2023-12-28 15:04:16
In 1908, archaeologists found the mummified body of a young Egyptian woman, apparently dead in childbirth. But a recent analysis made it possible to identify the exact causes of his death. A birth that would have gone very, very wrong.
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Childbirth is a magical moment which can, however, quickly turn into tragedy. Despite advances in medicine and obstetrics, tragic stories ending in the death of the child or even the mother still exist. They were all the more frequent and violent during Antiquity. By studying a mummy, researchers had a chilling testimony.
The story of a tragic childbirth revealed thanks to medical imaging
Discovered in 1908 in the Kharga oasis in Egypt, this mummified young woman aged 14 to 17 was found with a fetus and a placenta between her legs, suggesting that she had certainly died in childbirth during the period of the last Egyptian dynasty. But a recent study has revealed a much more terrible secret. Thanks to medical imaging, researchers were able to reveal the exact circumstances of his death.
First of all, the images revealed the presence of an entire fetus in the womb of the young Egyptian woman. The baby found between her legs would therefore in reality have only been the first of twins. But it was by analyzing this that researchers were able to reconstruct this macabre story. His little body was indeed decapitated. Scientists found the head by analyzing the mother’s body in detail. Stuck at the pelvis.
Head of first baby found stuck in mother’s pelvis
It is likely that this first baby was presented breech, a position which complicates its passage through the birth canal. As the researchers explain in their published article in the magazine International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, in rare cases this situation can lead to the decapitation of the baby. And that’s what seems to have happened. Was the young mother alone or assisted? Regardless, the head of her first baby visibly remained stuck in the pelvis, preventing the birth of the second child and the death of the young woman.
This terrible story shows that giving birth is never a trivial act and that the complications can be multiple and dramatic, all the more so during the remote times of Antiquity.
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