Humans not the only species with difficult births, new study finds
Small-bodied primate babies can have heads nearly twice as large as their mothers' pelvic space, suggesting that the tight fit of a baby's head through the birth canal is not unique to humans, as previously thought, a new study has found.
Findings published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution challenge the theory of an exclusively human ''obstetrical dilemma'the idea that our large heads and narrow pelvises (adapted for upright walking), have made childbirth uniquely difficult for our species, researchers said.
Co-corresponding author Nicole Torres Tamayo from the University College London's department of anthropology said, "Much of the data that informed earlier studies was flawed. It had been collected in a human-centric way that failed to consider the anatomy of other species....
