childbearing 1 of 2

noun

ˈchī(-ə)l(d)-ˌber-iŋ How to pronounce childbearing (audio)
Definition of childbearingnext
as in childbirth
the act or process of giving birth to children in olden days many women died in childbearing

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childbearing

2 of 2

adjective

as in gestational

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of childbearing
Noun
But Steinem lived to see the rise of a powerful backlash against her vision of feminism, with reproductive rights, motherhood, childbearing and gender roles once again at the center of the country's culture wars. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026 Not least because the hips—or rather, a wide pelvis—are considered a symbol of femininity, fertility, and childbearing capacity, both from a cultural-historical and an evolutionary-biology perspective. — Kelly Niesen, Glamour, 24 July 2026 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
Adjective
Egg freezing, formally called oocyte preservation, is one of the clearest ways to extend a woman’s childbearing years. — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for childbearing
  1. childbirth
  2. gestational
  3. prenatal
  4. pregnant
Noun
  • Cantrell has a history of unattended or undisclosed pregnancy and childbirth and was close to delivering, according to the relative’s account, described in a police record.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Older Armenian beliefs imagined that supernatural beings could threaten the woman after childbirth or harm her baby.
    — Shushan Karapetian, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of childbirth
Adjective
  • Pregnancy and childbirth are costly processes, increasing cardiac output, hypercoagulability, abdominal obesity, and risk of gestational diabetes.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The procedure is banned in 13 states, while others either have certain gestational limits or no limits, according to the organization.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of gestational
Adjective
  • The study is part of an ongoing research project that explores how a form of brief interpersonal psychotherapy called MOMCare, which is specially tailored to treating prenatal depression, affects pregnant women with depression and their babies.
    — Catherine Demers, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
  • In 2024, Michigan State launched Rx Kids, the country’s first universal and unconditional prenatal and infant cash program.
    — Mona Hanna, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of prenatal
Adjective
  • Thus, while treatment plans vary, most women with MBC face multiple barriers not only to becoming pregnant, but also to carrying a healthy baby to term.
    — Petra Guglielmetti, Glamour, 29 Oct. 2026
  • In August 2025, family and medical staff contacted Prosper police after learning the girl was pregnant.
    — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of pregnant

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child's play
childbearing
childbearings
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Cite this Entry

“Childbearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/childbearing. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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