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

The birth mother died of a drug overdose shortly thereafter. —R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026

Her birth mother had arrived at the hospital on drugs and without any plan for the baby. —R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 9 May 2026

When Danny was a teen, Julia decided to track down his birth mother. —Andre Mouchard, Daily News, 9 May 2026

This notion is complicated by Ito’s turbulent relationship with her birth mother. —Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 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