Women and the burden of human reproduction: An evolutionary perspective

Women carry a heavy and disproportionate burden in human reproduction. Biological, medical, and social determinants account for this burden. An evolutionary perspective can shed additional light. For the evolution of our brain, the human female took major risks to her health and life, to nourish and develop this spectacular brain in utero, to deliver its large size safely through a relatively narrow and irregular bipedal pelvis, and to care for its development for a long time after birth. It is high time for this human brain to pay women back in the currency of science, and to ease their sexual and reproductive health burden.