A wife (PL: wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, a wife is referred to as a widow. The rights and obligations of a wife in relation to her partner and her status in the community and in law vary between cultures and have varied over time. Etymology
The word is of Germanic origin, from Proto-Germanic *wībam, "woman". In Middle English it had the form wif, and in Old English wīf, "woman or wife". It is related to Modern German Weib (woman, female), and Danish viv (wife, usually poetic); The original meaning of the phrase "wife" as simply "woman", unconnected with marriage or a husband/wife, is preserved in words such as "midwife", "goodwife", "fishwife" and "spaewife". Summary
In many cultures, marriage is generally expected that a woman will take her husbands surname, though that is not universal. A married woman may indicate her marital status in a number of ways: in Western culture a married woman would commonly wear a wedding ring but in other cultures other markers of marital status may be used. A married woman is commonly given the honorific title "Mrs", but some married women prefer to be referred to as "Ms", a title which is also used by preference or when the marital status of a woman is unknown.
Global developmental delay is an umbrella term used when children are significantly delayed in their cognitive and physical development. It can be diagnosed when a child is delayed in one or more milestones, categorised into motor skills, speech, cognitive skills, and social and emotional development. There is usually a specific condition which causes this delay, such as Fragile X syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities. However, it is sometimes difficult to identify this underlying condition.Other terms associated with this condition are failure to thrive (which focuses on lack of weight gain and physical development), intellectual disability (which focuses on intellectual deficits and the changes they cause to development) and developmental disability (which can refer to both intellectual and physical disability altering development). Causes
Developmental delay can be caused by learning disabilities, in which case the delay can usually be overcome with time and support - such as with physiotherapists, occupational therapists,vision therapist and speech and language therapists. Other causes which may cause a permanent delay in development include genetic disorders such as Down syndrome and Fragile X, childhood infections such as meningitis or encephalitis, and metabolic disorders such as hypothyroidism. Metabolic disorders are more likely to cause delayed development in older children, as many congenital metabolic problems which are easily managed are screened for in the neonatal period. Child born prematurely (born before 37 weeks). The use of toxic substances in pregnancy, particularly alcohol, can lead to developmental delay if they affect the neurological development of the fetus, such as in fetal alcohol syndrome.