That’s a term for the natural mother of a child who is later adopted. You could also consider surrogacy. There are many ways families are constructed.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birth%20parent
This seems to be a problem with these new "woke" words or however you'd like to describe them.
They seem unnatural and sudden which is why everyone is confused.
How does that disagree with me?
Or is it being used wrong?
Perhaps they’re widening it to include people giving birth. Some people giving birth may then give up their child for adoption, so they wouldn’t want to be called mothers. Either that or they’re trans in some way but able to give birth.
I think the point being is that there are many ways a family is constructed, and many situations people find themselves in.
Because I first heard it used about a year ago.
Most commonly used by people who are adopted to refer to their biological parents (especially I would say if they have a relationship with them). I definitely wouldn’t view it as a woke term (I wouldn’t see how it would serve that demographic) unless it’s being used in a different way to the definition I posted earlier.
Reading the article it might have a new meaning which potentially refers to the parent who actually performs the birth? I still don’t think I’d consider that woke but I’ve never heard it in that context and would find it a confusing term since I’m used to the other definition.
I see, another user commented about it possibly including "surrogacy", so that may be the explanation there.
Biological would more refer to those who provided the sperm & eggs, birth would refer to those who actually did the... birthing. The birth father would be the one in the relationship with the birth mother?
I don’t think its a real new meaning in any kind of general use, it is just bad writing trying to condense the terminology used in the earlier article. The early article it references on the leave policy uses “parents who give birth”. Aside from gender identity issues, this also addresses the fact that the Google policy (as I understand it) applies to adoptive parents as well, so even leaving aside gender identity “mothers” and “parents who give birth” would not be identical groups. “Birth parents” is a writer making a misguided and overzealous attempt at making that more terse.