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This is a careful study of obstetrical mechanics in monkeys, apes, and extinct hominids in order to understand the present crisis in human reproduction. Current obstetrical problems have an anthropological origin. Cesarean section, almost unknown at the beginning of the century, is now considered necessary in more than 25% of deliveries. By studying the evolution of anatomical structures and the mode of delivery among other primates, strong reasons are apparent for the present crisis in human labor and delivery. This unique study points the way to further evolution of the human birth process.
List of contents
Foreword by Frank A. Chervenak and William J. Ledger
Obstetrical Mechanics and Evolution
Anatomy and Physiology of Parturition in Primates
Factors Affecting the Different Pelvic Shapes
Obstetrical Mechanics in the Human Species
Obstetrical Mechanics in Hominids: General Principles
Parturition in Rhesus Monkey: Report of Twelve Cases
Obstetrical Mechanics in Pongids
Obstetrical Mechanics in Lucy
Obstetrics in STS 14
The Mechanism of Birth in Homo erectus
Obstetrical Mechanics in Arago 44
Obstetrical Mechanics in Neanderthals
Perspective Evolution of Human Obstetrics
Bibliography
Index
About the author
M. MAURICE ABITBOL, M.D., is Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Jamaica Hospital in Jamaica, New York, where he teaches obstetrics and gynecology. He has done and is currently doing major research work at various university centers, including State University of New York at Stony Brook.
