A 72-year-old woman was found to have been "pregnant" for almost 30 years in the sense that doctors discovered a calcified fetus, known as a lithopedion or "stone baby," inside her abdomen.
This rare medical phenomenon occurs when a fetus dies during an abdominal ectopic pregnancy and the body calcifies it, effectively turning it into a stone-like mass to protect the mother from infection.
Such cases are extremely rare but documented in medical literature. The fetus can remain inside the woman for decades without causing acute symptoms and may only be discovered incidentally, often during scans for unrelated issues, surgeries, or after falls.
In one remarkable case, doctors found a 30-year-old calcified fetus inside a woman in her seventies. The woman had carried the fetus unknowingly, as it became calcified and dormant, causing a large abdominal mass. Although this phenomenon is astonishing, it is relatively harmless once the fetus is calcified, but it can cause discomfort or pain.
This medical curiosity continues to fascinate both doctors and the public due to its rarity, the surprising longevity of the calcified fetus inside the woman, and the complex emotional and physical consequences for the patient.