{
  "id": 16880967,
  "title": "A woman carried a 'stone baby' in her abdomen for 3 years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/a-woman-carried-a-stone-baby-in-her-abdomen-for-3-years",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-28T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Science",
    "slug": "live-science",
    "url": "https://www.livescience.com/health/reproductive-health/diagnostic-dilemma-a-woman-carried-a-stone-baby-in-her-abdomen-for-3-years"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 42-year-old woman from Somaliland, Africa was diagnosed with a lithopedion, or \"stone baby,\" after experiencing chronic abdominal pain and a growing sense of heaviness for three years. Initially, she had sought medical attention three years prior due to symptoms suggesting a pregnancy, but she did not receive any care after her abdominal growth halted. Upon examination, doctors found a hard, irregular mass containing fetal skeletal structures, including a skull, spinal column, ribs, and arm and leg bones. The mass was roughly 7 by 5 inches and had calcified, causing the woman's abdominal pain and heaviness. After successful surgery to remove the calcified fetus, the woman recovered well and her abdominal pain resolved completely.",
  "summary": "A woman's unexplained abdominal pain led doctors to a diagnosis that has only been documented a few hundred times over the past 400 years.",
  "key_points": [
    "42-year-old woman from Somaliland diagnosed with lithopedion",
    "Carried stone baby in abdomen for three years",
    "Surgery removed calcified fetus, woman recovered fully"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The failure to provide follow-up care after initial pregnancy symptoms highlights how untreated complications can evolve into long-term physical burdens requiring invasive surgical intervention.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}