It turned out that 2 million years ago the process was much easier.
The less you know the better you sleep. It turned out that our distant, distant ancestors, who did not know how to walk on two legs, gave birth much faster and easier. No anguish and suffering. The baby literally jumped out of the mother’s womb, which was distinguished by a very wide pelvis. But then some clever guy suggested that we move exclusively on our feet, which is now what we women are doing.
Scientists have found that when our ancestors learned to walk, their pelvis began to narrow. And the process of childbirth became more difficult. Thus, females of Australopithecus sediba (the latest species of Australopithecus – higher primates with signs of upright walking) had wider birth canals than modern women. Although the Australopithecines already walked on two legs, they still actively used their arms to move, climbing trees. The legs were wider and shorter, which is good support for the large pelvis.
And our current distant relatives (not to be confused with distant ones, like Aunt Marina) give birth much faster. Chimpanzees, for example, can “shoot” in a few hours. And they won’t even have to help.
The structure of the pelvis of a person and a gorilla
In addition, with evolution, our brain and skull have grown noticeably. The baby’s head is larger, the mother’s birth canals are narrower – what a quick birth there is.
Researchers from the United States have created a digital model of the Australopithecus sediba pelvis based on fossils. We decided to find out how the birth of our ancient relative was. Anthropologists have found that the pelvis of the female Australopithecus does not have a bone structure that could restrict the baby when passing the birth canal.
This is what the birth of Australopithecus sediba looked like. The ball is the baby’s head, which easily passes through the birth canal.
Our women have the pelvic bones of such a structure and shape that babies have to do several rotations in the birth canal before birth. And this does not make the process of childbirth easier.