Optimum pelvic size, pregnancy and childbirth

Broad hips for centuries have been considered a sign of fertility in women - this is the sign of a potentially good mother. Can modern medicine confirm that the size of the pelvis actually plays an important role in successful motherhood? In this case, it is not about delusions or superstitions, but about folk wisdom.

Anatomical features of the human pelvis

Anthropologists have long concluded that changes in the structure of the skeleton in general have become a payment for the uprightness of a person , and the size of the pelvis here plays an important role. Children are born unprepared for independent existence, when compared with most mammals: a human cub can not immediately follow birth after the mother, it is not equipped with protective camouflaging mechanisms.

This makes it relatively easy to carry birth, because as a result of the characteristics of the human body the birth canal is narrowed in comparison with animals, and the birth of a relatively small fetus in this case is a boon.

When registering a future mother, the gynecologist necessarily examines not only the general condition of the body, but takes into account the features of the figure - the pelvic dimensions during pregnancy do not undergo significant changes. It is important to understand that in this case everything is relative, and the parameters may be insufficient not by themselves, but rather by a large fetus.

Wide hips - easy childbirth?

Folk wisdom has long indicated the size of the mother's pelvis as a guarantee of safe motherhood. But, as already mentioned above, the fetus can be large even for the physique of the woman in good health as a whole. Elasticity of the birth canal, the possibility of surgical intervention - all this significantly increases the likelihood of a positive resolution of the burden.

Nevertheless, do not rely only on the parameters that are generous to the generous nature. The wrong position of the fetus and the possible complications of the development of pregnancy in any case are the causes of increased attention to the health of the future mother. Only the pelvic dimensions can not compensate for all possible complications, and this must be understood.

Relativity of norm of a build

At the primary examination of the pregnant woman who came to register, the doctor conducts measurements of the pelvic parameters using a special tool. In such a question as the size of the pelvis, the norm is determined depending on the type of figure of the woman. For example, the interosseous size, measured between the front iliac axes, normally ranges from 25-26 cm, but this is the norm for a European woman of medium height and average weight.

Much more important is not the size in centimeters, but the anatomically correct balance of all measurement parameters. Narrow is considered to be the pelvis, in which at least one parameter deviates from the norm in the direction of decrease by one and a half to two centimeters or more. This violates the optimal anatomically correct balance of parameters that guarantee easy physiological births with other well-off components. In the narrow pelvis, obstetricians strongly recommend prenatal hospitalization from the 38th week of pregnancy for safety reasons.