Skip to content

framework

Obstetrical dilemma

Long-standing hypothesis in human evolution holding that bipedal pelvic anatomy and large neonatal brain size place opposing selective pressures on childbirth.

Current clusters

science1 publisher

A 140-species review puts fetal sex inside the obstetrical dilemma

Male newborns are the heavier sex in most placental mammals the authors surveyed, which makes birth risk unequal for sons and daughters. Whether that inequality causes obstructed labour is still untested outside humans and farm animals.

Publishers:phys.org

Reality

Evidence62
Adoption
Insufficient
Hype gap+12
Incentives
Insufficient
Confidence55