churching

1. (Christianity) The ceremonial blessing of a woman who has given birth.Examples: "The churching of women traditionally includes thanksgiving for the women's survival of childbirth."; "The clergyman had to dine some distance from town, and had got two churchings, three christenings, and a funeral, to perform in something less than an hour."; "As discussed in detail by Caroline Shenton, the churchings of Queen Philippa, for which the details following Isabella's birth in 1333 survive, represented a 'gigantic festival of a family whose start in life had been extremely unsteady'."countableuncountable