childbed fever
- noun
- /ˈtʃaɪlˌbɛd ˈfiːvər/
- Archaic
:
fiebre puerperal
- Advancements in medical care have significantly reduced the incidence of childbed fever among new mothers.
- died of childbed fever
Examples
-
When a patient dies of childbed fever, a doctor performs an autopsy.
-
And their death rate from this childbed fever dropped to almost zero.
-
My wife developed childbed fever several days later and died."
Fiction book (1992) -
"If you are well nine days after the birth, then you won't get childbed fever."
Fiction book (1992) -
Aino, whose wedding Johanna had catered the previous September, was delivered of a healthy baby girl, but died several days later of childbed fever.
Fiction book (1992) -
Women in the 19th century often succumbed to childbed fever due to poor hygiene practices after giving birth.
-
Historically, childbed fever was a leading cause of maternal fatalities in hospitals lacking sterile procedures.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A serious infection women get after childbirth or abortion from unclean conditions
Antonyms
∞
1.0
The condition of a person's body and mind, especially being free from illness or injury
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a fever contracted during or after childbirth' is directly and compositionally derived from 'childbed' (the time during/after childbirth) + 'fever' (an elevated bodily temperature). Although the term is somewhat archaic/medical, its noun+noun structure is transparent and parallels equivalent terms in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both parts would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Childbed fever comes from the old name for the bed used during childbirth, the childbed, and the fevers women often got there because of dirty hands or bedding. That's why it means 'a serious infection after childbirth'.