MOTHER The Full Meaning

Clover Lee CNW Staff Writer

Asimplistic meaning of the word mother is “ the woman who birthed you or a female parent who nurtures and cares for children. Her nurturing includes feeding, dressing, nursing, and teaching. The mother is the first human the child connects to while in the womb. She is its host from whom it is nourished and protected. In many African languages, the mother is deemed the first teacher because mothers teach child the essentials and are held in high esteem.

In African as well as other cultures the term mother is one of endearment bestowed upon an elderly woman or mother superior. She is also referred to as Queen Mother, the mother of all.

It goes without saying that mothers are parents, yet I dare not say that mother is the female equivalent of a father. Mothers and fathers have very different roles and yet in our modern world, particularly in single-parent homes, the traditional roles have blurred.

Essentially, we must address the distinctions between men and women that are unique from one to the other. To begin there is the fact that after the impregnation that requires a woman’s egg and the man’s sperm, the child grows inside the female vessel. This is the beginning of a special bonding that makes for that special connection between mother and child. It is an important link that is partly due to the DNA and is reinforced in one’s culture. The fact that a mother’s breasts fill with milk as a source of ‘first food’ for the baby is a significant indicator of this invaluable relationship between mother and child. Unfortunately, the modern world has convinced women that their body appearance is more valuable than the nourishment of their baby. They have misinformed generations of women that what they have manufactured can provide the same and or more sustenance as her body which has carried her child.

It’s always disturbed me that those who proclaimed to believe in God, their creator who created man and woman and provided man with life instructions, think it’s okay to arbitrarily decide to not feed their babies naturally as intended. Sure, you can say, some women don’t produce milk, others have difficulty so what about them? True, True. And so it is that there are exceptions to the rule. What I know to be true is that in the days of old which of course are long gone, women who lived in the same village or were from the same tribe would feed one another’s babies because their food, diets, and habits were the same. The point here is that the women valued the significance of food made from their own bodies for the child. We, unfortunately, are less so. Perhaps not intentionally but just the same we have accepted the propaganda of modern salesmen who redirect us to choices that were never meant to be alternatives for the milk your body produces.

Mothers as told to me by my own father, are our best friend. I couldn’t understand. So, I asked him, “But what about you daddy?”

He repeated,

“Always respect your mother because she will be your best friend when all others disappoint you.”

Breastfeeding is important for numerous reasons. One, it puts babies on a path to healthy development by providing optimal nutrition and helping them to develop a strong immune system. It also protects mothers from diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers, and helps to strengthen the emotional bond between mother and child. Additionally, breastfeeding saves families, money they might spend on formula and eliminates the risk of exposing infants to contaminated water, making it a safer, more economical choice. And perhaps more invaluable is the bonding relationship that is established and reinforced between the mother and child. It it establishes a kind of telepathic link between the two.

This is what they don’t tell you. Mothers have a role that fathers cannot replace but they can make do. Here’s another somethin,’ something,’ to think about humans are mammals and all mammals breastfeed their young providing them with the unique make-up of nutritional formula specific to each child. Instead of utilizing this God created safeguard, we have been bamboozled to believe that cow’s milk is good for us. First, let me ask you to put on your thinking cap as my child’s preschool teacher would instruct her students. Did it ever occur to you that we are the only mammal that voluntarily drinks another mammal’s milk? Just think about it for a moment. The World Health Organization considers breastfeeding one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival and recommends exclusive breastfeeding until six months of age. But, for today’s working mothers balancing professional responsibilities with the commitment to breastfeeding can be a challenge. Many mothers manage by doing both. You choose.

Mothers teach their young how to ‘be’ in the world. She models the interaction between humans, family, friends, and strangers. She teaches them the codes of behaviors--manners, protocol, and decorum. Mothers prepare children for life on so many levels -emotional, physical, intellectual, social, and spiritual providing the tools to navigate their path in the world.

Mothers as told to me by my own father, are our best friend. I couldn’t understand. So, I asked him, “But what about you daddy?”

He repeated, “Always respect your mother because she will be your best friend when all others disappoint you.”

It took me a moment to grasp what he was saying. I recalled the relationship that he shared with my nana, his mother, and got it. Mothers will kill and die protecting and defending their children no matter the circumstances or obstacles.

In conclusion, mothers are many things to all people but most irreplaceable is that a mother is a child’s best friend.