obstetrician

American  

[ob-sti-trish-uhn] / ˌɒb stɪˈtrɪʃ ən /

noun

• obstetricians
  plural

1. a physician who specializes in obstetrics. OB, ob

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obstetrician British  

/ ˌɒbstɪˈtrɪʃən /

noun

1. a physician who specializes in obstetrics

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• obstetricians
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of obstetrician

First recorded in 1820–30; from Latin obstetrīci(a) “midwifery” (noun use of feminine of obstetrīcius ) + -an; see origin at obstetric

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Explanation

If you were born in the United States, probably the first doctor you ever laid eyes on was an obstetrician, a medical doctor who delivers babies. In many parts of the world, it’s more likely that a midwife would welcome you into the world. But even though an obstetrician is a medical doctor and can be male or female, the name goes back to the Latin word for midwife, obstetrix, the woman who "stands in front [of the woman having the baby]." Obstetricians are often called “O.B.,” for short, and an O.B. who also treats diseases of the female reproductive system is called an “O.B.-G.Y.N.,” “obstetrician-gynecologist.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

obstetrician obstetricians

The Lib Dems are calling for a consultant obstetrician to be present on every labour ward at all hours, one-to-one midwifery care for every woman in labour, and recruit an extra 300 consultant midwives.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Yet because of their uncommon family structure, it wasn’t until just minutes before the obstetrician cut into her belly that the father of her child got permission to go with her into the operating room.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026

Throughout her first pregnancy, Wang Yifan had lots of questions, which she usually put to renowned obstetrician Duan Tao -- or rather, an AI clone of the top Shanghai-based doctor.

From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026

“Patients are unaware that their babies are getting a lot of interventions in the first few hours of life,” said Griffin, an obstetrician who voted for the change.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

Their obstetrician suspects the baby suffered from chromosomal damage.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

But that stuff doesn’t make her a fertility doctor, or even a scientist who has contributed meaningfully to the evidence base that obstetricians like me use in our work.

From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026

Meanwhile professional societies representing obstetricians continue to say pregnant women should use acetaminophen to treat pain and fever.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

Hospitals like Renk Referral have lost half their staff, including surgeons, obstetricians, paediatricians, putting an enormous strain on the remaining medics.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2025

This a big complaint among obstetricians and advocates, she said, because when it comes to the reports as they are now, “no one understands them.”

From Salon ● May 29, 2024

Does this mean that fat obstetricians deliver babies that have one set of personality characteristics, and skinny ones deliver babies that have quite different characteristics?

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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