What does childbed mean?
Childbed is a noun referring to the bed on which a woman gives birth, and more broadly to the state or period of childbirth itself. The word is a natural compound of 'child' and 'bed', formed in the manner of Old English, and it has been part of English for many centuries. Today it sounds distinctly formal or old-fashioned, and it survives mainly in set phrases: most famously 'childbed fever', the historical name for puerperal fever, an infection once responsible for the deaths of large numbers of mothers in the days after delivery. Writers of historical fiction and historians still use phrases like 'in childbed' or 'brought to bed' when describing labour in earlier centuries, where childbirth typically took place at home under a midwife's care. For general purposes, modern speakers prefer 'childbirth' or 'delivery', but childbed remains a precise, evocative term wherever the traditional setting of birth matters.
nounThe bed in which a woman gives birth to a child; by extension, the state or condition of being in labour and giving birth.
- The bed on which a woman gives birth.
- The condition or period of giving birth, especially in historical or medical phrases such as 'childbed fever'.
"In the eighteenth century, puerperal fever carried off many women in childbed."
"She was attended by two midwives as she lay in childbed."
"Doctors of the era knew little of how infection spread from woman to woman in childbed."
Rarely pluralised; the singular is standard even in generic statements about childbirth in past eras.
"The midwife had attended countless childbeds over her long career."
"Childbed fever" was once the leading killer of new mothers — until doctors like Ignaz Semmelweis proved that simply washing their hands could save lives.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of childbed
Childbed is a straightforward compound of 'child', from Old English 'cild', and 'bed', from Old English 'bedd'. The compound reflects a long Germanic tradition of forming such terms, and it has been in English since at least the medieval period. It shares its first element with related compounds such as childbirth, childhood, and childlike, all built on the same Old English root rather than borrowed from Latin or French.
How childbed is actually used
A somewhat formal or historical term today, surviving chiefly in fixed medical and historical expressions such as 'childbed fever' and the phrase 'in childbed'. In everyday modern English, 'childbirth', 'delivery', or 'labour' would be used instead.
Easily confused with childbed
Childbed refers to the bed or state of childbirth, while childhood refers to the period of being a child.