Nature's Tryst With Oddity: Six-Legged Baby Born In Pakistan [PHOTO]

The latest to have stunned Pakistan's medical fraternity is the birth of a baby boy with six legs in the Sindhi district of Sukkur Friday.

The six-legged baby, who was born at Sukkur's Civil Hospital, was said to be in a stable condition, The Express Tribune reported. However, given the nature of the child's deformity, hospital officials were taking extra precautions to avoid any infections the child may develop over time.

The child's mother, whose identity was yet to be revealed, was also said to be in a healthy condition but was reportedly shocked over the abnormality of her first newborn child.

The woman's husband, Imran Sheikh, was advised to take the couple's child to a hospital in Karachi for treatment. Sheikh, who works as an X-ray technician on a sparse income of Rs. 6000 (about $67) per month, is seeking financial assistance from the government and philanthropists for his child's treatment, the report said.

According to the report, the couple's financial problems forced them to take their six-legged child home. Muhammad Qaisar, who works as a doctor at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, believes that an operation to remove the child's extra limbs can be performed without much trouble.

It is perhaps first child in the history of Pakistan having six legs. The case will also be a test for doctors and we hope for the better, Qaisar was quoted saying to All Voices.

The child is apparently suffering a form of birth defect known as Polymelia, in which the affected individual is born with extra limbs that are usually small or deformed. There are several causes for the condition. The embryo, which starts as twins, becomes fused in the womb. One of the twins generally survives, while the other twin's limbs end up getting attached to the living twin. The defect can even cause the child to develop small extra legs between the normal ones, a condition which is known as ischiopagus.