obstetrics / birth assistance
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obstetrics
The medical specialty concerned with monitoring pregnancies, carrying out births, and caring for mother and child afterward.
Er ist Facharzt für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe.
He is a specialist in gynecology and obstetrics.
The word is clearly composed of 'die Geburt' (birth) and 'die Hilfe' (help). The 's' in between is a linking s that connects the two words. So it literally means 'help during birth'.
Ohne die schnelle Geburtshilfe der Ärztin wäre es gefährlich geworden.
Without the doctor's quick birth assistance, it would have become dangerous.
You can distinguish two main uses: as the name of a medical specialty (often as part of a department) and as a description of the concrete act of helping during a birth.
Sie arbeitet in der Abteilung für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe.
She works in the department of gynecology and obstetrics.
As a medical specialty, 'Geburtshilfe' (obstetrics) is very often mentioned together with 'Gynäkologie' (gynecology). The combination 'Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe' (gynecology and obstetrics) is a fixed term for the specialty.
Die Klinik hat eine renommierte Abteilung für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe.
The clinic has a renowned department of gynecology and obstetrics.
When concrete help during a birth is meant, the verb 'leisten' (to provide/render) is used very often. The fixed expression is 'Geburtshilfe leisten' (to provide birth assistance).
Auch der werdende Vater kann eine wichtige emotionale Geburtshilfe leisten.
The expectant father can also provide important emotional birth assistance.
gynecology
'Geburtshilfe' and 'Gynäkologie' both belong to medicine and have to do with women's health. 'Geburtshilfe' is the field around pregnancy, birth, and the care of mother and child afterward. The word can also mean the concrete assistance given during a birth. 'Gynäkologie' is broader: it deals with women's medicine in general, including examinations and diseases of the female reproductive organs and the breast. Learners may confuse the words because obstetrics is often part of gynecology. When it is directly about pregnancy and birth, 'Geburtshilfe' is more precise; for general women's medicine, 'Gynäkologie' fits.
In der Geburtshilfe betreut das Team die Mutter während der Geburt.
In obstetrics, the team cares for the mother during the birth.
Für die regelmäßige Untersuchung geht Anna in die Gynäkologie.
Anna goes to gynecology for her regular checkup.