maternity: Meaning and Definition of

ma•ter•ni•ty

1. the state of being a mother; motherhood.
2. motherly quality; motherliness.
3. a section of a hospital devoted to the care of women at childbirth and of their newborn infants.

1. of, pertaining to, or for the period in which a woman is pregnant or has just given birth to a child.
2. for mothers during and after childbirth or for the care of their newborn babies: a maternity hospital.
3. for wear by pregnant women: maternity clothes.