couvade

American  

[koo-vahd, koo-vad] / kuˈvɑd, kuˈvad /

noun

1. a practice among some peoples, as the Basques of Spain, in which a man, immediately preceding the birth of his child, takes to his bed in an enactment of the birth experience and subjects himself to various taboos usually associated with pregnancy.

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couvade British  

/ kuvad, kuːˈvɑːd /

noun

1. anthropol a custom in certain cultures of treating the husband of a woman giving birth as if he were bearing the child

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Etymology

Origin of couvade

1860–65; < French (now obsolete), literally, a hatching, sitting on eggs, equivalent to couv ( er ) to hatch (< Latin cubāre to lie down) + -ade -ade ¹; cf. covey

Explanation

Couvade is a cultural practice where the husband of a pregnant wife takes to bed or simulates labor when the child is being born. The word couvade comes from the French verb couver, meaning "to hatch" or "to brood," reflecting the idea of the father sharing in the birth process. Though the concept of couvade might seem unusual to outsiders, it is often viewed as a way for the father to empathize with his pregnant partner. Couvade can vary widely, from simply resting in bed to engaging in rituals that mirror what the mother is going through.

Example Sentences

Men, of course, cannot bear babies despite the romantic notions called couvade, whereby the father writhes in bed when the mother goes through labor.

From Time Magazine Archive

A common ceremony is the "couvade": the pregnant woman ignores her condition as best she can, while the husband secludes himself, sticks to a careful diet.

From Time Magazine Archive

And here, at once, we meet with, perhaps, the most curious point in the habits of the Indians; the couvade or male child-bed.

From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 2 by Yule, Henry

This authority also mentions that the French call husbands who have well-developed mammae "la couvade;" the Germans call male supernumerary breasts "bauchwarze," or ventral nipples.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

This fantastic story no doubt represents a dream, but does it contain a reminiscence of the couvade, where, after the birth of the child, the father goes to bed?

From Ulster Folklore by Andrews, Elizabeth