“She was in labor”の意味は?

人気テレビドラマ『Law and Order』を観ながらETCマンツーマン英会話のロレット先生(西大井/熊谷)のレッスンを受けています。Law and Orderはロレット先生お薦めのテレビ番組。ドラマの前半は刑事が容疑者を追跡し逮捕するまで、後半は弁護士や判事がその事件の被告にどのような判決を求めるのか裁判の様子を描いた、2段仕立てのストーリーになっています。刑事と容疑者、弁護士と裁判官、そして刑事同士、弁護士同士と、様々な人々が交わす、様々なタイプの英語に触れることができます。

さて、今日はこんな場面から。“She was in labor”とは、どのような意味なのでしょうか?

Ed Green:
Anybody see anything?

Jordy:
Just the couple who found the vic.

Ed Green:
Where are they?

Jordy:
She was in labor, so I took down their info and let ‘em go.

Joe Fontana:
You’re a soft touch, Jordy.

“She was in labor” means she was having a baby, she was about have a baby.
So that’s a long process, right?
For the beginning of the process when she was really going to have a baby, that is called as being in labor.
Sometimes it’s a couple of hours, sometimes it’s a half a day.
At the very beginning, they are looking for a taxi to take her to a hospital.
She was just about to the have baby pretty soon.

—–

“She was giving birth.”
“She was having a baby.”
So there is a small nuance difference here.
“Giving birth” really means the baby is coming now.
“Having a baby” is maybe a little loose of the time wise.
“In labor” means the time that final process starts to the time the baby is born.
So it may be a few hours.
“Giving a birth” is the last part of final process basically.
So you can use giving birth about to give birth.

in labor
陣痛を起こして、分娩中

give birth
赤ちゃんを産む

have a baby
出産する

■テーマにしたダイアログ
・『LAW & ORDER』シーズン15　第3話「正当防衛」THE BROTHERHOOD

■出演
・ETCマンツーマン英会話のロレット先生(西大井/熊谷)

■聞き手
・青樹洋文

◆使用楽曲 (BGM)
“Movie Star * (The Making Of X) by Loveshadow

◆ポッドキャストのダウンロードや購読は、iTunes – Podcast – 「RadioETC」からも可能です。