parturition

Parturition is the formal term for childbirth: the process in which a mother gives birth. It includes the changes in the body and the stages of labor that lead to the delivery of the baby and then the placenta. The word comes from the Latin parturire, meaning "to bring forth." In daily life, people usually say "labor," "childbirth," or "delivery," but parturition is more common in medicine, biology, and veterinary science.

The process is often described in three stages: dilation, when the cervix opens; expulsion, when the baby is delivered; and the placental stage, when the placenta comes out. These stages involve hormonal signals, contractions of the uterus, and physical effort from the mother.

You might see parturition in a veterinary textbook about farm animals, in a medical article about labor and delivery, or in biological research on reproduction. It is especially useful when someone wants a precise, technical word for the birth process rather than an everyday one. For example: "Researchers are studying the hormonal triggers that start parturition in different mammal species."

You would not normally use parturition in casual conversation, but it is a useful word when you need accuracy. It can refer to human birth, but it is also very common in discussions of animal birth. So when you come across it, think of the full process of giving birth, expressed in a medical or scientific style.