childbed

American  

[chahyld-bed] / ˈtʃaɪldˌbɛd /

noun

1. the circumstance or situation of a woman giving birth to a child; parturition.

   to lie in childbed.

---

childbed British  

/ ˈtʃaɪldˌbɛd /

noun

1. 1. (often preceded by in) the condition of giving birth to a child

   2. ( as modifier )

      childbed fever

---

Etymology

Origin of childbed

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200; see origin at child, bed

Example Sentences

At the top of the episode, an uncomfortably pregnant Queen Aemma foreshadows her fate: “The childbed is our battlefield,” she tells her daughter, Princess Rhaenyra.

From New York Times • Aug. 31, 2022

“The childbed is our battlefield,” she said, and we saw how that turned out.

From New York Times • Aug. 21, 2022

Faced with a doctor-led maternity ward in which maternal deaths from the dreaded childbed fever were significantly higher than in the midwife-run clinic there, he racked his brain for clues as to why.

From The Guardian • Mar. 18, 2020

In the next five years Marie disburdened herself of two girls and a boy, died in childbed in 1652.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lady Minisa Tully had died in childbed, trying to give Lord Hoster a second son.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin