lying-in [AS, licgan, lying; L, in] , 1. adj., designating the time before, during, and after childbirth. The term is historically associated with the time a woman would spend in bed in the period surrounding childbirth. 2. (Obsolete) adj., designating a hospital that provided care for women in childbirth and the puerperium. 3. n., the condition of being in confinement, or childbed.
