mother-to-be

Alternative forms

• mother to be

Etymology

mother +‎ -to-be

Noun

mother-to-be (plural mothers-to-be)

1. A pregnant woman, especially one expecting her first child.
   • 2000, Allison England, Aromatherapy and Massage for Mother and Baby, Healing Arts Press (2000), →ISBN, page 52:

     The ideal position for a back massage for the mother-to-be is to sit astride a chair supported by cushions.

2. A woman whose partner is pregnant.
   • 2010, Amie Klempnauer Miller, She Looks Just Like You: A Memoir of (Nonbiological Lesbian) Motherhood, Beacon Press (2010), →ISBN, page 55:

     I don't know how other lesbian, nonbiological mothers-to-be, who tried to get pregnant and could not, might experience their partners' pregnancy.