Human babies arrive with 100 extra bones for the same reason birth is the most dangerous event in mammalian life. Both facts ...

Human birth is far more challenging than that of other primates. In 1960, anthropologist Sherwood Washburn proposed a widely accepted explanation for the tight squeeze a baby experiences passing ...

Medical intervention in human birth has become so widespread that spontaneous delivery is an increasingly rare event. Yet convincing evidence reveals an underlying 24-hour biorhythm, reflecting a ...

According to a new study, chimpanzees, like humans, must contend with a confined bony birth canal when giving birth. In humans, the problem was exacerbated by our unique form of upright walking since ...

Women’s pelvises have become narrower over the past 150 years, according to a study of over 8000 people from three countries. There are many factors at play, but whatever the ultimate cause, it is the ...

3D simulation of the birth canal of chimpanzees with (B) the fetal head in a fully extended position, the typical head alignment in apes, and (C) the fetal head in a fully flexed position, the usual ...