如果费舍尔压倒性优势选择学说能够解释人类乳房的进化,那么可能会有人认为乳房会长得越来越大。不过,这个过程中有许多制约因素。首先,乳房还有另外一个重要的功能:某一天它们需要被用来给婴儿哺乳。拥有很大乳房的女性描述说她们很难用母乳喂养婴儿。婴儿难以吸住乳头,而且他们可能会窒息。被严重拖累的母亲往往需要用双手来喂养婴儿。在我们祖先进化过程中所处的环境(进化适应环境(Environment of Evolutionary Adaption))中,母乳喂养应该是很重要的。如果没有母亲的乳汁,婴儿会死亡(1)。母乳喂养需要很多时间,而更新世的婴儿可能需要比现在的婴儿所需更长的母乳喂养期。低估由于需要用双手来喂养孩子而付出的时间上的代价是不明智的。频繁的少量喂养对于母亲来说远比偶尔的大量喂养更加高效和舒适。乳汁在乳房中贮存了没几个小时后就会导致乳汁分泌的迅速较少,而乳房也会由于充血而感到不适。我们的母辈祖先希望继续采集食物和喂养婴儿的工作,而喂养每个小孩可能需要两年的时间。
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