puerpera

noun

1. A woman undergoing puerperium; a woman whose uterus is still enlarged from pregnancy.

   “I saw a very serious hemorrhage result from relaxation of the uterus on the eleventh day when the puerpera had been frightened by a domestic quarrel.”

   “Since one of the principal reasons for keeping the puerpera in a recumbent posture is avoidance of strain upon relaxed and weakened supporting structures by a large heavy uterus, the length of the stay in bed is not made a matter of routine”

   “A statistically significant circadian rhythm for urine volume was revealed in 6 of 10 pregnant women in the first trimester and in 6 of 9 puerperas on the 7th puerperal day.”

   “Abdominal ultrasound of the puerpera usually does not require a full bladder, because the enlarged uterus directly abuts the anterior abdominal wall and can be scanned without difficulty.”

2. (rare)A woman who has recently given birth.

   “An often proved Remedy to bring away what is, or should not be left in the Womb of a Puerpera, though it were Part of a dead Child.”

   “"I must acknowledge, if Kolletschka's disease and the disease from which I saw so many puerperae die, are identical, then in the puerperae it must be produced by the self-same engendering cause, which produced it in Kolletschka."”

   “Among the ancient Iranians, the puerpera, like the menstruating woman, was regarded as "unclean".”

   “With the exception of the very nearest, — for instance, the husband and the mother of the puerpera, — visitors should be kept away until she has been out of bed for a few days, and even then admitted only in small numbers and one at a time.”