I hear of women in my community and across the world either having stillbirths or dying during the process of birth all the time. Why?
How can a dog or a cow give birth in the dirt and turn out fine, but if humans did the same, the mom/infant have a higher chance of dying? How can baby mice, who are similar to human babies (naked, gross, blind), survive the “newborn phase”?
And why are babies so big but useless? I understand that babies have evolved to have a soft skull to accommodate their big brain, but why don’t they have the strength to keep their head up?
In: Biology
Part of the answer is not the pressure on human childbirth, but the pressures on *wild animal* birth & rearing.
Many (non-human) animals are at risk from predators while giving birth, so the birth has to be somewhat faster and easier. Humans would be too, but we developed protective tribes, and later, safe buildings. Those animals don’t have a soft mattress to give birth onto, so their young have to be tough enough to drop onto the ground and be okay most of the time. If they were not, that species would immediately go out of existence.
Some animal babies, like deer, also have to be able to walk on the first day. But some animals, like birds, can be sheltered and fed without moving, so they are pretty “useless” too.
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