Author: Mary Nolan
Author title: Emerita Professor of Perinatal Education, University of Worcester, UK; Editor, International Journal of Birth and Parent Education
Description: The ‘grandmother hypothesis’ attempts to answer the question of why human females often survive many years after their childbearing days are over. Anthropologists propose that the care provided by grandmothers enables their daughters to enjoy healthier pregnancies and less risky childbirths. Grandmother help may have been critical to the success of the human species because being able to delegate care of children who are dependent for far longer than any other mammalian children, freed mothers for further pregnancies. This article explores the evidence for the benefits conferred by grandmothers and situations in which they can be harmful to the wellbeing of new families. 

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