the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. The state of a woman bringing forth a child, or being in labor; parturition.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. Literally, the bed in which a woman gives birth to a child; hence, the act of bringing forth a child or the state of being in labor; parturition: as, “women in child-bed,” Arbuthnot, Aliments.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child
Word Usage
"Charlotte in childbed; it has turned to a royal daughter whose death meets no divine design, only "inscrutable decrees.""