Birth is the process of a baby or young animal coming out of its mother and starting life outside the womb. It can also mean the beginning of something new, like the birth of an idea.
From Old Norse “byrðr,” meaning “birth” or “that which is borne,” brought into English by Viking influence. It is related to words about carrying and bearing.
We use “birth” for ideas and nations as well as babies because our brains treat new things like living beings arriving in the world. Saying “the birth of a movement” makes it feel organic and almost inevitable.
Discourse around birth has historically centered cisgender women while often excluding or erasing the experiences of trans men and non-binary people who give birth. Medical and legal language has also long treated women primarily as mothers, narrowing their social roles.
When discussing childbirth in general, prefer phrases like “people who give birth” unless you are referring to a specific individual who uses a particular gender identity. Avoid assuming all women give birth or that only women give birth.
["childbirth","labor and delivery","people who give birth"]
Women, midwives, and nurses have driven major advances in safe childbirth and maternal health, but their expertise has often been minimized relative to male physicians in historical accounts.
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