Scientific Illustration

ordinary-radical:

one day this will happen to me

“What limits fetal growth during pregnancy? The OD [obstetrical dilemma hypothesis] says it’s the pelvis—implying it’s a unique constraint due to bipedalism. But the EGG [Energetics, Growth, Gestation] hypothesis suggests that the primary constraint on fetal growth and gestation length is maternal metabolism (energetics, growth, gestation). Mothers give birth when they do because they cannot possibly give anymore energy into gestation and fetal growth. And when you look at the data available on pregnancy and lactation metabolism in humans… it shows that right around 9 months of gestation, mothers reach the energetic throughput ceiling for most humans.” Read more here: That [obstetrical dilemma] really tied the [human evolution] together.

(via scarygirl)