The study appears to have discovered why vaginal delivery is so difficult in humans

It makes sense within the scientific community that human physiology is unique, and unlike any other primates. However, this ends up making the birth of our species much more difficult. To find the causes, the researchers explored the biomechanical modeling technique, revealing some important facts.

Scientists say the shape of the human birth canal is narrow and curved at the entrance, and that the contractions that babies feel at birth need to rotate babies’ large brains, as well as their broad shoulders, nearly 90 degrees to fit their pelvis. If the baby gets stuck, the life of the baby and the mother may be in danger, and unfortunately this happens in about 6% of all births in the world.

Even today, many of the basic parts of a human pregnancy remain enigmas, and traditionally, the human pelvis must be shaped to help a person walk. However, in terms of evolution, being a bipedal animal does not favor the delivery time. The researchers explained that if the uterine entrance to the birth canal is oval and deep, the baby can slide straight out, without having to make very complex movements, as other primates do.

However, in humans, the pelvis will need to tilt more, which will eventually lead to a deeper curve in the lower back, compromising the stability and health of the spine. So, it is likely that this is why the birth canal developed and took this shape. In the case of chimpanzees, the chicks only need to turn their heads a little to get out, while the babies need to move about 90 degrees.

Even after this movement, the baby will not have a straight exit, and will need to rotate again to get the shoulders out of the birth canal, because they are wider than the head. Scientists’ research indicates, then, that the area has this shape to better support the pelvic floor, helping the bones support the abdominal organs. If the lower birth canal has a wider outlet, the stability of the pelvic floor will be improved, but the delivery will be more dangerous.

According to evolutionary studies, the birth canals of Neanderthals were similar to those of chimpanzees, indicating that this torsion is relatively recent and unique to humans. Since Neanderthals also stood and walked on both feet, just like the rest of us, it becomes interesting for scientists to understand the cause of the pelvic floor. sane man stand out.

The study was published in the scientific journal BMC Biology.

Source: Science alert