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Tattoos on ancient Egyptian women appear to ask for protection during childbirth
- willyt 4y agoFair enough, in 1900 in the UK something like 1 in 5 births had either the mother or the child die.[0] [0] Partially remembered stats from somewhere. Possibly history of medicine GCSE textbook read in 1990’s. Could be wrong. Someone else can Google it.
- EliRivers 4y agoAye. Human pregnancy is an absolute mess. Far and away the worst of the primates, which themselves are pretty bad amongst the mammals. It's like a war between mother and child, each pursuing a path that will kill the other, and if they make it through the nine months, there's that final stage where human biology really shows another major design flaw (so to speak - "design" is of course entirely the wrong word for this mess).
- kqr 4y agoI can't find the article now but I remember reading someone arguing it's not like a war, but an actual war. The child is designed to take advantage of every last concession the body of the mother can provide, and the mother in turn has developed defense mechanisms such as the uterus, which is a very hostile place for a fetus but protects the maternal body from the worst of it. Try to grow a fetus in any other body part and it will consume its host like the worst parasite. It's definitely an adversarial relationship.
- 0xfffafaCrash 4y agoRelated: https://aeon.co/essays/why-pregnancy-is-a-biological-war-between-mother-and-baby https://aeon.co/essays/why-pregnancy-is-a-biological-war-bet... https://theconversation.com/pregnancy-cooperative-paradise-or-conflict-driven-battle-between-mother-and-child-58564 https://theconversation.com/pregnancy-cooperative-paradise-o... https://radiolab.org/episodes/everybodys-got-one https://radiolab.org/episodes/everybodys-got-one I feel like I should add some kind of warning regarding the above content. It frames the situation in what I find to be somewhat unsettling terms.
- kqr 4y agoThe first link there is to the article I remember! Thanks.
- isthisthingon99 4y agoIn my experience from the outside, pregnancy makes women happier.
- kqr 4y agoI suspect you are victim to sampling error. Pregnancy is a very individual experience, with a broad range of reactions.
- isthisthingon99 4y agoThat's why I qualified it smarty pants.
- skinnymuch 4y agoAnd that’s why they qualified their statement. To give people immediate info to remember your experience may not be typical.
- isthisthingon99 4y agoHe somehow "knew" I was victim to sampling error. His reading comprehension is terrible.
- exolymph 4y ago"I suspect" doesn't mean "I am absolutely certain" so maybe your own reading comprehension is the issue?
- isthisthingon99 4y agoBut you see, I put "knew" in quotes. So looks like your reading comprehension isn't that great either.
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- irrational 4y agoAnd then they grow up and become teenagers and it gets really bad.
- jjtheblunt 4y agoIs that because hips mechanics on humans are optimized for femurs close for upright walking?
- lkrubner 4y agoIn her book (and later a television show) "Call The Midwife", the author Jennifer Worth recalls that while she was in school she picked up a medical book from the 1890s and she read this sentence: "Should labor continue for more than 10 days, the services of a doctor should be asked for."
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- dr_dshiv 4y agoOne interesting type of childbirth magic in India and the Islamic world used magic squares. Why would contemplating the arithmological coherence of magic squares help a woman give birth? Maybe, just maybe, it would bring the woman’s mind off the present pain and provide a calming effect. https://shwep.net/oddcast/bink-hallum-on-magic-squares/ https://shwep.net/oddcast/bink-hallum-on-magic-squares/
- fortran77 4y agoIt's interesting that other peoples that were in contact with the Egyptians, or were aware of their ways, had strict prohibitions against marking their skin: https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.19.28?lang=bi&aliyot=0 https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.19.28?lang=bi&aliyot=0 And, I'll add, the people who had these restrictions are still here, and the Egyptians of this era have been conquered by the Arab world and this culture no longer exists.
- pasquinelli 4y agois it interesting?
- fknorangesite 4y agoWhat are you trying to say here?
- selimthegrim 4y agoPeople are still tattooed in Egypt, usually peasants IIRC
- Kukumber 4y agoGiving birth is violent, we should push for in-vitro birth as soon as possible The only way to make sure we can safely reproduce during space travel / planet missions
- otabdeveloper4 4y agoNo thanks.
- Kukumber 4y agoif you don't experiment; you are at the mercy of mother nature if you don't experiment; you let your enemies master the bio-science including stem-cell engineering being able to create babies that are cancer immune, allergy immune, virus immune with an enhanced brain including vision with ultrasounds detection capabilities if you don't experiment; you'll end up being an Ape that shit itself and need to wipe the poop with toilet paper, while your enemies will become ascended humans sounds funny, but has lot of meaning
- otabdeveloper4 4y agoThis sci-fi story is not as fun as you think.
- Kukumber 4y ago"you want to go to the moon? HERESY, BURN HIM! WITCH!"
- otabdeveloper4 4y agoI don't really. There's no air up there, and nothing but rocks. But you be my guest.
- Kukumber 4y agoi know we live in a selfish society, but did you know the earth and the sun are not immortal?
- aarondf 4y agoWhy do we no longer unwrap mummies, as the article states?
- BorisTheBrave 4y agoI expect it's impossible to do so without damaging them, and it's no longer necessary with modern imaging techniques.