gestation

n. pregnancy, process of carrying young in the womb; growth period

Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time (multiple gestations). According to the National Center for Health and Statistics there were over 136,000 multiple human births documented in the United States in 2003(NCHS). The time interval of a gestation is called gestation period, and the length of time the offspring have spent developing in the uterus is called gestational age.
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Gestation /ges·ta·tion/ pregnancy. See also gestation period, under period. gesta´tional ges·ta·tion n. [more]Gestation - Community and Resources

Noun
1. the period during which an embryo develops (about 266 days in humans)
(synonym) gestation period
(hypernym) biological time
(part-meronym) term, full term
(derivation) have a bun in the oven, bear, carry, gestate, expect
2. the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus
(synonym) pregnancy, maternity
(hypernym) physiological state, physiological condition
(hyponym) trouble
(part-meronym) cleavage, segmentation
(derivation) have a bun in the oven, bear, carry, gestate, expect
(class) fetal movement, foetal movement
3. the conception and development of an idea or plan
(hypernym) construction, mental synthesis
(derivation) gestate, conceive, conceptualize, conceptualise

n. gestation, pregnancy, process of carrying young in the womb; growth period