What is a Birthmother?

Readers come to hear about Birthmothers when Lily expresses her desire to become one, and it is clear that Jonas's family (specifically his mother) does not look favorably upon the occupation. Everything in Jonas's society is controlled. Kids are only allowed to have bikes after a certain age and coats that button in the front after a certain age. Eventually, each person is told what their lifetime occupation will be, and being a reproductive vessel is apparently an option for women. Families in the society are not allowed to reproduce. Specific women in the community are chosen to become pregnant and give birth. Those babies are then raised in the nurturing center until they are old enough to be given to specific, chosen families. The job of Birthmother seems pleasant enough because Birthmothers are given a healthy diet and a relaxed exercise regiment and are not expected to do any hard labor while they are Birthmothers. Unfortunately, Birthmothers are "promoted" after giving birth for a third time. After the third pregnancy, they become Laborers. This means that they have to perform hard, manual labor tasks until they are too old to work. At that point, they enter the House of the Old.

In Jonas's utopian community focused on stability and conformity, the Committee of Elders assigns specific occupations to certain individuals who have the proper abilities and intelligence to occupy the positions they are assigned. Birthmothers are women who have been chosen because of their health and reproductive abilities to give birth to children in order to populate the community. The children are then assigned to family units that qualify to raise children. Each family unit consists of at least one surrogate mother and father, who have both been selected to be partners based on their compatibility and other significant personality traits.In chapter 3, Lily jokingly mentions that she would enjoy being a Birthmother when she grows up. Her mother immediately chastises Lily for her remark and says that there is very little honor in that Assignment. Lily's mother then tells her that Birthmothers only enjoy stress-free lives for three years before they become Laborers. She also tells Lily that Birthmothers never even get to see their children, who are assigned to other family units, and encourages her daughter to focus on becoming a Nurturer.