midwives
Labor room helpers
Midwives is the plural of midwife—a person, typically a woman, trained to assist in childbirth.
Midwives provide prenatal care, deliver babies, and support mothers through labor and recovery.
The profession predates modern medicine; midwives attended births for millennia before obstetricians existed.
The hospital employs twelve midwives.
Midwives delivered both of her children at home.
Conveyance of goods
- laborStrenuous effort; also childbirth
- contractionsShortened word forms
- birthingAct of delivering young
- newbornInfant just delivered
placenta · amniotic · cesarean · episiotomy · water birth · home birth · birth plan · birthing center
Trained childbirth support person
- obstetricsChildbirth medicine branch
- licensureOfficial permission to practice
- certificationAttestation of qualification
- trainingDeveloping abilities through practice
education · practice · clinic · hospital · birth center · prenatal care · continuity of care · caseload
Lactation-based infant nourishment
- lactation consultantExpert in infant nursing
- infant careAttending to babies' needs
- newborn careTending to infants
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
engorgement · bonding · swaddling · nursing · colostrum · skin-to-skin · jaundice · postpartum depression
Before birth
ultrasound · checkups · monitoring · pregnancy · trimester · due date · birth preparation · screenings
Pleading for a cause
- empowermentGaining authority or confidence
- reassuranceWords meant to calm
- coachingGuiding others to improve
- encouragementSupport spurring continued effort
pain management · breathing techniques · positioning · emotional support · informed consent · companionship · labor support · counterpressure
Female folk healer
- herbalismPlant-based healing tradition
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- ancestralOf one's forebears
- remediesTreatments that restore health
rituals · birthstool · lore · poultice · infusion · decoction · apprenticeship · oral tradition
delivery
Conveyance of goods
- laborStrenuous effort; also childbirth
- contractionsShortened word forms
- birthingAct of delivering young
newborn · placenta · amniotic · cesarean · episiotomy · water birth · home birth · birth plan · birthing center · birth ball
doula
Trained childbirth support person
- obstetricsChildbirth medicine branch
- licensureOfficial permission to practice
- certificationAttestation of qualification
training · education · practice · clinic · hospital · birth center · prenatal care · continuity of care · caseload · on-call
breastfeeding
Lactation-based infant nourishment
- lactation consultantExpert in infant nursing
- infant careAttending to babies' needs
- newborn careTending to infants
recovery · engorgement · bonding · swaddling · nursing · colostrum · skin-to-skin · jaundice · postpartum depression · healing
antenatal
Before birth
fetal · ultrasound · checkups · monitoring · pregnancy · trimester · due date · birth preparation · screenings · fetal heartbeat
advocacy
Pleading for a cause
- empowermentGaining authority or confidence
- reassuranceWords meant to calm
- coachingGuiding others to improve
encouragement · pain management · breathing techniques · positioning · emotional support · informed consent · companionship · labor support · counterpressure · massage
wisewoman
Female folk healer
- herbalismPlant-based healing tradition
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- ancestralOf one's forebears
remedies · rituals · birthstool · lore · poultice · infusion · decoction · apprenticeship · oral tradition
- birth supportdoulas
- maternal healthmaternal health, maternal care, maternal mortality, maternal support, maternal wellness
- maternity careantenatal care, maternity care, prenatal screening, obstetric care, obstetricians
- medical historyHippocrates, germ theory, bloodletting, Galen, four humors
- healthcaredoctors, nurses, hospitals, hospital, clinic
- pregnancypregnancy, pregnant, prenatal care, due date, weeks
midwivesundertakers
Funeral service professionals
morticians · funeral directors · embalmers · death doulas · coroners
- traditional midwivesUnlicensed community birth attendants
wives, housewife, wifely, old wives' tale, midwifery, fishwife, alewife, goodwife, co-wife