2011
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0214
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Mechanism of birth in chimpanzees: humans are not unique among primates

Abstract: Researchers have argued that the process of human birth is unique among primates and mammals in that the infant emerges with its face oriented in the opposite direction from its mother (occiput anterior) and head rotation occurs in the birth canal. However, this notion of human uniqueness has not been substantiated, because there are few comparative studies of birth in non-human primates. This paper reports the mechanism of birth in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) based on the first clear, close-up video recordi… Show more

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Cited by 54 publications
(24 citation statements)
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“…Some have argued that this fetal emergence pattern (long considered unique to humans; Weaver & Hublin, ) appeared after Homo diverged from Australopithecus (Franciscus, ; Rosenberg & Trevathan, ; Ruff, ; Tague & Lovejoy, ; Trevathan, ; Weaver & Hublin, ). Others argue that the shift occurred much earlier (Berge & Goularas, ; Berge, Orban‐Segebarth, & Schmid, ), a view recently corroborated by observations of three captive chimpanzees giving birth to infants in the occiput anterior position (Hirata et al, ). Our finding that gelada infants are routinely born facing the mother's face is consistent with the hypothesis that the shift to the occiput anterior fetal emergence pattern typical of humans occurred after hominoids (hominins and great apes) separated from Old World monkeys.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 79%
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“…Some have argued that this fetal emergence pattern (long considered unique to humans; Weaver & Hublin, ) appeared after Homo diverged from Australopithecus (Franciscus, ; Rosenberg & Trevathan, ; Ruff, ; Tague & Lovejoy, ; Trevathan, ; Weaver & Hublin, ). Others argue that the shift occurred much earlier (Berge & Goularas, ; Berge, Orban‐Segebarth, & Schmid, ), a view recently corroborated by observations of three captive chimpanzees giving birth to infants in the occiput anterior position (Hirata et al, ). Our finding that gelada infants are routinely born facing the mother's face is consistent with the hypothesis that the shift to the occiput anterior fetal emergence pattern typical of humans occurred after hominoids (hominins and great apes) separated from Old World monkeys.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 79%
“…Despite their importance, the events surrounding parturition remain poorly understood in wild nonhuman primates (Caine & Mitchell, ; Rosenberg & Trevathan, ; Trevathan, ). Behaviors surrounding birth have been well documented in a few captive primates (e.g., patas monkeys: Chism, Rowell, & Richards, ; chimpanzees: Elder & Yerkes, ; Nissen & Yerkes, ; cynomolgus monkeys: Timmermans & Vossen, ) and reports from captivity have provided important insights into the evolutionary mechanics of the birth process (e.g., Hirata, Fuwa, Sugama, Kusunoki, & Takeshita, ; Stoller, ). However, captivity and provisioning can alter animal behavior and bodily functions (reviewed in Costa & Sinervo, ; Fusani, Canoine, Goymann, Wikelski, & Hau, ), so studies of the birth process from a greater diversity of wild primate populations are needed to advance our knowledge of the social and ecological factors that have shaped primate births.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
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“…B. Chimpanzee and neonate with ruptured gestational sac (Hirata et al, 2011). Image by permission of The Royal Society (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfd0fzX9M5g).…”
Section: Figmentioning
confidence: 99%