childbirth
Americannoun
-
childbirths
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of childbirth
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at child, birth
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Aina said that American Black women die in childbirth at three times the rate for white women, and 87% of these deaths were preventable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Rhoda is less interested in Max’s disloyalty to Leonie than in the tales of Ana’s philandering, profligate father, a Maltese artist who raised her after her Italian mother died during childbirth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
It can cause medical complications, including haemorrhaging and infection, as well as complications later in life with periods and during childbirth.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Setting emotions aside, the timing of childbirth for older parents can stymie their earning power.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
In 1804 Jefferson’s younger daughter, Maria Jefferson Eppes, died from complications during childbirth.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
This wouldn’t affect childbirths if the propensity to get married had remained constant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
Two grueling childbirths drove her to seek surgery.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2019
Three childbirths later, she was diagnosed with near-fatal renal complications.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 6, 2018
Indeed, not every baby has a mother: before modern medicine, about one in 100 childbirths killed the mother.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2017
But even if it were true, the amount of injury that can be done by contraceptives would be like a drop of water in comparison with the injuries resulting from excessive pregnancies and childbirths.
From Woman Her Sex and Love Life by William J. Robinson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
