as in childbirth
the act or process of giving birth to children
in olden days many women died in childbearing
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as in gestational
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Recent Examples of childbearing
Marie-Claire Beaulieu,
The Conversation,
5 May 2026
Poor women’s childbearing, particularly among Black and immigrant populations, was increasingly portrayed as a driver of intergenerational poverty and social disorder.
—
Sonya Borrero,
STAT,
1 May 2026
Though some countries have tried to slow or reverse the trend through pro-natal policies—including cash incentives and tax breaks for childbearing, affordable childcare, and longer parental leaves—their long-term success has not been definitively proved so far.
—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
6 Apr. 2026
Around the eleventh century, in Anglo‑Saxon England, instructions for an elaborate childbearing and mothering ritual were recorded by monks in the Lacnunga, a collection of medical texts and curative prayers.
—
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Cleghorn notes that many Minoan women died between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, indicating that childbearing was most likely the cause of death.
—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Women past childbearing years often see OB-GYNs less frequently.
—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
13 Jan. 2026
That's because their children, who largely fall within the millennial generation, might be in the midst of their childbearing years.
—
Holly Garcia,
Parents,
11 Jan. 2026
As many as 1 in 5 women may have uterine fibroids during their childbearing years — and those abnormal growths may have a connection not just to reproductive health but also to heart health.
—
Emily Kay Votruba,
EverydayHealth.com,
10 Dec. 2025
Deanna Taylor,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
Many of them were young women, either pregnant or of childbearing age, when the bombs fell and have lived much of their lives under a heavy shadow of fear and stigma.
—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
In fact, for millennia the role of mothers has included not only childbearing and education but also protection over the community as a whole, especially through advocacy for peace.
—
Marie-Claire Beaulieu,
The Conversation,
5 May 2026
Poor women’s childbearing, particularly among Black and immigrant populations, was increasingly portrayed as a driver of intergenerational poverty and social disorder.
—
Sonya Borrero,
STAT,
1 May 2026
Though some countries have tried to slow or reverse the trend through pro-natal policies—including cash incentives and tax breaks for childbearing, affordable childcare, and longer parental leaves—their long-term success has not been definitively proved so far.
—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
6 Apr. 2026
Around the eleventh century, in Anglo‑Saxon England, instructions for an elaborate childbearing and mothering ritual were recorded by monks in the Lacnunga, a collection of medical texts and curative prayers.
—
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Cleghorn notes that many Minoan women died between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, indicating that childbearing was most likely the cause of death.
—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Women past childbearing years often see OB-GYNs less frequently.
—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
13 Jan. 2026
That's because their children, who largely fall within the millennial generation, might be in the midst of their childbearing years.
—
Holly Garcia,
Parents,
11 Jan. 2026
As many as 1 in 5 women may have uterine fibroids during their childbearing years — and those abnormal growths may have a connection not just to reproductive health but also to heart health.
—
Emily Kay Votruba,
EverydayHealth.com,
10 Dec. 2025
Adjective
In the United Kingdom, there is a midwife assigned to every childbearing individual, regardless of the risk status of the pregnancy.
—
Deanna Taylor,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
Many of them were young women, either pregnant or of childbearing age, when the bombs fell and have lived much of their lives under a heavy shadow of fear and stigma.
—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for childbearing
Noun
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This led to vast transformations in surgery, childbirth, handwashing, sterilization and infection control, per NIH and the Science History Institute.
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The jet-setting pair have two biological daughters, 4-year-old Bella (whose twin brother died at childbirth) and 8-year-old Alana.
Adjective
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By 2022, thanks to strong advocacy, the laws around gestational surrogacy had changed, and Cohen was able to welcome his daughter in New York.
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House Bill 352 requires improvements to insurance coverage for gestational diabetes care during pregnancy.
Adjective
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Advances in childbirth — including prenatal care, Cesarean sections, blood transfusions, antibiotics and neonatal intensive care — also dramatically improved maternal and infant survival compared with colonial America.
-
The program's goal is to lessen drive times for families seeking prenatal, delivery and postnatal care.
Adjective
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That's because of superfecundation, which means that one female cat can become pregnant by multiple male cats at the same time.
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Balogun was born in New York only because his Nigerian mother, visiting from England, was seven months pregnant and denied boarding for the flight back to London.
Cite this Entry
“Childbearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/childbearing. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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