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Glite Dictionary
childbed

childbed

8.6
The time when a woman gives birth and the period just after birth
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃaɪlˌbɛd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : parto
  • But the first of his wives—a fiercely beautiful woman who bore him five sons before dying in childbed of the sixth—had told him that he must wear no clan-kin sign at all.

Examples

  • During her childbed, she received support from friends and family as she adjusted to motherhood.

  • She had not seen him, of course, for he was in seclusion, only a few months having passed since the tragic childbed deaths of his daughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and his grandson, and no one really saw him.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • After a long labor, she finally welcomed her baby into the world during her childbed.

  • The midwife carefully monitored the mother throughout her childbed to ensure her recovery.

Synonyms

labor
vschildbed
  • US
204 3.5

A woman's time of having a baby, from the first pains to the baby being born

also covers the short period after birth as well as the active time
childbirth
vschildbed
82 2.3

The time when a woman has a baby

includes that process and the immediate period after birth
delivery
vschildbed
80 3.0

Giving birth to a baby

covers both that act and the immediate post-birth period
birthing
vschildbed
34 3.3

The act of giving birth to a baby

includes the same process plus the immediate recovery time after birth
birthing process
vschildbed
2 3.4

The physical stages a person goes through when a baby comes out of their body

also refers to the time after birth, not only the series of events
lying-in
vschildbed
  • Archaic
1 9.9

The process of childbirth and the period of bed rest after birth

is the general time around birth without necessarily stressing traditional bed rest
parturition
vschildbed
  • Specialized
1 9.9

The process of giving birth to a baby or young animal

adds the immediate after-birth period, not only the physiological process
parturiency
vschildbed
  • Specialized
9.9

The time when a person or animal gives birth

extends this to include the immediate time after birth as well

Compounds

childbed fever
  • Archaic
8.4

A serious infection women get after childbirth or abortion from poor hygiene

Surface Forms

childbed singular
childbeds plural

Morphology

childbed = child + bed (semi-transparent) = child + bed

The components 'child' and 'bed' are clear, but the compound denotes the specific state of childbirth/postpartum confinement rather than literally 'a bed for a child', making the sense somewhat idiomatic.

Etymology

Childbed comes from the simple parts child + bed, meaning the 'bed' where a woman had her 'child'. So childbed became the word for the time of giving birth and the period just after the baby is born.