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ERIC Number: EJ809040
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Sep
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0002-7685
EISSN: N/A
Evolution & the Cesarean Section Rate
Walsh, Joseph A.
American Biology Teacher, v70 n7 p401-404 Sep 2008
"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." This was the title of an essay by geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky writing in 1973. Many causes have been given for the increased Cesarean section rate in developed countries, but biologic evolution has not been one of them. The C-section rate will continue to rise, because the ability to perform a safe C-section has liberated human childbirth from natural selection directed against too small a maternal pelvis and too large a fetal head. Babies will get bigger and pelvis will get smaller because there is nothing to prevent it. In this article, the author examines the possible genetic outcomes of continued C-section deliveries on the future populations.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A