Is it because of the whole big head/bipedalism thing? Other mammals can pop out babies in no time and it seems like that would be way more advantageous for multiple reasons (less stress on mom and baby, not in a vulnerable position for hours in the wild, etc). Why does the norm skew towards a day rather than hours?
In: 419
It’s called the obstetric dilemma. There is selective pressure to prevent hips from getting too wide so that we can walk upright effectively, and at the same time, evolution has favored people with big brains. To solve for those competing priorities, we give birth early to underdeveloped infants and depend on cooperation with others to facilitate a more difficult delivery process.
Latest Answers