freebirth
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Compound of free + birth. Coined by American yogini, herbalist, and shamanic midwife Jeannine Parvati Baker.[1]
Noun
[edit]freebirth (plural freebirths)
- A childbirth delivered without medical assistance or the attendance of a midwife.
- 2020 February 21, Brandy Zadrozny, “She wanted a 'freebirth' with no doctors. Online groups convinced her it would be OK.”, NBC News:
- Instead, Judith wanted to be with only her husband and her closest friend, a plan known as freebirth, or unassisted birth, by the tiny subculture of women who practice it.
- 2020 February 21, Brandy Zadrozny, “She wanted a 'freebirth' with no doctors. Online groups convinced her it would be OK.”, NBC News:
Translations
[edit]childbirth delivered without medical assistance
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Verb
[edit]freebirth (third-person singular simple present freebirths, present participle freebirthing, simple past and past participle freebirthed)
- To give birth to a child without medical assistance or the attendance of a midwife.
- 2017 August 30, Josie Taylor, Rebecca Armitage, “The rise of freebirthing: 'If there was a death of my baby ... I was capable of grieving'”, in ABC News, Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
- Figures on the number of women choosing to freebirth are not collated, but researchers and midwives believe it's on the rise.
Related terms
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Jeannine Parvati Baker (2001) Prenatal Yoga & Natural Childbirth, North Atlantic Books, page 98: “I would support this inner trust and had found the best way to express this in coining the word ‘freebirth.’”