Language tip of the week: baby

In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. These tips are usually based on areas of English which learners find difficult, e.g. spelling, grammar, collocation, synonyms, etc.

This week’s language tip helps with talking and writing about having a baby:

talking about a baby
unborn child or foetus medical a baby when it is developing in its mother’s body:
There is strong evidence that smoking can affect the unborn child.
newborn a baby who was born very recently
infant a baby who is too young to walk or talk

talking about being pregnant
pregnancy the time when a woman has a baby developing in her body:
It was an easy pregnancy. ♦ Maria felt sick throughout her pregnancy.
be having a baby or going to have a baby to be pregnant:
She’s having another baby in the autumn.
be expecting (informal) to be pregnant:
Did you know that Sarah is expecting?
antenatal used for describing medical care that is given to women who are pregnant:
I’ve got an appointment at the antenatal clinic tomorrow.
maternity relating to the period before and just after a baby is born:
maternity clothes ♦ six months’ maternity leave

when a baby is born
birth the process of being born
delivery the process of helping a woman with the birth of her baby:
an easy delivery ♦ the delivery room
labour the period of giving birth, from the time a woman starts feeling pains until the time the baby is born
contractions or labour pains the pains that a woman feels while giving birth
midwife someone who is trained to help women give birth
caesarean a medical operation to deliver a baby by making a cut in the woman’s stomach
miscarriage the birth of a baby before it has developed enough to stay alive
premature used for describing a baby who is born before the usual time
stillbirth a birth in which the baby is born dead