Difference between 出産 and お産

Question

Based on the dictionary definitions listed on WWWJDIC (which I cannot link due to the design of the website), the two terms have similar definitions.

I am wondering if there is any difference between the two.

Is one more technical than the other, and / or is one more formal than the other?

Are there any other differences?

Answer 1

• お産 is almost never used in technical/academic contexts, just as お水, お米, お財布 and so on are never used in academic articles.
• In everyday situations, whichever is fine, and they are interchangeable as long as they are used as a simple noun. It's almost a matter of personal taste. But お産 may sound a little bit politer, warmer and/or more "humane", whereas 出産 sounds a little bit more matter-of-factly. Some nurses may mainly use お産 when they talk with mothers and 出産 when they talk with physicians.
• Only 出産 works as a (transitive) suru-verb. (初めての子を)出産する is fine but お産する is ungrammatical.