81-year-old who carried rare ‘stone baby’ inside her for over 50 years dies after surgery to remove it

An 81-year-old pensioner named Daniela Almeida Vera passed away in Brazil after undergoing surgery to remove an ultra-rare “stone baby,” which she had been carrying inside her for approximately 56 years.

The surgery took place at Ponta Pora Regional Hospital in Mato Grosso do Sul on March 14, and Vera died a day later. The discovery of the calcified fetus termed a lithopedion was made during a scan conducted after Vera reported experiencing stomach pains.

Vera underwent the scan at Ponta Pora Hospital after being admitted with a generalized infection. Initially seeking treatment for a urinary infection at a hospital closer to her home, she was later transferred to Ponta Pora for further evaluation, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Before the surprising discovery of the “stone baby,” medical experts initially suspected Vera had cancer. They determined that she had been carrying the calcified fetus in her body since her last pregnancy over five decades ago.

Vera, who hailed from an indigenous tribe and resided in a settlement near Brazil’s border with Paraguay, is survived by seven children and 40 grandchildren. She passed away on March 15 while still in intensive care following the surgery. Rosely Almeida, one of her six daughters, told local media, “She was elderly and we are indigenous people.”

“She didn’t like going to the doctor and she was afraid of the equipment used to carry out tests.”

She suggested that her mother may have carried the “stone baby” for longer than the 56 years doctors estimated. She cited pains Vera experienced since her first pregnancy, which felt like a baby moving inside her belly.

Vera’s only son, Vanderlei Avalo Almeida, mentioned that Vera avoided seeking medical attention out of fear that she had a tumor.

“She would just take medicine so the pain went away.”

Additional tests have been requested on the calcified fetus to gather more information about it.

Almeida said: “We’re are in a state of shock, there’s a lot of sadness. She was our mum and the only one who protected people and now she’s gone and we feel lost.”

In March last year, reports emerged of a tragic incident in the United States where a 50-year-old Congolese woman passed away due to severe malnutrition after a lithopedion obstructed her intestines for nine years. The woman, who had arrived in the U.S. as a refugee, sought medical help for stomach cramps, indigestion, and a gurgling sensation after eating.

Despite doctors recommending surgery, she declined, believing her condition was caused by a spell cast on her in Tanzania.

Meanwhile, remarkable images surfaced in 2021, revealing the moment doctors discovered a “stone baby” inside the womb of an elderly woman in Algeria.