also: ははこ · おやこ
noun
mother and child
Refers to a mother and her child as a pair, often used in social, medical, or welfare contexts (e.g., 母子家庭, 母子手帳).
母子家庭への支援が拡充された。
Support for single-mother families has been expanded.
母子手帳は妊娠中に交付される。
The maternal and child health handbook is issued during pregnancy.
Gikun (jukujikun) reading. Rare and non-standard; the usual word for 'parent and child' is 親子.
Compound of 母 (mother) and 子 (child). The reading ぼし is the standard Sino-Japanese on'yomi. The reading ははこ uses the native kun'yomi for 母 and is rare. The reading おやこ is a non-standard gikun reading.