﻿496 The Philippine Journal of Science i9u 



The squatting position has a greater tendency to flare out the 

 ischial tuberosities than has the ordinaiy sitting posture on 

 the chair, for in the former not only the body weight but also 

 the weight of the thighs is transmitted to the ischial tuberos- 

 ities. Perhaps the custom of carrying the child astride the 

 mother's or nurse's hip may also have an effect toward the en- 

 largement of the transverse diameter of the pelvic outlet. 



Table II shows the cephalic diameters of the Filipino and 

 American child. As may be noticed, all cephalic diameters of 

 the Filipino child are smaller by slightly over 0.5 centimeter 

 to compensate for the undersized pelvis. Moreover, the oc- 

 cipitomental and bitemporal diameters are over 1 centimeter 

 shorter. The diminution of the cephalic diameters may also 

 be explained, aside from the pelvic accommodation, by the small 

 stature of the Filipinas. It has been asserted by most observers 

 that the child of the primipara is smaller than are those of the 

 multipara, but in our work we have made no attempt to deter- 

 mine this point. 



CONCLUSIONS 



From the above findings, it seems justifiable to establish the 

 following conclusions: * 



1. That the Filipino pelvis is smaller than the American or 

 European pelvis and that this may be explained by the smaller 

 stature of the Filipinos as a race. 



2. That the transverse diameters of the Filipino pelvis, except 

 the transverse diameter of the pelvic outlet, are smaller than 

 those of the European or American pelvis. 



3. That the relative enlargement of the transverse diameter 

 of the pelvic outlet may be explained by the habitual squatting 

 position that the Filipino woman assumes and by the fact that 

 the carrying of the child astride the mother's or nurse's hip may 

 also affect the child in the transverse diameter of its pelvic outlet. 



4. That the head of the newborn is proportionate with the 

 Filipino pelvis. 



5. That the cephalic diameters of the Filipino child are smaller 

 than those of the American child by a little over 0.5 centimeter, 

 with the exception of the occipitomental and bitemporal di- 

 ameters, where the shortage is over 1 centimeter. 



REFERENCES 



(1) Edgar, J. C. The practice of obstetrics. P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 



Philadelphia (1907). 



(2) Engelman, G. J. Labor among primitive peoples (1883). Cited by 



Riggs. 



