lexis4u: Childbirth

Thematic Vocabulary Unit Nº 267 v.0.6

Main Definitions

birth |n| the time when a baby comes out of it's mother's body.
"Congratulations on the birth of your daugther!"
"He only weighed 2 kilos at birth."
"What's your date of birth?"
childbearing |n| the process of being pregnant and giving birth to children.
"The trend towards later marriage and childbearing."
childbirth |n| includes both labor (the process of birth) and delivery (the birth itself); it refers to the entire process as an infant makes its way from the womb down the birth canal to the outside world.
"Where the member's plan also includes a routine maternity benefit, complications of childbirth shall also refer to medically necessary caesarean sections."
labour |n| the process of childbirth, esp. the period from the start of uterine contractions to delivery.
"His wife is in labour."
"She called me to say they had decided to induce labour."
delivery |n| the process of giving birth to a child.
"In the end, it was an easy delivery a fine baby boy."

Types of Births

natural childbirth |n| childbirth involving little or no use of drugs or anesthesia and usually involving a program in which the mother is psychologically and physically prepared for the birth process.
"We will help you with natural childbirth, or pain relief, always at your request."
caesarean section / C-section |n| a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus.
"It does not matter if your child is born via Caesarean section or the natural way."
home birth |n| when a woman gives birth at home, not in a hospital.
"I decides I wanted a home birth for my second child."
"More and more women are choosing to have home births."
multiple birth |n| when a woman has two or more babies at the same time.
"The chance of a multiple birth is about 1 in 100 for the average woman."

premature birth 1 |n| when a baby is born before the normal time.
"Many babies survive premature births."

premature birth 2 |n| a birth that takes place more than three weeks before the baby is due. In other words, after less than 37 weeks of pregnancy, which usually lasts about 40 weeks.
"Premature birth is three times more likely for twins, and delivery at 36 to 38 weeks normal."

Terms Related to Birth

somebody's birth date |n| |US| the day, month and year you were born.
"In order to register and create an M&M character the user has to enter their birth date."
somebody's date of birth |n| |UK| the day, month and year you were born.
"Please give me your name, address, and date of birth."
birth weigh |n| a baby's weight when it is born.
"Many factors may affect a baby´s birth weight."
birth certificate |n| an official document showing when and where you were born.
"In order to register, they must be in possession of the following documents: a birth certificate or substitute birth certificate."
birth rate |n| the number of babies born somewhere.
"The country's birth rate has decreased dramatically."
birth defect |n| something wrong with a baby when it is born.
"About 11% of babies have birth defects."
contractions |n| a very strong and painful movement of a muscle, especially the muscles around the womb during birth.
"She was having regular strong contractions every four minutes."
delivery room |n| a room in a hospital for births.
"Liz has taken o the delivery room immediately."
gestation / pregnancy |n| the process by which a child develops inside its mother's body before birth, or the period of time when this happens.
"The doctor may attempt to delay delivery until completion of 33 weeks gestation."

placenta |n| a flattened circular organ in the uterus of pregnant eutherian mammals, nourishing and maintaining the fetus through the umbilical cord.
"Causes of spontaneous abortion may relate to the fetus, the placenta , or the uterus."
womb / uterus |n| the part of a woman's body where her baby grows before it is born.
"You can make sure that your pregnancy is inside the womb by having an ultrasound.."

abortion |n| a procedure to end a pregnancy by removing the fetus and placenta from the mother's womb.
"There are exceptional circumstances where therapeutic abortion is lawful."

Baby and Children Definitions

neonate |n| a baby that has recently born, especially within the last four weeks.
"Recommendations for fluid restriction in a neonate are based on the experience of restricting fluid intake in adults or older children."
newborn |adj| recently born.
"A newborn baby."
"This equipment has saved the lives of a number of new born children."
offspring |n| the immediate descendants of a person.
"She was the mother of many offspring."
premature baby / preterm baby / premature infant / preemie |informal| / premie |informal| |n| an infant that is born prior to 37 weeks of gestation.
"They called a friend who had recently given birth to a premature baby for advice."
progeny |n| |formal| a person's children.
"He was surrounded by his numerous progeny."
test-tube baby |n| a baby developed from an egg that was fertilized outside the body and then implanted in the uterus of the biological or surrogate mother.
"Since the birth of the first so-called 'test-tube baby' in 1978, more than 1.5 million children worldwide have been born following IVF treatment."

