postpartum
/ˌpəʊstˈpɑː(ɹ)təm/
postpartum means after giving birth (often defined as within 30 days after childbirth). It carries an Arena rating of 1588, earned across 14 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, postpartum ranks #16 of 13,220 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #171 of 13,220 for Most Elegant Words, #758 of 13,220 for Scariest Words, #2,633 of 13,220 for Most Exacting Words.
postpartum is pronounced /ˌpəʊstˈpɑː(ɹ)təm/.
Why “postpartum” is a great word
Relating to or occurring in the period immediately following childbirth. From the Latin phrase post partum, from post ("after") and partum, accusative of partus ("birth"), from parere ("to give birth"). First attested in English in 1837. Unlike "prenatal," which anticipates the event, or the more diffusely clinical "postnatal," "postpartum" is the specific, lived geography of the immediate aftermath. It is the profound hush of a room after the final push, the raw and tender ache of a body that is no longer one, and the stark, fluorescent light of a 3 a.m. feeding—the brutal and beautiful commencement of a new solitude, a life cleaved into a before and an after.
Etymology
1844, from Latin post (“after”) + partum (“giving birth”), form of partus, from pariō (“to give birth”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to bring forth”).
adj
- After giving birth (often defined as within 30 days after childbirth).“A non-hormonal birth control capsule that women can insert just before sex. A rape kit that gives victims more agency and streamlines the evidence collection process. An overhauled design for a 150-year-old tool used in postpartum vaginal tearing.”
adv
- After giving birth.“Nothing surprising there (although one relative of mine unequivocally LOVES being pregnant), but what particularly struck me was her complaint that it had messed up her feet, of all things. They had spread out and flattened under the weight of pregnancy, and hurt. It was getting on for a year postpartum and her poor feet were only just getting back to normal.”
noun
- The period immediately following childbirth.“Postpartum was hard. When I first thought about having a baby, postpartum wasn't on my mind at all. I was just excited to have a brand-new baby that I could call mine.”
Words closest in meaning
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