unwed mother
Unmarried woman's child
A woman who has a child without being married.
The term is somewhat dated and carries a faintly judgmental tone from an era when marriage before childbirth was the social expectation.
More neutral alternatives like single mother have largely replaced it in contemporary usage, though unwed mother still appears in legal and statistical contexts.
- pregnancyCarrying developing offspring
- teenage pregnancyYouth bearing offspring
- baby bumpPregnant woman's protruding stomach
- babyVery young child
- shamePainful awareness of failure
stigma · scarlet letter · illegitimate · love child · adoption · scandal · teen mom · childbirth · fallen woman · secret · family · struggle · welfare · infant · unmarried · bastard · gossip · convent
- single parentssingle mom, single dad, single father, solo parent, divorced parent
- Stigmasmental illness, HIV, AIDS, homelessness, addiction
- Single Womensingle woman, bachelorette, spinster, maiden, unmarried
- singlessingle, bachelor, bachelorette, unmarried, singleton