Terms Related to Babies

baby a very young child who cannot yet talk or walk.
"I sat next to a woman holding a baby."
infant |n| |formal| a baby or a very young child.
"Hold your infant in an upright position to help keep the food from coming out of the nose."
benjamin |n| a youngest son.
little one |n| |spoken informal| a baby or a small child up to the age of about three.
"How old is your little one?"

Twins

twins |n| one of two children born at the same time to the same mother.
"The twins are now eight months."
"Meet my twin sister."
twin born |adj| born at the same birth.
"My wife and I had twin boys who were born prematurely and had health problems as a result."
twin brother |n| a brother born at the same time.
"One of the most intriguing parts of the book is his relationship with his twin brother, Gustavo."
twin sister |n| a sister born at the same birth.
"He shared the cave with his twin sister, as big and powerful as he was."
identical twins |n| one of a pair of twins who develop from a single fertilized ovum and therefore have the same genotype, are of the same sex, and usually resemble each other closely.
"Identical twins occur in about one in 320 pregnancies."

The Medical Profession

the medical profession |n| doctors and nurses considered as a group.
"This view is widely accepted among the medical profession."
physician |US| |formal| / doctor |n| someone who treats people who are ill, who has completed a long course of study at medical school.
"The American physician, Dr James Tyler Kent."
"If you have bad chest pains, you should see a doctor."
GP |UK| |n| a doctor who is trained in general medicine and who treats the people who live in a local area.
"My GP told me that I must lose weight."
intern |n| an advanced student or graduate in medicine gaining supervised practical experience.
"Training for the student interns will be done during the week of May 13-17."
paediatrician |UK| / pediatrician |US| |n| a doctor who treats children who are sick.
gynaecologist |n| a doctor who treats medical conditions and illnesses that affect women´s bodies.
obstetrician |n| a doctor who deals with the birth of children.
nurse |n| someone whose job is to look after people who are ill or injured, usually in a hospital.
"The nurse is coming to give you an injection."
midwife |n| a person (typically a woman) trained to assist women in childbirth.
"Again, close liaison between obstetrician, midwife , general practitioner, cardiologist, and neonatologist is vital."
nursery nurse |n| someone who has been trained to look after young children.
"During this time I have qualified and worked as a Nursery Nurse (NNEB), Registered Midwife, Maternity Nurse, Babycare Consultant, and Breastfeeding."

More Doctors

surgeon |n| a doctor who does operations in a hospital.
"One of the world top heart surgeons performed the operation."
specialist |n| a doctor with special knowledge about a particular illness, part of the body, or type of treatment.
"The new drug is being tested by cancer specialists."
"An eye specialist."
consultant |n| a very senior doctor in a hospital with a lot of knowledge about a particular area of medicine
"The consultant said that he did not think it was cancer."
paramedic |n| someone who has been trained to treat sick or injured people, especially at the scene of an accident.
"Paramedic treated him for shock."

Mothers

mother / mum-mummy |UK| |informal| / mom-mommy |US| |informal| |n| a female parent of a child.
"Janey is a full-time teacher and mother of two."
biological / birth / natural / real mother |n| the woman who gives birth to a child, regardless of whether she is the genetic mother or subsequently brings up the child.
"Normally, we inherit one copy of each chromosome pair from our biological mother, and the other copy of the chromosome pair from our biological father."
surrogate mother |n| a woman who bears a child for another person, often for pay, either through artificial insemination or by carrying until birth another woman's surgically implanted fertilized egg.
"Surrogacy can sometimes present legal and ethical issues for the parents and/or the surrogate mother."
adoptive / custodial |US| / foster mother |n| a woman who looks after or brings up a child or children as a mother, in place of the natural or adoptive mother.
"He is currently one month old. Is it possible thatt and adoptive mother can breastfeed his son and learn how to do it."