Thesaurus results for BIRTH PANG

birth pang

noun

Definition of birth pang

as in contraction

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of birth pang Because the ending of what feels like the end of the world is actually just the birth pangs of a new creation. — Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Oct. 2025 Such monstrosities, we were told, were merely the birth pangs of a new and mostly peaceful nation. — Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024 The new Germany couldn’t tell its birth pangs from its death rattles. — Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Sep. 2024 And the Affordable Care Act, for all of its birth pangs and flaws and the Republican efforts to repeal it, remains the law of the land. — Peter Baker, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024 His knack for conveying compositional struggle ingeniously reflects his theme — a nation’s birth pangs. — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2020

Recent Examples of Synonyms for birth pang

Noun

The value of this indicator was last illustrated in 2022, when two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction were originally reported, leading some to opine that the US was in a recession.

— Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
The survey was, however, conducted before the release of June’s advance economic indicators report, which showed ⁠a moderate contraction in the goods trade deficit and retail inventories unchanged.

— Reuters, NBC news, 30 July 2026

Definition of contraction

Noun

Clancy, a 35-year-old former labor and delivery nurse at a hospital in Boston, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder for the killings of her children Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and 8-month-old Callan.

— Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 26 July 2026
However, this knowledge is ineffective without the wisdom healthcare delivery frequently requires; thus, these services cannot replace healthcare professionals, but can only augment their services and abilities.

— Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026

Definition of delivery

Noun

Casou worked at a health clinic as a labor and delivery nurse, helping expectant mothers through childbirth.

— Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
Common triggers of this type of hair loss include childbirth, surgery, severe illness, high fever and significant emotional stress.

— Daryl Austin, USA Today, 31 July 2026

Definition of childbirth

Noun

The couple struggled with infertility and recurring pregnancy loss before deciding to look into foster care and adoption routes.

— Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026
Largeman-Roth notes that its folate content is especially important for heart health and healthy pregnancies.

— Lynn Andriani, Martha Stewart, 31 July 2026

Definition of pregnancy

Noun

Not least because the hips—or rather, a wide pelvis—are considered a symbol of femininity, fertility, and childbearing capacity, both from a cultural-historical and an evolutionary-biology perspective.

— Kelly Niesen, Glamour, 24 July 2026
In fact, for millennia the role of mothers has included not only childbearing and education but also protection over the community as a whole, especially through advocacy for peace.

— Marie-Claire Beaulieu, The Conversation, 5 May 2026

Definition of childbearing

Noun

Filicetti also said Shaw recently gave birth to another baby prematurely through a cesarean section and that her husband is taking care of the child.

— Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
His ability to perform a cesarean section — something Doc couldn't dream of — forces the town to reckon with an ugly part of their collective conscience.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026

Definition of cesarean section

Noun

This pattern spans over a decade, indicating a remarkable fidelity to the Ashburton River and its surrounding creeks as critical parturition sites.

— Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
His mother paced the spacious birthing stall, working off the pains of parturition, with half the placenta, neatly tied up by an attending stable hand, still hanging out of her.

— William Finnegan, The New Yorker, 15 May 2021

Definition of parturition

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“Birth pang.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birth%20pang. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of birth pang

noun

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