Disease Proof

The study, published tomorrow in Nature, explains that women's spines are built differently from men's spines.


The study shows that the lower part of a woman's spine is built to curve more during pregnancy. That adjustment helps women hold their center of gravity while pregnancy pushes their waistline way beyond their hips.

"Pregnancy presents an enormous challenge for the female body," researcher Katherine Whitcome, PhD, says in a news release.

"The body must change in dramatic ways to accommodate the baby, and these changes affect a woman's stability and posture. It turns out that enhanced curvature and reinforcement of the lower spine are key to maintaining normal activities during pregnancy," says Whitcome, who is a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University's anthropology department.