Motherhood in human and nonhuman primates

About this book

Within the disciplines of anthropology, medicine, psychology and zoology, the primate mother-infant relationship has been studied extensively in terms of either its evolution, adaptive function, causation, disruption or consequences. Between these disciplines, however, there has been only limited exchange of theory and evidence relating to the study of motherhood, and this is true for human motherhood specifically and primate motherhood in general. This situation needs rectifying because a clear and detailed understanding of the biosocial regulation of human motherhood is best achieved using a comparative and interdisciplinary approach. Edited by two primatologists and a child psychiatrist, this book contains the proceedings of a recent symposium where the theory and evidence relating to the biosocial regulation of motherhood were integrated across the primate order. Seventeen contributors, representing many of the world's leading groups engaged in research on primate mother-infant behaviour, present their very latest ideas, experimental findings and theoretical interpretations. The application of the evidence from studies of nonhuman primates to human maternal care, and vice versa, is discussed. The major emphasis is on improved understanding of human motherhood, including clarification of the unique aspects of its biosocial regulation. The book should provide a major impetus for future research into primate motherhood at the interface of the natural, social and clinical sciences.