In the class Mammalia, most young are cared for exclusively by their mothers. In species where mothers receive help, however, non-maternal caregivers may play a crucial role in development and life history trajectories. In turn, recipients of such care may have important impacts on caregivers of all types. In Part I of this overview, we briefly review the evolutionary barriers to widespread non-maternal care in mammals, and explain why the exceptions are of particular theoretical importance. We also summarize the current understanding of the selective forces leading to non-maternal care, and the taxa and types of caretakers amongst which it occurs. Finally, we argue for a fresh look at the categorization schemes that have traditionally been used to separate various types of mammalian non-maternal caregivers. This two-part introduction is aimed at scientists from multiple disciplines who study diverse organismal systems. It draws from the social and biological sciences literatures to provide an overview of this special issue of Physiology and Behavior's suite of methodological offerings and theoretical underpinnings.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.12.025 | DOI Listing |
Front Glob Womens Health
November 2024
Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Introduction: Perinatal and maternal mortality rates remain high in India compared to global levels, and there is significant heterogeneity in outcomes across Indian states. Many mobile health (mHealth) interventions have been developed to improve maternal and infant health outcomes in India, however it is unclear how mHealth can best support women in this culturally and resource diverse setting. Therefore, we aimed to identify mHealth interventions targeting women and their families in the perinatal period in India, identify barriers and facilitators to their uptake, and future research directions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvol Hum Sci
January 2024
Department of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1H 0BW, UK.
Among vertebrates, allomothering (non-maternal care) is classified as cooperative breeding (help from sexually mature non-breeders, usually close relatives) or communal breeding (shared care between multiple breeders who are not necessarily related). Humans have been described with both labels, most frequently as cooperative breeders. However, few studies have quantified the relative contributions of allomothers according to whether they are (a) sexually mature and reproductively active and (b) related or unrelated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommun Biol
July 2023
Mammalian Behaviour & Evolution Group, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Breeding females can cooperate by rearing their offspring communally, sharing synergistic benefits of offspring care but risking exploitation by partners. In lactating mammals, communal rearing occurs mostly among close relatives. Inclusive fitness theory predicts enhanced cooperation between related partners and greater willingness to compensate for any partner under-investment, while females are less likely to bias investment towards own offspring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Biol Sci
November 2022
Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
Nursing mothers face an energetic trade-off between infant care and work. Under pooled energy budgets, this trade-off can be reduced by assistance in food acquisition and infant care tasks from non-maternal carers. Across cultures, children also often provide infant care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLancet Child Adolesc Health
May 2022
Department of Health Promotion, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986075 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
Background: Nurturing care is crucial for children's ongoing development during the pre-primary education period, or the next 1000 days of life. We generated nationally representative prevalence estimates of access to ten basic indicators of nurturing care among children aged 3-4 years in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Methods: We applied multiple imputation and predictive modelling to data on children living in LMICs.
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