Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Human childbirth is often difficult and incredibly painful—just ask anyone who’s been through it. And for a long time, childbirth seemed to be uniquely difficult for humans. But a new study suggests that we aren’t alone: Some small primates birth offspring whose heads are nearly twice the size of the mother’s pelvic area.
So how do those primates go through difficult childbirths? Why didn’t evolution make ours any easier? And what can this tell us about humankind? Flora explores these questions and more with anthropologist Lia Betti.
Guest:
Dr. Lia Betti is an associate professor of anthropology at University College London in the UK.
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. (sciencefriday.com/segments/small-primates-extreme-childbirth/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri)
Subscribe to this podcast. (pod.link/73329284) Follow our show on Instagram (instagram.com/scifri/) , TikTok (tiktok.com/@scifri) , Facebook (facebook.com/scifri) , and Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/scifri.bsky.social) @scifri and sign up for our newsletters (sciencefriday.com/newsletters/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) . Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374
Human childbirth is often difficult and incredibly painful—just ask anyone who’s been through it. And for a long time, childbirth seemed to be uniquely difficult for humans. But a new study suggests that we aren’t alone: Some small primates birth offspring whose heads are nearly twice the size of the mother’s pelvic area.
So how do those primates go through difficult childbirths? Why didn’t evolution make ours any easier? And what can this tell us about humankind? Flora explores these questions and more with anthropologist Lia Betti.
Guest:
Dr. Lia Betti is an associate professor of anthropology at University College London in the UK.
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. (sciencefriday.com/segments/small-primates-extreme-childbirth/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri)
Subscribe to this podcast. (pod.link/73329284) Follow our show on Instagram (instagram.com/scifri/) , TikTok (tiktok.com/@scifri) , Facebook (facebook.com/scifri) , and Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/scifri.bsky.social) @scifri and sign up for our newsletters (sciencefriday.com/newsletters/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) . Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374
