Freebirth

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A childbirth delivered without medical assistance or the attendance of a midwife.

    "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."

Verb
  1. 1
    To give birth to a child without medical assistance or the attendance of a midwife.

    "Figures on the number of women choosing to freebirth are not collated, but researchers and midwives believe it's on the rise."

Example

More examples

"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."

Etymology

Compound of free + birth. Coined by American yogini, herbalist, and shamanic midwife Jeannine Parvati Baker.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.