Posted on 12/12/2007 11:24:24 AM PST by blam
Why pregnant women don't fall over
18:00 12 December 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Bob Holmes
Image showing a pregnant australopithecine in bipedal posture with visible fetal load and maternal vertebrae. (Image: John Gurche)
Women do not tip over during pregnancy because their spines are built differently from men's – and have been ever since our ancestors began walking upright. The difference allows a pregnant woman to lean backward to counterbalance the weight of her developing fetus.
One problem with bipedalism is that the growing fetus sticks out to the front, shifting the mother's centre of mass forward of her hip joint, creating a tendency to tip over.
Pregnant quadrupeds do not have this problem, because the mother's centre of mass remains between her front and hind limbs throughout pregnancy.
"Were a pregnant chimpanzee to stand upright, she would experience a similar problem," says Katherine Whitcome, a biological anthropologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.
Whitcome and her colleagues studied 19 women as they progressed through pregnancy.
Bipedal adaptations
They found that the women corrected for their growing imbalance by bending backward in the lower part of their spine. Detailed anatomical measurements showed that the vertebrae of the lower back are more wedge-shaped in women than in men, which makes this bending easier.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
I’m beginning to tip over.
Somebody spent good money for this.........
How do they explain beer bellies causing wobbles but no fall downs.
Tip over with laugher I’d assume.
Useless study
I always thought it has something to do with that extra rib.
Let’s see, I fell down two flights of stairs when pregnant with my first, and could barely stand up with my second. I guess I’m an exception cause clearly had issues with balance.
Another attempt to pass off made up nonsense as some type of fact. I guess people believe that if they read it enough times it must be true. How gullible. Pfft...
I compensate by over-tipping.
I’ve tipped a few times.
No duh.
Back labor pain...puking, ack they say a woman forgets but 29yrs later I still cringe.
Only did that adventure once in life.
FREERIDER PING????
Wait a minute, I thought men and women were the same.
Now if they could only stop them from falling backwards they wouldn’t get pregnant in the first place.
Breaking news! Women different than men! Film at 11!
Weebles wobble...
Assuming said beer belly is full of beer, that's an easy question to answer: the beer inside is sloshing around, back and forth, and provides a "damping effect," if you will, that prevents the bearer of the belly from falling over. With men, it's more a problem of dynamics; with pregnant women, it's a statics problem because they can't drink while pregnant. :)
To you? Yes. To the one receiving the grant...?
Check your data! I’ve seen beer-bellies-in-formation associated with fall downs.
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