cô đỡ

Cô đỡ đang chăm sóc một người mẹ và em bé sơ sinh trong phòng.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Midwife: A person, traditionally a woman, who is trained to assist women during childbirth. This term is now considered somewhat dated or formal in modern Vietnamese, with "nữ hộ sinh" being more common.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ngày xưa, cô đỡ là người quan trọng nhất trong làng khi có phụ nữ sinh con. (In the past, the midwife was the most important person in the village when a woman gave birth.)
  • Bà tôi kể rằng bảy người con của bà đều được đón đời bởi cùng một cô đỡ. (My grandmother said all seven of her children were delivered by the same midwife.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "cô đỡ" carries a historical and traditional connotation, often associated with community-based, experiential knowledge rather than formal medical training.

Variants and Related Words

• Nữ hộ sinh (n): The modern, standard term for a (female) midwife or nurse specializing in childbirth.

  • Cô ấy là một nữ hộ sinh có kinh nghiệm tại bệnh viện. (She is an experienced midwife at the hospital.)

• Bà đỡ (n): An older, more colloquial term for a midwife, similar to "cô đỡ" but implying an older woman.

  • Mẹ tôi sinh tôi tại nhà với sự giúp đỡ của một bà đỡ. (My mother gave birth to me at home with the help of a midwife.)

Synonyms

• Midwife: A person trained to assist in childbirth.
• Accoucheuse: A formal, often archaic, term for a midwife (from French).

Related Idioms

• While there are no direct idioms with "cô đỡ," the role is central to traditional sayings about birth and community.
  • Nhờ cô đỡ, mẹ tròn con vuông. (Thanks to the midwife, both mother and child are safe and sound.) This is a common blessing for a successful birth.