birth mother

noun

: the mother of a child when the child is born

specifically : a woman who gave birth to a child who has been adopted

They had turned to an open adoption after pursuing infertility treatments for 18 years, and the birth mother had agreed to relinquish custody at the hospital.

—Emily Nussbaum

Examples of birth mother in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Acton's brother said that their birth mother remained married to him until his death in 2004. — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2026

In 2025, Goessling received a letter from his birth mother’s lawyer, which said that his biological parents had found him because his half brother took a genetic test. — Ethan Beck, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026

His son, Michael Goessling, contacted the singer after discovering the identities of his half-brother and birth mother. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2026

During that conversation, their moms confirmed the name of the girls’ birth mother and the hospital they were born at, and the information all perfectly lined up. — David Chiu, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for birth mother

• another
• godmother
• grandmother
• stepbrother
• stepmother
• brother
• nother
• other
• smother
• souther

Legal Definition

birth mother

noun

birth moth·​er

: the woman who gave birth to a child especially as distinguished from the child's adoptive mother