home birth

noun

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

Similar
home delivery
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Meanings

nounhome birth (countable and uncountable, plural home births)

plural home births · alternative homebirth

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

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

    1979, Roy Petty, Home Birth, page 5
    2 more examples

    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.

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

    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.

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

    Synonyms: home delivery

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

present singular third person home births · participle present home birthing · participle past home birthed · past home birthed · alternative homebirth

  1. intransitiveTo give birth at home.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounChildbirth taking place at home, rather than in a hospital.

Similar
home delivery

Origin

From home + birth.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French accouchement à domicile, accouchement assisté à domicile
  • accouchement à domicilechildbirth taking place at home, rather than in a hospital
  • accouchement assisté à domicilechildbirth taking place at home, rather than in a hospital
German Hausgeburt
  • Hausgeburtchildbirth taking place at home, rather than in a hospital
Portuguese parto domiciliar, parto em casa
  • parto domiciliarchildbirth taking place at home, rather than in a hospital
  • parto em casachildbirth taking place at home, rather than in a hospital
Spanish parto en casa, parir en casa
  • parto en casachildbirth taking place at home, rather than in a hospital
  • parir en casato give birth at home
Cite this entry
APA

home birth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/home%20birth

MLA

“home birth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/home%20birth. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “home birth,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/home%20birth.

Source: home birth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.