Baby Born With 2 Heads, 3 Hands In Rare Conjoined Twin Case Fighting For Life

KEY POINTS

Doctors said in the sonography it looked like the woman was pregnant with twins
In such cases, many children either die in the womb or within 48 hours of birth
The child was kept under observation

In a rare incident, a woman in India gave birth to a baby with two heads, two hearts, one torso and three hands.

The baby was born Tuesday in a hospital in the Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh. The doctors, who were shocked after seeing the baby's condition, referred the boy to a hospital in the city of Indore.

Pediatric surgeon Dr. Brijesh Lahoti said the condition was called dicephalic parapagus, which was a rare form of partial twinning, reported the Free Press Journal.

"Such cases are rare and the condition of babies remains uncertain especially in the initial days due to which we have kept them under observation. We have not planned for any surgery on the patient," Dr. Lahoti said.

The doctors said one of the hands was toward the back, between the two faces and in the middle of the two hearts. The other two hands were in normal position.

During sonography, it looked like the woman was pregnant with twins, India Today reported, citing the doctors. Dr Naved Qureshi, in charge at Ratlam's SNCU hospital, where the baby was born said the child's condition was critical. In such a case, many children either die in the womb or within 48 hours of birth.

Qureshi also said in some cases a surgery can be an option. However, 60-70% of such children do not survive. The child was currently fighting for life under observation.

In April last year, a woman gave birth to a baby with two heads and three hands at a private nursing home in India. Doctors said it was a rare case, and the baby was actually conjoined twins sharing a single body. "The newborn is eating with two mouths and breathing with two noses and is actually conjoined twin sisters who share a single body, three arms and two legs," Dr. Debashis Sahoo, a pediatrician, told Odisha TV at the time. The baby was born in the eastern state of Odisha. Soon after birth, the child's condition deteriorated and was moved to a different hospital. Doctors later said the baby was eating and was "physically fit."