The oldest evidence of birth trauma in a human skeleton has been discovered by a researcher in Canada, confirming that the dangers of childbirth are nothing new to our species.
Susan Pfeiffer, from the University of Toronto in Canada, has found an example of stress injury to the pelvis in the skeleton of a 2000-year-old female found in South Africa.
According to newscientist.com, humans are unique among hominids in having a birth canal that is nearly identical in size to the neonatal head. This means that it is inevitable that natural variations will cause some women to have a pelvis that is too small for childbirth.
The skeleton examined by Pfeiffer had an unusually narrow pelvis, which she said appears to have led to an injury to the pubic symphysis, a joint running down the midline of the pelvis, during childbirth.
“Resulting deterioration of her joints probably caused a lot of pain, yet she stayed active,” said Pfeiffer. “This suggests that her group had knowledge of pain-numbing substances.”
Jeremy DeSilva, from Boston University, estimates that childbirth first became difficult around 4 million years ago.
We are fortunate that with modern medicine and an alert medical staff, a narrow pelvis does not mean birth trauma is inevitable.
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – birth trauma attorneys
