Published 03.15
Human births aren’t the only ones that can be awkward. Some primate babies have heads almost twice the size of their mothers’ pelvic floor space, according to new research.
It is not only the heads of human babies that have difficulty passing through the relatively narrow birth canal. Researchers at UCLA have found, among other things, through 3D modeling, that several small primates have similar or even worse challenges.
A study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution shows that in skull monkeys, for example, the baby’s head can be almost twice as large as the mother’s pelvic space. Gorillas and orangutans have a larger space.
The researchers also discovered evolutionary adaptations. In galagos, for example, the pelvic bones never fuse, which facilitates passage.
