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

Adoptees who have searched for information about their birth families and academics who have studied international adoption have long known of cases in which one child was substituted at the last minute for another—or of birth mothers who were coerced or tricked into relinquishing their children. —Time, 15 May 2025

Chloe’s life goes from bad to much worse when the authorities call her estranged, recovering addict sister Nicky (Banks) — who also happens to be Ethan’s birth mother and Adam’s first wife. —Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 5 May 2025

Bell, a former correctional officer at Louisiana Women's Prison, had sacrificed her job to care for Kayson when his birth mother Katie, who was imprisoned at the time, asked her to take the child to prevent him from entering foster care, something her supervisor objected to. —David Begnaud, CBS News, 5 May 2025

According to Vanity Fair, the twins’ adoption had been arranged before their birth, and their birth mother died less than a week after they were born. —Julie Tremaine, People.com, 20 Apr. 2025

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