Definition

1. Noun:

   • The process of giving birth to a child; parturition: "Childbearing" refers specifically to the act or process of a woman delivering a baby.
   • The capacity or fact of bearing children: It can also refer to the state or period of being capable of giving birth.

2. Adjective:

   • Relating to or suitable for childbirth: Used to describe things associated with the process of giving birth.
   • Of an age when childbirth is possible: Used to describe women who are within the typical reproductive age range.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Modern medicine has made childbearing much safer.
  • She dedicated her career to studying the health outcomes of childbearing.

• Adjective:

  • The hospital offers specialized childbearing classes for expectant parents.
  • Women of childbearing age are advised to take folic acid supplements.

Advanced Usage

• "Childbearing years": The period in a woman's life when she is biologically capable of having children.

  • Fertility typically declines after the age of 35 during a woman's childbearing years.

• "Childbearing hips": An informal, sometimes dated, expression describing a woman's pelvic structure as being wide or suited for giving birth.

  • (Note: This phrase is often considered outdated and objectifying.)

Variants and Related Words

• Childbirth (n): The act or process of giving birth. Often used interchangeably with "childbearing" as a noun, though "childbirth" focuses more on the single event.
• Childrearing (n): The process of raising and nurturing children from infancy to adulthood. (This is distinct from "childbearing," which is specifically about birth).

Synonyms

• Parturition (n, formal): The action of giving birth.
• Labor (n): The process of childbirth, especially the contractions leading to delivery.
• Delivery (n): The act of giving birth.

Antonyms

• Infertility (n): The inability to conceive children or carry a pregnancy to term.
• Sterility (n): The condition of being unable to produce offspring.

Adjective

1. relating to or suitable for childbirth
   • of childbearing age

Noun

1. the parturition process in human beings; having a baby; the process of giving birth to a child