[Ads-l] "Drop"

[Charles C Rice]

I have heard about babies dropping (intr) for many years and this conversation convinced me to look it up. As I understood it--not an expert in midwifery--it had something to do with the positioning of the fetus lower in the pelvis in preparation for birth. Some people would use the timing or extent of this event to predict the baby's sex. I don't see anything like this meaning in OED. I'm not aware of any strong critique of OED regarding gender bias in word selection or defining, but this omission might be an example of such.

When Does Baby Drop? What is Lightening in Pregnancy?: https://www.peanut-app.io/blog/when-does-baby-drop
May 11. 2023--blog entry with an explanation, "lucky for you, we’re here to drop some baby-dropping knowledge."

What does it feel like when baby drops – 8 telling signs! September 10, 2020: https://kiindred.co/pregnancy/labour-and-birth/what-does-it-feel-like-when-baby-drops/
"Your baby dropping is also often referred to as ‘lightening’ or being ‘engaged’" 
These other two terms are also not included in OED with this meaning.

Karen Williamson, The Caesarian Controversy, Xenia Daily Gazette, Xenia, Ohio. Dec 2, 1982, Page 4
https://newspaperarchive.com/xenia-daily-gazette-dec-02-1982-p-4/
"During the second pregnancy the baby dropped to the head or down position, so I knew she was not likely to be breech. Two weeks ahead of my due date, I went into labor..."

I've pushed it back a little further to 1978 using newspaperarchive.com but will have to continue this search later. My guess is it will go back pretty far if we find the right publications, those intended for women with information about pregnancy and birth issues. Possibly nursing or midwife training materials.

Clai





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