Parturition and pelvic changes.

A detailed analysis of the female bony pelvis in relation to parity status was made. A total of 198 complete pelves were inspected for five features considered to be associated with pregnancy and parturition. During final analysis two features were eliminated. Three remaining features - dorsal pubic pitting, pre-auricular grooves, and grooves located at the site of interosseous ligament insertion were found to be significantly related to partirution. Other findings of interest were: (1) pits and grooves acquired through pregnancy and parturition appear to become obliterated in old age, (2) the preauricular groove is the most sensitive indicator of pregnancy and parturition, (3) moderate-large pitting in the dorsal pubic region rarely occurs in nulliparous females, and (4) it is doubtful that more precise statements than "no children" and "one or more children" can be made on the basis of skeletal remains alone.