motherhood
A parent's female role
Motherhood is the state of being a mother—having borne or adopted children and taken on their care.
The word carries strong cultural weight, often idealized: She embraced motherhood.
It can also refer to mothers collectively: a victory for motherhood.
The phrase motherhood and apple pie describes values so wholesome they're beyond criticism, sometimes used ironically for positions that seem virtuous but lack substance.
Formation of an idea
- fertilityCapacity for reproduction
- gestationCarrying offspring in womb
- trimesterThirteen-week span
- prenatalBefore birth
ultrasound · quickening · cravings · bump · labor · delivery · childbirth · midwife
Lactation-based infant nourishment
- lactationMammary gland secretion
- nursingMedical caretaking profession
- pumpingForcing flow mechanically
- formulaFixed method or notation
weaning · nourishment · growth · milestones · development · encouragement · teaching · patience
Connection or fondness
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
- connectionA joining or relation
- closenessState of proximity
- skin-to-skinUnclothed bodily touching
lullaby · cuddles · comfort · soothing · rocking · holding · cradling · tenderness
Supervision of young ones
- supervisionOverseeing people or processes
- nannyHired child caretaker
- babysitterHired child caretaker
- upbringingChildhood care and training
protection · guidance · routine · feeding · bathing · diapering · soothing · meal-prep
Adult female state
- self-discoveryLearning one's true character
- transformationThorough change in form
- rolePosition or part
- expectationBelief about future outcomes
self-sacrifice · ambivalence · stay-at-home · stepmom · lineage · legacy · ancestress
conception
Formation of an idea
prenatal · ultrasound · quickening · cravings · bump · labor · delivery · childbirth · midwife · doula
breastfeeding
Lactation-based infant nourishment
- lactationMammary gland secretion
- nursingMedical caretaking profession
- pumpingForcing flow mechanically
formula · weaning · nourishment · growth · milestones · development · encouragement · teaching · patience · guidance
attachment
Connection or fondness
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
- connectionA joining or relation
- closenessState of proximity
skin-to-skin · lullaby · cuddles · comfort · soothing · rocking · holding · cradling · tenderness · warmth
childcare
Supervision of young ones
- supervisionOverseeing people or processes
- nannyHired child caretaker
- babysitterHired child caretaker
upbringing · protection · guidance · routine · feeding · bathing · diapering · soothing · meal-prep · housework
womanhood
Adult female state
- self-discoveryLearning one's true character
- transformationThorough change in form
- rolePosition or part
expectation · self-sacrifice · ambivalence · stay-at-home · stepmom · lineage · legacy · ancestress
goddess
Female sacred being
- babymoonVacation before childbirth
- confinementState of being restricted
- villageSmall rural community
- family bondslove, parent-child bond, trust, sibling bond, loyalty
- Momsmom, mama, mommy, mummy, mamma
- family dramafamily bonds, sibling rivalry, family reunion, kinship, family secret
- Family Storiesfamily saga, father-son, childhood memories, kitchen talk, family drama
- gender rolesgender roles, masculinity, femininity, gender stereotypes, traditional roles
- Victorian valuesmorality, propriety, respectability, decorum, modesty
motherhoodchildlessness
Lacking any offspring
barrenness · infertility · spinsterhood · childfreeness · bachelorhood
motherhoodchild abandonment
Deserting one's minor dependents
- surrogate motherhoodPregnancy on another's behalf
- single motherhoodRaising children without partner
- motherhood and apple pieUntouchably virtuous American symbols
- motherhood penaltyEarnings loss affecting parents
mother, hood, maternal, grandmother, matrix, motherly, mothers, matriarch, mothering