# midwife

/ˈmɪdˌwaɪf/ (US) · /mˈɪdwaɪf/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/midwife
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. childbirth assistant

noun · CEFR B2

a professional who helps women give birth to their babies.

For teachers: a person, typically a woman, trained to assist women in childbirth and provide prenatal and postnatal care.

- The midwife arrived at the house just in time for the baby's birth.
- In many rural communities, the midwife remains the primary provider of maternal healthcare, offering support that extends well beyond the delivery room.

### 2. figurative assistant

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary

someone who helps a new idea, project, or situation develop.

For teachers: a person who assists in bringing about a specific result, project, or intellectual development.

- He was the midwife of the new peace treaty, working hard behind the scenes.
- The philosopher acted as a midwife to the revolution, providing the intellectual framework that allowed the movement to take shape.

### 3. to assist a birth

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to help a woman during the process of giving birth.

For teachers: to act as a midwife; to provide professional assistance during labour and delivery.

- She has midwifed hundreds of healthy babies during her long career.
- The senior nurse had midwifed generations of families in the small village before the new hospital was built.

Usage: The verb is transitive and takes the person giving birth or the birth itself as the object.

### 4. to facilitate an idea

verb · CEFR C2 · Literary · Academic

to help a new idea or plan come into existence.

For teachers: to facilitate or bring about the emergence of a new concept, movement, or historical event.

- The professor helped midwife the students' research project from a simple idea to a published paper.
- The diplomat sought to midwife a new era of cooperation between the two warring nations through years of patient negotiation.

## Examples

- The midwife visited the new mother at home.
- Many parents choose a midwife because they prefer a more personal and less medicalized approach to childbirth.
- While the hospital provides emergency surgical backup, the midwife remains the primary caregiver for low-risk pregnancies, overseeing the entire physiological process of labor.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.