Q&A: Beyond the obstetrical dilemma, why are humans helpless at birth?

Infant helplessness demonstrates unique social implications for human development. In a new article in developmental psychology, University of Ottawa researchers explored the helplessness of human infants as a key to human nature, asking why humans evolved unlike other mammals with strong sensory systems and weak motor systems over an extended period of time. And they looked at what that means for human development and the survival of our species.