BHUBANESWAR: A 25-year-old woman delivered a mal-formed baby with two heads causing curiosity among onlookers at Capital Hospital here on Friday.
The baby, a girl, who was born at 4.30 pm survived for 12 minutes. Mother of the baby, Rosalin Satpathy, belongs to Abhaymukhi block in Khurda district.
She was admitted to Capital Hospital after experiencing labour pain on Thursday evening. The doctors examined her and decided to go for a cesarean section a day later.
The baby developed breathing difficulties after birth and the doctors were planning to take her to the Neo-natal ICU but she died a few minutes later, sources said.
An hour after the delivery, Roaslin was taken to the recovery room and her condition was stated to be stable. Rosalin’s father Chittaranjan and husband Saroj Rath, present at the hospital, were awestruck to see the two-headed child.
Apart from two distinct necks and heads, the baby had rest of the organs and limbs like a normal newborn, said Saroj.
Initial tests showed that the baby had one set of vital organs but presence of two heads could not be ascertained during ultrasonography, said Chittaranjan. “Our family is saddened with the event and my daughter is inconsolable. However, we accept it as our destiny,” he added.
A large crowd gathered near the operation theatre to catch a glimpse of the child.
“Such babies are called ‘dicephalic twins’. It is a very rare case and the chances of survival in such cases are low,” Gynaecologist Dr Sweta Panigrahi said.