PUSH@IT
Paleo-obstetric Understanding via Simulation and Heuristic Artificial Intelligence Tools
Human birth is risky, presenting hazards for both mother and child. This is due in part to the tight fit between the infant's head and the birth canal. The project will investigate the timing and evolutionary trajectory of this precarious birth process by investigating the size and shape of the hip bones, maternal metabolism, and bio-cultural factors (e.g., position of the mother’s body during labour). Through the application of machine learning methods, and via combining MRI scans, birth simulations and metabolic data derived from isotope-labeled water, the study plans to elucidate the complex origins of modern birth difficulty.
Funding by the Leibniz Collaborative Excellence Grant
KA 438/2022
Meet the team members! 😀
Laura Watson
PhD Student
Hello! I’m a Canadian PhD student living in Germany who’s interested in non-invasive approaches to biological anthropology, human osteology, and paleo-obstetrics. Put simply, I want to knowー why is childbirth still so hard? I’m interested in exploring the obstetrical dilemma from a computational perspective by elucidating why humans have evolved into our current forms and how it relates to bipedal locomotion, and its subsequent impact on labor and delivery.
Emma Swaim
Masters Student
I am joining the PUSH@IT project from Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen where I am currently enrolled as a student in the masters program in archaeological sciences and human evolution. My research is part of an institutional collaboration between Tuebingen and Dr. Webb’s project at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum. My interests in the evolution of childbirth stems from both my background in biological anthropology and personal interests cultivated by my previous experiences working with children and new mothers. My thesis involves applying 3D geometric morphometrics to investigate how childbirth has changed throughout the archaeological record to hopefully elucidate the influence of certain secular trends on birth difficulty. Specifically, I will be examining obstetrically relevant regions of the bony pelvis and compiling stature estimates to collectively test the idea that birth complications in past populations are the consequence of certain ecological conditions rather than the evolutionary trade-off proposed under the “obstetrical dilemma” hypothesis.
Check out our latest publication on the energetics of pregnancy 🤰🏼
Cordey, Webb and Haeusler 2023.pdf
