6th October 2005, 3:08 PM
Actually, it would be more accurate to say it leaves the womb because otherwise the process of reproduction would be critically flawed. They have to exit some time. They may be ready a few days or even a few weeks before that moment, but the signals determining when the child is born are somewhat imperfect. And, I really don't think it would be advantageous to the species if instead of developing to give birth after 9 months, we instead developed so that the mother could actually hold the baby in the womb for a longer period of time. That would mean the child would not be learning. Learning is a very important aspect of growth that can't occur very well at all in the womb. They exit for that all important stage of growth. It would hinder the development of humanity's greatest survival tool if the child remained in the womb for a longer period of time than what was needed.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)