From: Jana Eagle >
> I am just wondering if you have some evidence about paleolithic
> childbirths and death statistics or if you are taking the modern-day
> media images of the traumatic operating room childbirth and
> transferring it onto paleolithic times.

I didn't mean to leave this impression.  From studies cited by Stefansson,
hunter-gatherers have far less trauma and labor in childbirth than do
agricultural women.  Just removing the hazards of gestational diabetes often
found in modern women ( resulting in very large babies) would improve these
statistics considerably but I suspect much more is involved.

When Gray-Hawk ( seven on May 14th ) was born, it was without doctors or
drugs.  We arrived at the mid-wives at 3:15 PM and he arrived at 5:20 after
2 hours of mild labor ( his mother made more noise concieving him ;).  As my
prediction, five months earlier, of the easiest birth they had ever seen
came true, the midwives bought six copies of my book.

After one year he weaned himself from his mother and would eat almost
nothing but Pemmican for the next year.  About the only exceptions were
watered-down fruit juice and pork rinds for teething.

Ray Audette
Author "NeanderThin"