Why is giving birth harder the higher you are in the food chain?
613269
The difficulty involved in birthing isn't related to place in the food chain.\n\nPolar bears are top predators and birthing is so easy that the females quite often don't even wake up for the event. In contrast giraffes are just another herbivore with countless predators and can have severe birthing difficulties.\n\nAnd of course if we are allowed to compare fish and people as you did, well their are plenty of fish that are just as high on the food chain as people are, and they have no birthing difficulties at all.\n\nThe fact is that humans are amongst the very, very few animals that have any serious difficulties giving birth. That is a result of some anomalous quirks in our evolutionary history. It has nothing to do with our place in the food chain.\n\nHumans walk upright, and that means that our pelvis  has had to move to run almost parallel to the spine rather than sitting at right angles to it as it does in most mammals. That alone would make birth difficult. But to complicate things further humans evolved high intelligence and large brains. So now we have to try to squeeze Mann infant with an oversized head out through a hole that is undersized.\n\nOf course that causes difficulties. Nothing to do with place in the food chain.
89954
because we are the stronger sex. can you imagine a man on the rag, or having a baby. the world would stop. a man couldnt handle the pain
496195
Well, it all starts when you're pregnant.. your hormone levels shoot up and stay up. Then when you have the baby, they drop really fast, so your body is basically in shock mode. Your level of estrogen drops, which is what regulates that. If you are breastfeeding, it can take longer for those hormones to get back to where they need to be because of prolactin, which you produce when you are breastfeeding. It counter-acts the estrogen and can make you produce less lubrication then normal. I always tell patients to use a lubricant if it is uncomfortable. There is nothing that can be done until your hormones stabilize. If you aren't breastfeeding and are still having problems, I would talk to your doctor.
1030082
The more milk your baby drinks or you pump out, the more you will produce. (gradually)
997565
It is pretty common in the US.  Nobody is sure just why it happens, but it is less likely if you breastfeed and if you have help with housework and care of older children so that you can care for your baby.  It still can happen, and it is more likely with women who have a history of depression.  It is much less common in non-Western societies, possibly because they have a better support system for new mothers.
399207
it has to do with hormones fluctuating and the body craves different nutriets to suplement. This is in most womens cases for a lot of younger women they see older women get away with and use it as an excuse.
507203
Because some woman have low  pregnancy hormone  levels and its hard to pick up until their a couple months along in their pregnancies. And have to rely on the blood test to pick them up . I know because i have the same problem.  I hope this helps.
710580
I went through maternity once... and yes, your insides really do get "pushed" up higher, so you might get a lot of wacky sensations, like that thump, thump, thump in your neck from changes in regional blood pressure.... very unpleasant.\nBut it's perfectly natural.
2812
no, that answer isn't right.  It has to do with weaker stomach muscles when you are born, at least that is what my OBGYN told me.
1008424
well, basically the reason you body retains more weight in that area is due to a lot of factors.  In our bodies, when you eat more calories than the ones your body need for its metabolism, the body smartly (?) packs those extra calories in the form of fat, saving calories and energy for the future. In pregnancy there's this huge amount of hormones (estrogens, progestagens, etc) that make your body going to a lot of changes in order to keep this little person inside of you alive.  But some of this hormones also produce the weight gaining you are complaining of. But dont loose hope... there's a few tips you can do to improve this...\n1. Drink a lot of water!, instead of instant juices or sodas, water can give you the hidratation you need, without the calories..\n2. Excercise regularly!, yeah, its hard to say it, but you dont have to go to a gym, you can simply walk around your neighborhood for half an hour everyday... do this, and i assure you'll see results after a few weeks\n3. Eat healthy, i.e. no fats, no big meals, no junk food, more veggies and no candy (cakes or whatsoever), instead of candy, you can eat fruit... its way better.... and healthier... :)
876884
fast food is the obvious culprit, but the change of our way of life is the root of the problem....   we drive instead of walking, mothers work and are so tired they opt for an easy option, we want food NOW, and then again, the publicity drive to increase your intake of food, the popularity of take away outlets....  there is nothing stopping you from saying "no" to fastfood, it is a matter of choice
1017158
Funny you should bring this up, because my mom had four children, the first two were breast fed, and my brother and I were not. We all have college degrees, so I don't really see the difference.
205739
Oddly enough it is drinking more water and avoiding salty things, it also helps to sit and elevate your legs for brief periods of time.  I had that same problem with two of my pregnancies.
298062
It's genetics... and a lower caloric intake based upon a high veggie to meat ratio diet.
1181615
Cow's milk can give any human the runs.  It's not human milk, so we all have a bit of an irritation to it, some just have it more than others (lactose intolerant).  I think a baby's system is more sensitive to it as it hasn't fully developed yet.
482984
The food (trophical) chain is based on trophical relationships between organisms (predator-pray) and viruses use human and other animals as hosts not as food. Even other parasites aren't higher than human in a food chain because it's a very complex calculation that has a lot to do with mass and number of organisms belonging to the food chain... And yes, someone was right, there are some animals that could eat a man and they could be higher in a food chain but food chain doesn't describe all the trophical relationships in nature, it's just an example! People (even teachers) often forget that...
99021
why would pregnant women have it any harder than non-pregnant or men?  Other than walking up and down the steps...