childbirth

American  

[chahyld-burth] / ˈtʃaɪldˌbɜrθ /

noun

childbirths plural

1. an act or instance of bringing forth a child; parturition.

   a difficult childbirth.

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childbirth British  

/ ˈtʃaɪldˌbɜːθ /

noun

1. the act of giving birth to a child

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• childbirths
  plural

Etymology

Origin of childbirth

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at child, birth

Example Sentences

In 2024, BBC Sport revealed that clubs received new guidelines from FifPro on how they could support players on their return from childbirth.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

Ms. Saxbe uncovers clues about how maternal and paternal brains are restructured by childbirth, correlated to a “stronger attunement” with infants.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

Before modern medicine, however, there were limits to how large an infant's head could become before childbirth became dangerously difficult for both mother and child.

From Science Daily • Jun. 12, 2026

While the circumstances of her death remain private, a family representative told The Times that media reports stating that she died as a result of childbirth complications are not accurate.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Death in childbirth became a major hazard for human females.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari