afterbirth

American  

[af-ter-burth, ahf-] / ˈæf tərˌbɜrθ, ˈɑf- /

noun

1. the placenta and fetal membranes expelled from the uterus after childbirth.

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afterbirth British  

/ ˈɑːftəˌbɜːθ /

noun

1. the placenta and fetal membranes expelled from the uterus after the birth of the offspring

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afterbirth Scientific  

/ ăf′tər-bûrth′ /

1. The placenta and fetal membranes expelled from the uterus following the birth of a mammal.

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Etymology

Origin of afterbirth

First recorded in 1580–90; after + birth

Example Sentences

He showed me one young lamb barely an hour old, its mother still licking the afterbirth off.

From BBC

Because they feed primarily on cow afterbirth and calf carcasses, they help clean up messes and reduce labor time.

From Salon

For once, Deborah feels what it's like to be upstaged, whether by her ego, her prejudices, or, at a clarifying low point, an animal's afterbirth.

From Salon

I could almost taste the dough, yeasty and full like afterbirth.

From Salon

“It was years later,” says Reed-Allen now living in Urbana, Md., “when I realized afterbirth had been left inside me and that I could have died.”

From Washington Post