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When bonobos give birth, other females gather around to support and protect the mother. These 鈥渕idwives鈥� bely the notion that assistance during birth is unique to humans.

Until now there has only been one scientific account of a wild bonobo giving birth, . On that occasion, other females stayed close to the mother.

Now of the University of Pisa in Italy and her colleagues have described three births among captive bonobos at primate parks in France and the Netherlands.

On each occasion, the mother made no attempt to isolate herself from the group. Other females showed a keen interest in the mother, inspecting her genital area and sniffing the birth fluid. Some placed their hands under her, as if trying to grab the baby as it emerged. One was seen swatting away flies.

Some of these companion females had given birth before, and their behaviour suggested they knew what was going on, says Demuru, who is now based at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris.

The companions were protective towards the mother, keeping males and the human observers away. 鈥淲e believe they want to show the female that they are there to support and protect her in the phase in which she鈥檚 most vulnerable,鈥� says Demuru.

Life in the matriarchy

The females in a bonobo group are usually not related. However, they form close bonds, helping them to assert dominance over males.

This is a stark contrast with chimpanzees, bonobos鈥� closest living relatives, in which females tend to be more solitary and competitive. Female chimpanzees tend to give birth in isolation.

The close relationships between female bonobos explain why birth is such a social event for them, says Demuru. 鈥淚t makes sense because they鈥檙e highly social animals. Isolation is not part of their behavioural repertoire.鈥�

Evolution of midwives

In humans, assistance during birth is the norm in almost all cultures. Some researchers have claimed this is a uniquely human trait, made necessary by our large brains and narrow pelvises 鈥� a combination that ought to make childbirth exceptionally difficult.

However, more recent research . For instance, there is evidence that .

Demuru argues that birth assistance has arisen in bonobos and humans because both live in social groups with strongly bonded females. Midwifery may have been present in our last common ancestor and lost by chimpanzees. Alternatively, it might have evolved separately in the human and bonobo lineages.

If it is true that childbirth is unusually difficult in humans, birth assistance might have made it possible for us to evolve the traits responsible, such as big brains, says Demuru.

Little is known about birth in other primates, because it often takes place at night. However, there have been reports of birth assistance in black snub-nosed monkeys, and . 鈥淲e really do not know how widespread these behaviours are,鈥� says Demuru.