mom - A mother is the natural or social female parent of an offspring.[1] In the case of a mammal such as a human, the mother gestates her child, which is called first an embryo, and then a fetus.[2] This gestation occurs in the mother's womb from conception until the fetus is sufficiently developed to be born.[3] The mother then goes into labor and gives birth. Once the child is born, the mother produces milk, a process called lactation, to feed the child. Mothers typically fulfill the primary role in the raising of children. The title mother is often given to a woman other than biological parent, if it is she who fulfills this role. This is most commonly either an adoptive mother or a stepmother (the biologically unrelated wife of a child's father). Currently, with advances in reproductive technologies, the function of biological motherhood can be split between the genetic mother (who provides the ovum) and the gestational mother (who carries the pregnancy), and in theory neither might be the social mother (the one who brings up the child).