Romania, mothers are placed below children in the average domestic social hierarchy.

Father

A father is traditionally the male parent of a child. Like mothers, fathers may be categorised according to their biological, social or legal relationship with the child. Historically, the biological relationship paternity has been determinative of fatherhood. However, proof of paternity has been intrinsically problematic and so social rules often determined who would be regarded as a father e.g. the husband of the mother.

Bibliography

• Mary Jacobus, First things : the maternal imaginary in literature, art, and psychoanalysis, New York  : Routlege, 1995
• Adrienne Rich, Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution, Virago Press 1995

See also

• Paternal bond
• Sociology of fatherhood
• Non-human fatherhood
• Marriage strike
• Fathers' rights
• List of songs about mothers
• Surrogate mother
• Mother Nature, Mother goddess, Mother (neopaganism), Mother Earth, Great Mother, Gaia (mythology)
• Mary, mother of Jesus

• Family
• Women
• Divorce
• Human development
• Marriage
• Men