Macabro: Did you know that pregnant women can “give birth” after they die?

The death of pregnant women is always an incredibly tragic and sad fatality, and no one really likes to talk about it. However, leaving the emotional side aside - and focusing on science - there is something curious (and very macabre!) That can happen when a pregnant woman loses her life. Did you know that sometimes their bodies can "give birth" even after death?

As we explained in previous articles here from Mega Curioso - which you can access via this link, this and this one as well - as soon as a person dies, the body's cells stop receiving oxygen and begin to degrade. Thus, anaerobic bacteria multiply, and their action results in the production of gases such as methane and carbon dioxide.

According to the people at the Today I Found Out portal, these gases cause the body to begin to swell dramatically, and the swelling and buildup inside the pregnant woman's body acts as uterine contractions, pressing on the uterus and forcing the fetus through the vaginal canal.

Macabre Practice

According to Today I Found Out, there are several historical records of women who expelled their fetuses after they died. One of the oldest reported cases occurred in 1551, when one of the victims of the Holy Inquisition had her baby hours after she was executed while still hanging from the gallows. Another example is that of a Belgian who, in 1633, died during childbirth and “gave birth” three days later.

According to the article, the expulsion of the fetus after death has been known since ancient times, so much so that Asclepius, the god of medicine in Greek mythology, was taken from his mother's womb after she died on Mount Olympus.

In addition, it was common practice in the past for doctors to open the abdomen of pregnant women who had just died in the hope of saving the babies, and the Catholic Church forced priests to do the same so that fetuses could be baptized - and thus they would be baptized. freed from wandering in purgatory.

Nowadays

It is quite rare today for this phenomenon to occur because of the way many countries treat their dead. This is because it is increasingly common for bodies to undergo embalming, and the procedure - in addition to employing chemicals that delay decomposition - eliminates much of the body fluids and microorganisms involved in the process of putrefaction.

Still, there are more current case records. One of them happened in Germany in 2005, when a pregnant woman was found in an advanced state of decomposition in her apartment. The woman had died of a heroin overdose, and during the autopsy doctors found the baby exposed to shoulder height.

Another case was reported in Panama in 2008 after a fetus was found in the lingerie of a young murder victim who was located several days after her death. The most recent happened in 2013, when the lifeless body of a refugee trying to reach Europe was recovered - and a little baby was discovered in her mother's leggings. Very sad.

* Posted on 11/13/2015