maternal duty
Caring for children
Maternal duty refers to the responsibilities and obligations considered inherent to being a mother—caring for children, nurturing their development, and attending to their needs.
The phrase often carries weight beyond practical tasks, suggesting moral or social expectations placed on mothers: She felt torn between maternal duty and her career.
The term can be used neutrally or critically, depending on whether the speaker accepts or questions traditional expectations of motherhood.
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
- caregivingAttending to dependents
- motherhoodState of being a female parent
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- protectionGuarding against harm
mama bear · tenderness · devotion · responsibility · childrearing · breastfeeding · lullaby · bedtime story · sleepless · sick day · unconditional · bond · instinct · hearth · apron · worry · selfless · family first
- motherhoodmom, mama, mum, mommy, motherhood
maternal dutyreproductive autonomy
Right to control childbearing
personal autonomy · self-determination · self-care · self-interest
maternal, duty, mother, maternity, matriarch, matriarchal, matricide, matrix, matron