mother

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A mother is the female parent of a child. Mothers are women who inhabit or perform the role of bearing some relation to their children, who may or may not be their biological offspring. Thus, dependent on the context, women can be considered mothers by virtue of having given birth, by raising their child(ren), supplying their ovum for fertilisation, or some combination thereof. Such conditions provide a way of delineating the concept of motherhood, or the state of being a mother. Women who meet the third and first categories usually fall under the terms 'birth mother' or 'biological mother', regardless of whether the individual in question goes on to parent their child. Accordingly, a woman who meets only the second condition may be considered an adoptive mother, and those who meet only the first or only the third a surrogacy mother.
An adoptive mother is a female who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. 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. A putative mother is a female whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. A stepmother is a female who is the wife of a child's father and they may form a family unit, but who generally does not have the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent in relation to the child.
The above concepts defining the role of mother are neither exhaustive nor universal, as any definition of 'mother' may vary based on how social, cultural, and religious roles are defined. The parallel conditions and terms for males: those who are (typically biologically) fathers do not, by definition, take up the role of fatherhood. Motherhood and fatherhood are not limited to those who are or have parented. Women who are pregnant may be referred to as expectant mothers or mothers-to-be, though such applications tend to be less readily applied to (biological) fathers or adoptive parents. The process of becoming a mother has been referred to as "matrescence".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 from which also derives the noun "mothering". Related terms of endearment are mom (mama, mommy), mum, mumsy, mamacita (ma, mam) and mammy. A female role model that children can look up to is sometimes referred to as a mother-figure.

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  1. Keith Barrass

    QLD Final orders- What can I do when the mother of my children constantly breaches orders?

    I have had full care of my two sons for the past 3 years when the mother handed them over to me they were aged 2 & 5 at the time now 5 & 8 the mother had very little to no contact with them until earlier this year when she applied to the court for final orders needless to say with her lack of...
  2. N

    WA My mother bought a house using her money. Her ex partner is on the title. He broke up with her and has paid no money in Ten Years.

    My mother bought a house using her money. Her ex partner is on the title. He broke up with her and has paid no money towards her or the house in over Ten Years. She lives in WA. Can we remove him from the Title?
  3. N

    My mother bought a house using her money. Her ex partner is on the title. He has paid no money towards the house in over Ten years.

    My mother bought a house using her money. Her ex partner is on the title. He broke up with her over Ten years ago and has paid no money towards the house in over Ten years. How do we remove him from the title?
  4. B

    TAS Mother & Daughter Mortgage and Title

    Hi, i hope this is not too complicated, but i will try to explain as best as i can. Ok so my wife and i sold our family home last year, we traveled overseas for 3 months, returned home and bought a brand new 3 bedroom townhouse for $270,000 in cash (appraised value is now $350,000) and we have...
  5. J

    Gaining access to mother.

    My sibling (mother’s openly admitted favourite child) moved into her retirement village unit as her carer, gained power of attorney (we can’t find out what kind) and within 18 months, 93 year old mother has been placed in a nursing home. We had not been permitted access to our mother since...
  6. M

    VIC Parenting orders say half of school holidays - mother saying that doesn't apply in CV circumstances

    Hello FCC orders say; "For the first half of the school holidays at the end of Terms 1, 2 & 3 from after school on the last day of term until 5 pm AEST or 5:45 p.m. AESDST as appropriate in the second Saturday after the end of term in even numbered years." Pretty clear? Victorian premier Dan...
  7. J

    Mother seeking out child at school while in father's care

    Hi all, Father has shared care of child with mother - 50/50. Mother has on a number of occasions attended child's school during the fathers week and sought child out. Previously she volunteered for a school disco and spent a week visiting the child while he was at afters school care. Today she...
  8. G

    urgent help needed - Mother giving children (2 & 6) non prescribed drugs - family court

    background * family court proceedings are around a year in - * father has been subject to many false allegations of drug use/ mental health issues / family violence. - VRO Gained by lying about these accusations * Magistrates have now deemed father no risk (after 40 supervised visits and a...
  9. P

    NSW Ex-parte orders self rep

    Last court appearance was Dec 19, where family are still waiting for family report dates to be given. Applicant father did not attend. Father has history of non attendance. Respondent mother asked for final orders be made in his absence (matter has been before the courts for several years...
  10. B

    SA Parental alienation query

    Hi there, I am seeking advice on behalf of my husband, as his 11-year-old daughter has been manipulated to stop contact with him. Some background - daughter was born in SA and then when husband split up with his ex, she took their 10-month-old baby to QLD, despite his wishes that his daughter...