Obsolete term for a midwife; replaced by 助産師 in modern Japanese. Used in historical contexts or older literature.
See also: 助産師
In the past, midwives assisted with births at home.
A midwife appears in this novel.
maieutics; Socratic midwifery
Compound of 産 (birth) and 婆 (old woman). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term has been used since the Edo period.