#15 Pity the hyena mother

FACT OF THE DAY: It turns out that our bodies are not the only ones that are badly designed for childbirth. Hyenas give birth through their CLITORIS!

In a previous post I wrote about us humans being relatively badly designed for childbirth compared to the other great apes. (Post #3 http://pregnancyandchildbirtharoundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011/10/childbirth-are-our-bodies-designed-for.html).  Because of our large brain size our babies have big heads, and because we walk upright our pelvis has a small hole – the combination of these two factors can be lethal for mother and baby.

When you think about it, this is a pretty major design fault. No doubt some population geneticist could explain the costs and benefits to me, but from a species point of view (never mind the individual woman’s point of view) it seems odd to kill off one generation in producing the next.

#13 How much sex is enough?

FACT OF THE DAY: Having sex just once cannot make a baby according to some cultures - they believe that a couple needs to have sex repeatedly over a number of days or even weeks to create a foetus

Ok so before you get too excited, you may have gathered that we're talking conception here, rather than satisfaction...

Here I will be describing the “keep having sex every day until you’re sure you’re pregnant” approach, as followed by quite a number of cultures around the world.

#11 Would you have an affair to get pregnant?

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FACT OF THE DAY: Without infertility treatment, in some cultures sleeping with someone else may be the only way to get pregnant. 

At first glance, sleeping with another man to get pregnant seems pretty extreme behaviour, doesn’t it?   However, imagine yourself in a scenario where the following is true;

1. Your marriage is an arranged marriage, rather than a love marriage

2. If you don’t get pregnant, it is very likely your husband will either divorce you or take a second wife

3. Having children and being a mother is literally the only acceptable way of life; not having children will mean you are a social outcast

4. Although women are generally blamed for infertility, you know your husband is the reason you aren't getting pregnant

5. There is no available infertility treatment for men

Under these circumstances what ‘resourceful’ woman wouldn’t consider the possibility of finding an alternative man to father her child!?