A Pregnancy That Never Ended
A lithopedion, or stone baby, occurs when a fetus dies in an abdominal pregnancy and becomes calcified. Instead of being absorbed, the body encases it in calcium to prevent infection. This rare event can remain undetected for decades, often found accidentally during medical scans.
Decades Inside the Body
A review of 128 cases found that most women diagnosed with lithopedion were around 55 years old. Some carried the calcified fetus for over 50 years without symptoms. The longest-known case involved a Chinese woman, Huang Yijun, who unknowingly carried a lithopedion for 65 years before it was discovered in 2013.
A Discovery in Old Age
In 2015, 90-year-old Estela Meléndez of Chile underwent an X-ray after a fall. Doctors found a 2-kilogram calcified fetus that had been inside her for 50 years. Due to her age and lack of complications, doctors decided not to remove it.
A Rare Medical Mystery
Only about 300 cases of lithopedion have been documented over 400 years. Though abdominal pregnancies occur in 1 in 11,000 cases, only 1.5–1.8% develop into a lithopedion, making it one of the rarest medical conditions recorded.
A lithopedion, or stone baby, occurs when a fetus dies in an abdominal pregnancy and becomes calcified. Instead of being absorbed, the body encases it in calcium to prevent infection. This rare event can remain undetected for decades. 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/cY717RgYeo
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) February 7, 2025