Researchers examined the mummified remains of a young girl who died during childbirth in ancient Egypt and found that the young mother-to-be was giving birth to twins when she died. Unfortunately, the birth took a negative turn when the first child’s head got stuck in the birth canal, resulting in the death of both the babies and the mother.

The young woman, believed to be between 14 and 17 years old when she died, was found in 1908 in the El Bagawat Cemetery in the Kharga Oasis in Egypt. Field records from the time show that the fetus and placenta were found between her legs, leading to the conclusion that she died from obstetric complications.

Returning to the mummy more than a century later, the authors of the new study performed a computed tomography (CT) scan of the body to determine exactly what might have gone wrong. The scan revealed the presence of a second fetus in the woman’s chest cavity, indicating that she was pregnant with twins.

Even more surprising findings would emerge when researchers realized that the baby placed between the woman’s legs had no head. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the baby’s head was still stuck in the mother’s pelvis, leading them to suspect that the fetus had been decapitated during birth.

The most likely explanation for this terrible outcome is that the child was born in a breech position, meaning he came out feet first. During breech birth, babies can sometimes pull their head away from the breast, making it difficult to pass through the birth canal.

In rare cases, this can lead to “traumatic decapitation of the fetus,” and this example is a particularly gruesome one, according to the study’s authors. “The cause of death was determined; the child’s head got stuck in the birth canal as a result of breech presentation of the fetus during birth.”

As for the second fetus, researchers think the embalmers did not know that the woman was pregnant with twins and therefore failed to remove it from her body before embalming her. When the mummy’s diaphragm melts, the unborn fetus can pass from the mother’s womb into the chest cavity.

“Examination of mothers and their babies at birth confirms once again how dangerous pregnancy, labor and delivery are, especially during this period,” the study’s authors wrote. Particularly in ancient Egypt, the birth of twins was considered highly undesirable and was often prevented by spells and spells.

One such spell, found on an ancient papyrus known as the Decree of the Divinatory Talisman, highlights this fear of the two and states: “We will save him from the birth of Horus, from the wrong birth, and from the birth of twins.” Source