Mother or Birthing Parent

[thaigreen]

Which term do you prefer?

YABU Birthing Parent
YANBU Mother

@DebbieHarrysCheekbones

The term birthing parent makes me want to vomit

Yes that. Does that make the baby the ‘birthed person’?

It's getting bad in the US too. I saw a public health official on the news state that all pregnant people should have the covid vaccine.

Mother. Also in favour of mental health supports for people who decide to become mothers but can't bring themselves to use the term. Somethings gone really awry there. If you don't "identify" as a woman it makes zero sense why you'd want to go through the most womanly experience there is. Validating their nonsense won't get to the root cause.

Mother.

I’m my daughter’s mother. I don’t want to be referred to as anything else.

Birthing Parent just makes me think of the other parent in the room it’s too close to Birthing Partner

I’m a mother. Not a birthing parent, menstruator or whatever term a tiny majority want to call me. I’m a woman, end of.

@RuggerHug

Whichever applies to the person in that situation. As pp said, lesbian couples, surrogacy. There's no one way to bring a child into the world so whatever works for the people involved.

Honest to god. There is only one way to bring a child into the world. An adult human female gestates a foetus in her womb and gives birth, either vaginally or via Caesarian section. I can take a lot, but there are no other ways to create human life.

I am the mother I want to be referred to as such

Fucking birthing parents. Gives me the absolute rage.

Erasure of women, dehumanising us to violate our language and spaces.

Over my dead body will anyone call me a birthing parent.

There's no one way to bring a child into the world

Well that's just not true is it?

Only a biological female can bring a child into the world.

I adopted my children so there was no birthing involved for me.
I'm a mother.

We're still waiting for the "uterine replicator". That might be a birthing parent.

I'll consider being called a 'birthing parent' when fathers are relabelled as the 'ejaculating parent'. Doubt that's going to be suggested though.

@gabsdot45

I adopted my children so there was no birthing involved for me. I'm a mother.

Of course you’re a mother. Assuming you’re a woman.

And the woman who gave birth to your children wasn’t a “birthing parent” either.

I would have no issue at all with both terms used, but I don't like 'birthing parent' at all and I think most women would feel the same. So it should be both terms, not just birthing parent IMO

It makes me feel like they are saying "human incubator" and I can't shake that feeling

Mother!
I hate ‘birthing’ anyway. We don’t ‘birth’, we give birth to.

I think both can be used without offending anyone. If someone was talking about me and my birth I'd want them to know I'm a woman and mother. It's quite simple for NHS and others discussing birth and parents and mothers to say "mother or birthing parent". As we continue to progress they'll work out how to support everyone when discussing birth and parenthood.

It's quite simple for NHS and others discussing birth and parents and mothers to say "mother or birthing parent

Well it may be simple, but the problem is it's a nonsense phrase.

As we continue to progress they'll work out how to support everyone when discussing birth and parenthood.

If we could start by acknowledging that only biological females can give birth that would be great, thanks

Birthing parent? What a load of bollocks.

Is that the one that also chest feeds?

The only saving grace is that I've never heard a medical professional come out with this kind of claptrap in real life.

In the context of pregnancy and maternity paperwork, I have no strong preference either way. I get why others do; I just don't feel any way about it.

If someone tried to call me birthing parent now though, with children 9-17, I'd think they were being absurd. The birthing part is long over, and while I still deal with some health consequences connected to pregnancy and birth, I would find it odd to define my status around being a parent around that I gave birth. I mean, my spouse's first act as a parent was being shitted on, should he forever be the shitted on parent?

@azimuth299

I would challenge that depending on what you consider a mother to be?

She would be the child's birth mother. Not the child's "birthing parent". She wouldn't be the child's parent after the adoption but she would always be their birth mother.

What about a surrogate who has no biological connection to the child?

To me, a mother is a role in a child's life moreso then whomever gave birth to them

Well I'm a mum and I love it.

What about a surrogate who has no biological connection to the child?

Not being the birth mother doesn't mean you can't be a mother.