obstetrics

American  

[uhb-ste-triks] / əbˈstɛ trɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the branch of medical science concerned with childbirth and caring for and treating women in or in connection with childbirth. OB, ob

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obstetrics British  

/ ɒbˈstɛtrɪks /

noun

1. (functioning as singular) the branch of medicine concerned with childbirth and the treatment of women before and after childbirth

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obstetrics Scientific  

/ ŏb-stĕt′rĭks /

1. The branch of medicine that deals with the care of women during pregnancy and childbirth.

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obstetrics Cultural  

1. A branch of medicine that deals with the care of women during pregnancy, labor, and the period of recovery following childbirth.

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Etymology

Origin of obstetrics

First recorded in 1810–20; see origin at obstetric, -ics

Explanation

In medicine, obstetrics is the specialty that focuses on pregnancy and childbirth. A pregnant woman usually chooses a doctor or midwife who works in obstetrics. Doctors who care for patients before, during, and just after the birth of a baby are called obstetricians, and their field is obstetrics. Many of these doctors also practice as gynecologists — specialists in all women's medicine. The earliest definition of obstetrics is "the science of midwifery," from the Modern Latin obstetricus, "pertaining to a midwife," which has the root word obstetrix, "midwife," or literally "one who stands opposite."