home birth

• homebirth

From home +‎ birth.

home birth (countable and uncountable, plural home births)

1. Childbirth taking place at home, rather than in a hospital.

   Synonym: home delivery

   • 1922, American Library Association, Booklist Books, A Selection, page 17:

     It covers hygiene and diet of pregnancy, clothing, simple and inexpensive preparations for a home birth, and the early care and training of the baby.

   • 1979, Roy Petty, Home Birth, page 5:

     There is some indication, though, that the rate of home births may be substantially greater than official estimates suggest.

   • 2006, Marsden Wagner, Born in the USA, How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First, page 193:

     A woman in the Netherlands having a low-risk pregnancy can choose to give birth at home or in the hospital, but there are significant incentives for choosing home birth.

home birth (third-person singular simple present home births, present participle home birthing, simple past and past participle home birthed)

1. (intransitive) To give birth at home.