A woman in China suffered serious complications when her unborn baby began to kick in her womb, according to news reports.
The woman, nicknamed "Zhang", was pregnant at the 35th week when she entered the emergency room due to severe stomach pain, according to the New York Post.
Doctors at Shenzhen University Hospital at Beijing University gave ultrasound imaging to the mother and found a hernia in the uterus. This rupture of the uterus may cause the baby to emerge from the abdomen.
In Zhang's case, the baby's legs were in the abdominal cavity, and his thighs were stuck in the uterine wall, according to the newspaper.
However, the hernia remains a rare case of only 0.07%, according to Medscape-Medscape.
This is more common in women who have had previous caesarean sections. In these cases, the rupture occurs along the scar resulting from these operations.
But in Zhang's case, she underwent surgery to remove fibroids from her womb before she was pregnant; this surgery also leaves a scar tissue, which in turn increases the risk of hernia.
But can kicks really cause the hysterectomy?
"The hysterectomy is likely to occur on its own, and then the feet of children will appear through these ruptures after they occur," says Dr. Michael Cackovic, obstetrician in the Pregnancy Program for Obstetrics and Gynecology in Ohio.
If a woman has a weakness in her womb - for example, a scar from a previous cesarian section or surgery to remove a fibrous tumor - this part becomes thinner and outward looking as the size of the uterus increases during pregnancy.
"The uterus is very thin in some women who have recurrent symptoms, so you can see the baby through this laminating, which can cause the hysterectomy on its own," he says.
In general, in these cases, doctors have only 10 to 40 minutes to save the child before serious injury to the child, according to Medscape.
Luckily, Zhang's doctors acted quickly and rescued the baby in less than 10 minutes. During the operation, doctors discovered a 2.8-inch (7 cm) wound in the womb.
According to the New York Post, both mother and child are in good health.
