Mastodawn

Carl Zimmer Jul 30, 2023

Did evolution create a tradeoff between walking upright and childbirth? For my new column I wrote about a new debate about an old ideas. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/30/science/childbirth-evolution-obstetrical-dilemma.html

An Evolutionary Debate on the Risks of Childbirth

Scientists are revisiting an influential theory that the evolution of big brains made human childbirth risky.

The New York Times

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Mark Hoofnagle

@Carl_Zimmer So…child birth is safe now?

Hate to be a downer but her description of unsafe childbirth as pernicious is what is actually pernicious.

Childbirth is not, and has never been safe, and I’m a little astonished to hear an anthropologist of all things describe what historically has been the greatest cause of death of women of all time as safe.