The Evolutionary Origins of Obstructed Labor: Bipedalism, Encephalization, and the Human Obstetric Dilemma

@article{Wittman2007TheEO,
  title={The Evolutionary Origins of Obstructed Labor: Bipedalism, Encephalization, and the Human Obstetric Dilemma},
  author={Anna Blackburn Wittman and L. Lewis Wall},
  journal={Obstetrical \& Gynecological Survey},
  year={2007},
  volume={62},
  pages={739-748}
}
Obstructed labor is a common complication of human childbirth. In parts of the world where access to emergency obstetric services is limited, obstructed labor is a major cause of maternal mortality. Women who survive the ordeal of prolonged obstructed labor often end up suffering from an obstetric vesicovaginal fistula or another serious birth injury that leaves them crippled for life. Compared with the other higher primates (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans), these problems are… 
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This article reviews the research in pelvic architecture and cephalopelvic relationships from the subfields of evolutionary biology, paleoanthropology, bioarchaeology, medical anthropology, and medicine, juxtaposing it with historical, ethnographic, and global maternal health analyses to offer a biocultural examination of maternal mortality and reproductive risk management.
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