Legal Definitions - genetic mother

A genetic mother is a woman who provides the egg that develops into an embryo. She may not be the birth mother, but she is usually the legal mother. This term is also known as biological mother or natural mother.

• When a child is conceived through in vitro fertilization, the genetic mother may be a donor egg from another woman.
• A woman who gives birth to a child through surrogacy is the gestational mother, but the genetic mother may be the intended parent or a donor egg.

These examples illustrate that the genetic mother is the woman who contributes her genetic material to the child, regardless of whether she carries the child or not.