An Indian woman has given birth to a girl who has the arms and legs of her parasitic twin attached.
The woman, Kareena, gave natural birth to the child on Saturday at the community healthcare centre in Hardoi, northern Uttar Pradesh.
Doctor Umesh Babu, who assisted in the delivery, said the woman had labour pains when she arrived at the centre and, within an hour, the girl was born.
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The doctors and Kareena were surprised to see additional limbs and a parasitic twin birth was diagnosed.
The condition arises when the head and heart of one of the twins does not develop, but other parts, such as limbs, do grow and fuse with the developing twin.
“This is the first such birth in our small health centre. Everybody was shocked to see the child,” Dr Babu told The National.
He said ultrasound reports showed no signs of any abnormality. The baby was healthy and weighed three kilograms.
“The woman was experiencing labour pains when she arrived at 11.30 on Saturday night. We checked the ultrasound reports and everything seemed fine,” Dr Babu said.
“But as soon as the child started coming out, we were shocked as there were extra limbs attached to her body. But the baby was healthy. Her mother was naturally shocked with the birth.”
The news of the birth prompted some locals to gather at the hospital for a glimpse of the child they described as a “reincarnation of God”.
Mother and baby were moved to another hospital for further treatment.
There have been several cases of conjoined and parasitic twins in India, where poor healthcare services and a lack of awareness of pregnancies are common.
In some cases, such children live a healthy life with parts of parasitic twins attached.
