Daily AncestorAccoucheur
An accoucheur was a man, usually a physician, who delivered babies; the French word was used for male birth attendants and early obstetricians.
From the 1700s, male doctors increasingly attended births, especially for better-off families, and called themselves accoucheurs. A female birth attendant was an accoucheuse, though midwife remained the common word.
The term appears in doctors' advertisements, directories and medical records more than in census occupation columns.
As seen in a recordNewspaper notices and medical directories
Dr. W. Lyman, accoucheur
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Accoucheur." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/accoucheur. Last checked 2026-10-01.