childbed means the final stage of pregnancy; confinement. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 75 out of 100.
childbed is pronounced /ˈt͡ʃaɪl(d)bɛd/.
Why “childbed” is a great word
CHILDBED — [Noun] The physical state of a woman during and immediately after giving birth, or the bed itself used for that labor and recovery. From Middle English child bed, a compound of child ("offspring") + bed ("resting place"); first attested before 1200. Unlike "childbirth" (which specifies the active process of delivery) or "confinement" (which suggests a prolonged, abstracted period), "childbed" grounds the profound biological event in a tangible geography. It is the straw-stuffed mattress in a darkened room, the sweat-dampened linens clutched during a contraction, and the specific, iron-tinged scent of the air days after the travail—the tangible site where life emerges, and from which, for centuries, so many mothers did not rise.
Etymology
From Middle English child bed; equivalent to child + bed.
noun
- The final stage of pregnancy; confinement.
- The bed upon which a baby is born.