A surprising 23-week pregnancy with a baby in the bowel leads to a miraculous French delivery.
In France, a 37-year-old woman was surprised when she found out she was 23 weeks pregnant with a baby growing in her bowel without knowing it. She had been experiencing severe stomach pain and getting more bloated for 10 days when she sought medical help. Doctors did a scan and discovered a baby growing normally inside her abdomen, which is the area between the stomach and the bowel.
The doctors in the study found that the woman had an abdominal ectopic pregnancy, which happens when a fertilized egg attaches itself outside the uterus, usually in the abdominal cavity. Normally, this kind of pregnancy leads to the loss of the baby. However, in this case, something extraordinary happened. In France, the doctors managed to deliver the baby successfully at 29 weeks. Surprisingly, within three months, both the mother and her newborn were healthy enough to leave the hospital.
The doctors’ efforts were remarkable, especially considering the risks to the mother’s health in cases of ectopic pregnancies. Such pregnancies can lead to serious issues like internal bleeding, tube rupture, or shock, posing a danger to the mother’s life. Additionally, they often result in the death of the fetus. According to the New York Post, there’s about a 90% chance of losing the baby in such situations. Even for those babies who do survive, there’s a one in five chance of having birth defects or brain damage.
In this situation, the woman got medical care in France. The doctors there waited until the pregnancy reached 29 weeks to increase the baby’s chances of surviving. Using their expertise, the experts performed surgery by cutting in the woman’s abdomen. They then placed the baby in a neonatal intensive care unit, resulting in a very successful delivery.
Doctors have encountered instances where embryos have grown in unusual parts of the body before. According to the Post, a doctor shared a case report on social media about a fetus developing in a woman’s liver. Dr. Michael Narvey from the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba expressed surprise in a video clip, saying, “I thought I had seen it all.” He mentioned that while they sometimes see these occurrences in the abdomen, it was the first time he encountered a fetus growing in the liver.
Source: The Indian Express
