baby mama

== English == === Alternative forms === baby-mama, babymama, baby mamma, baby-mamma, babymamma, baby momma, baby-momma, babymomma === Etymology === Formed in African-American Vernacular English, attested since c. 1986 and popularized in the 2000s. Possibly from or influenced by same term in Jamaican English, from Jamaican Creole baby-mother (“pregnant woman”) (1966), alternatively due simply to grammatical similarities between AAVE and Jamaican Creole. === Pronunciation === === Noun === baby mama (plural baby mamas) (US, slang, possibly derogatory) The mother of a child in common, particularly unmarried. Synonym: babymother Coordinate term: baby daddy 2008, Ebony Vol. 63, No. 8, Sidestepping Baby Mama Drama - Jun 2008, page 154 For men who must deal with these situations and others like them, the result is what has now been deemed as "baby-mama drama." For more quotations using this term, see Citations:baby mama. ==== Usage notes ==== Its usage is contentious, and is sometimes used neutrally as a casual term, regardless of marriage status, particularly in the tabloid press, or as a term of endearment. It is often considered pejorative, particularly if applied to unmarried black parents. If used by one parent of the other, it can imply a “child in common but no meaningful relationship”, while if used by outsiders, it can imply disapproval of children born out of wedlock; see citations. More formal variants include “baby’s mama” and “baby’s mother”; in formal usage “mother of one’s child” is preferred. Similar considerations apply to baby daddy. ==== See also ==== birth mother sperm donor === References ===