After carrying an unborn fetus inside her body for approximately nine years, a mother died of severe malnutrition.
The woman, who was born in the Congo, went to see doctors in New York after experiencing stomach cramps, indigestion, and a gurgling sound after eating.
Scans revealed that the 50-year-old had a’stone baby’ — a calcified fetus — that had compressed her intestines due to a miscarriage nine years prior.
The patient reportedly refused treatment, claiming that her illness was the result of a “spell” cast on her in Africa.
The woman died 14 months after arriving in America.
Doctors determined that she died as a result of severe malnutrition or starvation. The’stone baby’ was said to be compressing the intestine. This resulted in blockages, which meant her body was no longer able to absorb vital nutrients, resulting in starvation.
The patient ‘declined intervention due to fear of surgery and elected for symptom monitoring,’ according to Dr. Waseem Sous, an internal medicine expert at SUNY Upstate Medical University who reported the case.
Unfortunately, she died as a result of severe malnutrition in the context of recurrent bowel obstruction due to lithopedion and continued fear of seeking medical attention.’
At 28 weeks, the fetus, who would have been the woman’s ninth child, stopped developing inside her. Instead of miscarrying, she developed a condition called lithopedion.
The condition occurs when a pregnancy develops in the abdomen rather than the uterus.
The condition has only been documented 290 times, with the first in 1582 in France.
