French Woman Consults Doctor For Abdominal Pain, Discovers She's 23-week Pregnant – News18

A 37-year-old French woman, in a shocking turn of events, discovered that she was 23 weeks pregnant, with medical professionals revealing a normally formed fetus growing inside her abdominal cavity. This came after the woman sought medical attention due to severe abdominal pain and increasing bloating, as reported in a case study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study clarified that the woman had an abdominal ectopic pregnancy, where a fertilised egg implants outside the uterus, specifically in the abdominal cavity. Despite the usual outcome of such pregnancies being the loss of the child, doctors in France successfully delivered the baby at 29 weeks. Remarkably, both the mother and her newborn were discharged from the hospital within three months.

The doctors’ efforts were remarkable, given the significant risks associated with abdominal ectopic pregnancies, including internal bleeding, tube rupture, and shock, all of which pose serious threats to the mother. According to the New York Post, the chances of losing the baby in such cases are as high as 90%, and those who survive face a one in five chance of experiencing birth defects or brain damage.

In France, the woman received medical care where doctors, prioritising the baby’s survival, waited until 29 weeks gestation before performing a successful delivery through an abdominal incision. The infant was then placed in neonatal intensive care.

Interestingly, instances of embryos developing in unusual locations are not unprecedented. According to the New York Post, a doctor once shared a case report on social media about a fetus growing in a woman’s liver. Dr Michael Narvey from the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba expressed surprise, stating, “I thought I had seen it all. We see these sometimes in the abdomen but never in the liver. This is a first for me.”