madrina

Madrina is the woman who holds a child at baptism or confirmation and takes on spiritual duties toward it. Her male counterpart is the padrino. In a baptism entry she is usually named after the godfather.

Treccani notes an old meaning, still regional, of madrina as levatrice, midwife. If a woman called madrina appears in a birth context with no baptism, consider that sense. Do not confuse madrina with matrigna, stepmother.