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
Technically, all human babies are born premature. All other animals come out fully functional, able to walk and run. Because of our big heads and big brains, only women that can give birth to premature babies can produce a baby small enough that won’t kill the mother. In a weird way, evolution has selected for humans that are born premature. This reveals what an incredible advantage being a smarter animal is, to the point that bigger, stronger, more physically viable members are discarded by nature for smaller, smarter ones.
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