title: Sex, Parity, and Scars: A Meta-analytic Review.
abstract: The ability to identify whether a female has been pregnant or has given birth has significant implications for forensic investigations and bioarcheological research. The meaning of "scars of parturition," their causes, and their significance are a matter of contention, with a substantial literature of re-evaluations and tests of the relationship between pelvic scarring and parity. The aim of this study was to use meta-analytic techniques (the methodological approach) to test whether pelvic scarring, namely dorsal pubic pitting and the preauricular groove, is a predictor of parity and sex. Meta-analyses indicated that neither dorsal pubic pitting nor the preauricular groove are predictors of parity status, while dorsal pubic pitting is a moderate predictor of sex. A weak relationship between dorsal pubic pitting and parity was identified, but this is believed to be a product of the moderate relationship with sex. This calls into question whether any causal relationship between parity and pelvic scarring exists.
authors.affiliation: School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McFadden
authors.affiliation: School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Marc F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Oxenham
mesh_terms: D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D018732:Forensic Anthropology; D006801:Humans; D010298:Parity; D036801:Parturition; D010384:Pelvic Bones / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D054881:Sex Determination by Skeleton / Q000379:methods*
keywords: forensic anthropology; forensic science; parity estimation; parturition; pregnancy; sex estimation