Why Pregnant Women Don’t Topple Forward
December 5, 2008
Ever wondered how women of our species handle that extra load during pregnancy? How do they lean back normally handling ant sort of front weights, without any back pain? Well to know that better we should put our attention towards the evolution biology.
Walking on two legs and utilizing our hands for something else is a great advantage we have over the four-legged species. However, for the females of our species, this vertical position of the vertebrae can compromise in ‘carrying a baby’.
A recent study suggests that the scientists probably have the answer finally. Despite of the fact that weight is carried in front by the women, research suggests women’s ‘lower back and hip joints’ are different from a man’s in girth and other diameters helping them to adjust the ‘center of gravity’.
In case of the four-legged species, the tummy is hanging down and the spine being comparatively straight, balance does not get affected with the baby growing inside. Whereas in humans the woman carrying a baby inside has to lean backwards to prevent self from falling over while the abdomen is enlarged.
The new researches have thrown some light on this situation of how the spine has adapted itself to the ‘challenges of a vertical life’. In the male of our species, we have two backbones allowing the spine to arch back, while we females have the gift of three backbones to support the extra leaning of our spines, while carrying a baby.
And we have the bones shaped in a way to allow the extra extension. Males are deprived of these special spine bones, as well as the females of the four-legged species.
This adaptation of the skeletal system takes off some stress from the ‘back muscles’, as we lean back to balance our growing abdomen.
It is still a lot we have to go through while carrying a 9-month fetus, however, this pain would have been excruciating without this remarkable spinal adaptation.
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