Mother or Birthing Parent

[thaigreen]

Which term do you prefer?

YABU Birthing Parent
YANBU Mother

@azimuth299

If being a minority was a reason to be allowed to exclude or discriminate then we could stop providing wheelchair ramps or accommodating people with mental health problems or a whole other raft of situations.

No it's more like saying that everyone should have to use wheelchairs so that wheelchair users don't feel upset about being the only ones not able to walk.

Exactly this

The two are not mutually exclusive. You can be a mother and not the birthing parent in case of adoption, fostering etc.

Birthing parent is actually less inclusive and more offensive IMO 🤷🏾‍♀️

@HauteGirlSummer

The two are not mutually exclusive. You can be a mother and not the birthing parent in case of adoption, fostering etc.

Birthing parent is actually less inclusive and more offensive IMO 🤷🏾‍♀️

It really is just in your opinion, though, isn't it?

YABU:
3%
YANBU:
97%
Total votes: 1594

It really is just in your opinion, though, isn't it?

Her and ~1546 vs ~48 (did you interpret it the right way round?)

@ErrolTheDragon yeah sorry, I misread her post. Sorry @HauteGirlSummer ! Mea culpa! I agree with you. I'll just slink away now.

No need @BudgeSquare we've all been there and the more the merrier

Thanks @Alektopteryx it's been a bloody long week already and it's only Monday

Mother.
I am an angel mother to 4, I carried the children, I lost them within my womb, to carry a child in your uterus makes you a mother.
I'm also a birth mum//mother to a daughter who I gave up for adoption when she was 3mths old, (now 4) and currently 30wks pregnant with my second rainbow baby and first son 💙

I will never be bullied into not using the word 'mother'. It is a truly precious word.

@PurpleDaisies

There will be a tiny, tiny, number of women who won’t want to be called the baby’s mother. To relabel every pregnant woman as a birthing parent to avoid offending this minuscule minority seems crazy to me.

Absolutely this

The fact this question is being asked shows the state the country is in

Mother has been used for hundreds of years at least it, has great cultural and social significance , id be offended if anyone called me a birthing parent, its just such a dry term whereas mother is warm and nice

@RobertaFirmino

What about lesbian couples though? One may have gestated but both parties are 'mothers'. The term 'birthing parent' makes sense here.

"Birth mother"? "Birthing mother"? Affects a small minority but probably helpful if both women are in the room pre/during/post labour.

It depends on context. If its to do with maternity care then the people who want to be called birthing parent can be called that and those that want to be called mother can be called that. When it comes to anything unrelated to the birth I'd just use parent.

I think there have been some studies that show that resources, information etc are more inclusive when using more simple 'normal speak' language rather than medically influenced or the more ambiguous language needed to describe outlying situations (ie the very rare situation when a trans man gives birth)

But it is more inclusive to women; young women, women with poorer education or English as a second language, women with learning difficulties . . . are they considered important enough to influence the provision of information?

Just to add in face to face meetings everyone should be referred to as they prefer

Currently in hospital having given birth to my second child. I'm so glad no-one has referred to me as his birthing parent, nor have I seen any such reference in my notes.
Absolutely agree that 'mother' should be the default term and.anyone who wishes to be referred to as.something else can specify that.

Thank goodness I am not in Scotland. Awful disregard of the majority of women.

My antenatal class decided to remove the word 'mum' from its literature and replace it with 'birthing parent' part way through the course. I would never have signed up for the course if it had used such language in its marketing.

I said on the feedback form that I was not happy being reduced to a bodily function, that they may as well have referred to me as a brood mare and that I did not 'identify' as a sodding 'birthing parent'.

Well I identify as mother so I personally prefer that. Well actually I prefer my name. But if the pregnant person wants to be referred to as something else fair enough.