obstetric

[ uhb-ste-trik ]

/ əbˈstɛ trɪk /

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adjective

of or relating to the care and treatment of women in childbirth and during the period before and after delivery.

of or relating to childbirth or obstetrics. Abbreviations: OB, ob

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Also ob·stet·ri·cal

[uhb-ste-tri-kuhl] /əbˈstɛ trɪ kəl/ .

Origin of obstetric

First recorded in 1735–45; from New Latin obstetrīcus “pertaining to a midwife,” alteration of Latin obstetrīcius, derivative of obstetrīx, equivalent to ob- ob- + ste- (combining form of stāre to stand) + -trīx -trix

OTHER WORDS FROM obstetric

ob·stet·ri·cal·ly, adverbnon·ob·stet·ric, adjectivenon·ob·stet·ri·cal, adjectivenon·ob·stet·ri·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby obstetric

obsolete, obstacle, obstacle course, obstacle race, obstet., obstetric, obstetrician, obstetrics, obstinacy, obstinate, obstipation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use obstetric in a sentence

The major obstetric organizations, including The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, also urge pregnant people to get vaccinated.
How Misinformation About COVID Vaccines and Pregnancy Took Root Early On and Why It Won’t Go Away|by Duaa Eldeib|August 4, 2022|ProPublica
Suzanne Baird, an obstetric nursing and health care consultant and a member of the board of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, said delays could be one reason why.
Even Exceptions To Abortion Bans Pit A Mother’s Life Against Doctors’ Fears|Maggie Koerth (maggie.koerth-baker@fivethirtyeight.com)|June 30, 2022|FiveThirtyEight
That the medical community can’t even agree on which cord defects contribute to stillbirth, Collins said, is due to an “educational void” in obstetric medicine.
What umbilical cord tests can and can’t tell us about stillbirths|Purbita Saha|July 8, 2021|Popular-Science
Many of her patients live in rural areas, where hospitals have been closing obstetrics units for decades.
Pregnant in the pandemic? It helps to have good Wi-Fi.|Cat Ferguson|December 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review

“Nonsterile gloves and sterile obstetric and surgical gloves were depleted or absent in all four counties,” the report reads.
$10,000 a Month for Ebola Fighters|Abby Haglage|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Whether the Dutch obstetric-care system contributes to this relatively high mortality remains unclear,” it says.
Michelle Goldberg Answers a Critic’s Distortions of Her Home-Birth Argument|Michelle Goldberg|July 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
She is the only midwife for whom an obstetric maneuver has been named (Gaskin maneuver).
Doctors Need Midwives: Ina May Gaskin on the U.S. Maternity-Care Crisis|Ina May Gaskin|May 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The obstetric forceps were for so long a time kept secret that they were of small benefit at first to the obstetric art.
An Epitome of the History of Medicine|Roswell Park
Well (rejoins Sokrates) — and my obstetric science has pronounced all your offspring to be mere wind, unworthy of being preserved!
Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume III (of 4)|George Grote
Sixteen of the principal obstetric practitioners of Great Britain were examined on this point.
The Physical Life of Woman:|Dr. George H Napheys
Adams had translated from the Greek the works of Paul of Ægina, the father of obstetric surgery, and printed the first volume.
The Book-Hunter|John Hill Burton
I have employed it in obstetric practice with entire success.
The Matron's Manual of Midwifery, and the Diseases of Women During Pregnancy and in Childbed|Frederick Hollick

British Dictionary definitions for obstetric

obstetric

obstetrical

/ (ɒbˈstɛtrɪk) /

adjective

of or relating to childbirth or obstetrics

Derived forms of obstetric

obstetrically, adverb

Word Origin for obstetric

C18: via New Latin from Latin obstetrīcius, from obstetrix a midwife, literally: woman who stands opposite, from obstāre to stand in front of; see obstacle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012