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Chimps give birth like humans

Nature (2011)Cite this article

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Humans are not alone in having infants that emerge facing backwards.

A key feature of human childbirth, long thought to be unique to Homo sapiens — the arrival of the baby facing backwards relative to its mother — has been observed in our closest living relatives, chimpanzees.

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References

  1. Hirata, S., Fuwa, K., Sugama, K., Kusunoki, K. & Takeshita, H. Biol. Lett. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0214 (2011).

  2. Trevathan, W. R. Human Birth: An Evolutionary Perspective (Aldine, 1987).

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  1. Joseph Milton
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Wenda Trevathan

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Milton, J. Chimps give birth like humans. Nature (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2011.247

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2011.247

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