postnatal
/poʊstˈneɪtəl/adjective
postnatal is spelled P-O-S-T-N-A-T-A-L: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, postnatal means “After being born, of or pertaining to the period immediately after birth (of a baby)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in postnatal?
| Letters | 9: P-O-S-T-N-A-T-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is postnatal?
Postnatal appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce postnatal?
- US /poʊstˈneɪtəl/
- UK /pəʊstˈneɪtəl/
Postnatal has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-postnatal.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-postnatal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with postnatal
Also written: post-natal (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What does postnatal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
After being born, of or pertaining to the period immediately after birth (of a baby).
postnatal development
- 2
proscribedOf a mother, after giving birth.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Postnatal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of or pertaining to the period immediately after birth:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | postnatal, post-natal |
| German | postnatal, postpartal |
| Portuguese | pós-natal |
| Spanish | postnatal |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does postnatal come from?
From post- + natal. First use appears c. 1831.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).