Weekend readers' In pictures: Mothers

"My friend Carla contemplating her bump just a few weeks before becoming a mother. I love that she looks so happy" Photograph: Clara Molden

"Mama takes baby for a midnight feast! A beautiful example of motherhood in its simplest form" Photograph: Jeane Smith

"Taken on a Cuban cycling trip a few years back. I was wandering around a small town at siesta time when I was struck by this woman's amazing quiet dignity. I was trying to make conversation with my limited Spanish when her daughter appeared by her side and proudly told me: 'This is my mother - she is 92. She came here from Bulgaria 32 years ago'" Photograph: Kevin Blythe

"I think the important lesson this mother elephant at Chester Zoo was imparting to her child was: leaves on your back act as an effective sunscreen" Photograph: Bill Reeds

"A shot of my Mum after her hair has been pinned by my sister" Photograph: Brian Watt

"These three little goslings were desperate to explore but Mum was keeping a very close eye on them!" Photograph: Jane Wright

"On my very last day in South Africa I asked these mothers if I could take a photo of them and their babies. They happily accepted" Photograph: Josee Gosselin

"The most laidback feeding by a mother I have ever seen" Photograph: Liz Mason

"This picture seems to represent the long-suffering patience of all mothers!" Photograph: Sally Skinner

"This child from the Namibian Himba tribe looked blissfully relaxed, hitching a lift on its mother's back" Photograph: Tim Proudlove