Editing Mother (section)

=== Non-biological mother ===
''Mother'' can often apply to a woman other than the biological parent, especially if she fulfills the main social role in raising the child. This is commonly either an [[adoptive]] mother or a [[stepmother]] (the biologically unrelated [[Significant other|partner]] of a child's [[father]]). The term "[[othermother]]" or "other mother" is also used in some contexts for women who provide care for a child not biologically their own in addition to the child's primary mother.

Adoption, in various forms, has been practiced throughout history, even predating human civilization.<ref name="Conn2013">{{cite book|author=Peter Conn|title=Adoption: A Brief Social and Cultural History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DoUh9LvIzRcC&pg=PA25|date=28 January 2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-33390-2|pages=25–64}}</ref> Modern systems of adoption, arising in the 20th century, tend to be governed by comprehensive [[statutes]] and [[regulations]]. In recent decades, [[international adoption]]s have become more and more common.

[[Adoption in the United States]] is common and relatively easy from a legal point of view (compared to other Western countries).<ref>{{cite news|last=Jardine|first=Cassandra|title=Why adoption is so easy in America|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3354960/Why-adoption-is-so-easy-in-America.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3354960/Why-adoption-is-so-easy-in-America.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=Telegraph|date=31 Oct 2007}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2001, with over 127,000 adoptions, the US accounted for nearly half of the total number of adoptions worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/child-adoption.pdf |title=Child Adoption : Trends and Policies |publisher=Un.org |access-date=2015-07-01 |archive-date=2022-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324001923/https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/child-adoption.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>