Childbirth was difficult and dangerous for our ape-like ancestors, much as it is for women today. A new study of the pelvises of Australopithecus suggests that labour exerted powerful forces on their pelvic floors – meaning Australopithecus mothers risked perineal tearing. “We show that Australopithecines are quite similar to modern humans,” says Pierre Frémondière, a midwife at Aix-Marseille University in France. “If they had lots of deliveries, probably they would have a greater risk of pelvic floor disorder.” For modern humans, vaginal childbirth requires a lot of force, as a large-headed baby is forced through a relatively narrow pelvis. One region that is prone to damage is the pelvic floor, a sheet of muscles that links the left and right halves of the pelvis. Many women tear their pelvic floor during labour, and it’s been estimated that 1 in 4 women experience pelvic floor disorders such as incontinence or organ prolapse. Frémondière and his colleagues wanted to find out if similar difficulties afflicted our extinct ancestors. They focused on Australopithecus, which lived in Africa between …