Accoucheur Policeman

In chapter 4 of Great Expectations, a reference is made by Pip of Accoucheur Policeman, in connecting with Christmas festivities.  Mrs Joe always claims of the help received by the accoucheur policeman at the time of his birth. 

• accoucheur (French) a man who assists a woman in child birth -- a male midwife or obstetrician. 

Accoucheur Policeman means a policeman who also acts as a midwife.  There is a little of Dickensian humour here. The policeman is not necessarily practising two professions.  He simply means a policeman who has helped deliver a baby, probably in emergency. The unusual combination of policeman and accoucheur makes the description comic.

The word accoucheur comes from the French word accoucheur, meaning to give birth.  In 19th century England accoucheur was a respectable medical term for male practitioner attending childbirth.

Dickens was fond of giving such exaggerated description to suit the occasion.