Mother's Day

In one piece of fossilized amber, a female spider was astonishingly preserved, clutching an egg sac filled with spiderling embryos nearly ready to hatch.  

Female Spiders' Maternal Instincts Captured in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber

Four amber pieces are the earliest evidence of maternal care in spiders

For moms, there's physiological and neurological truth to the cliché that parenthood changes a person.

The New Science of Motherhood

Through studies of fetal DNA, researchers are revealing how a child can shape a mom's heart and mind—literally

Celebrate Mother's Day With These Artworks From the Smithsonian Collections

These paintings, sculptures and illustrations honor the bonds of motherhood

loading icon